Republican California Rep. Kevin McCarthy failed to garner enough support to win the Speakership on Friday after the twelfth vote despite several opponents flipping their votes.
McCarthy won 213 votes while Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan won four and Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Kern gaining three votes. Democratic New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries secured 211 Democratic votes.
North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop, who was outspoken against McCarthy, flipped his vote in favor of McCarthy along with Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen, Texas Rep. Michael Cloud. Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Illinois Rep. Mary Miller, South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, Texas Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Rep. Keith Self, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles and Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz.
🚨🚨Gosar just flipped to McCarthy
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 6, 2023
The House adjourned yet again Thursday after failing to elect a speaker. McCarthy received 200 votes for the second straight ballot, putting him 17 votes short of getting the gavel. Meanwhile, Donalds received 12 votes while Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern won seven votes.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has been firm in his opposition to McCarthy, voted for former President Donald Trump. Spartz voted “present” for the seventh straight ballot while Colorado Rep. Ken Buck missed the vote after leaving for a medical procedure.
Republicans continue to negotiation a rules package between the holdouts and McCarthy’s team. (RELATED: Jeanine Pirro Tells Anti-McCarthy Republicans To ‘Be Quiet And Just Go Along With The Majority’)
The longest vote for Speaker occurred in 1855, which went to 133 ballots. The current race is tied for the fifth-longest in American history with the 1821 vote.