Eleven attempts – no US speaker yet

On Thursday’s five ballots completed, Kevin McCarthy fell short, amassing a combined 218 votes to be elected Speaker of the House.

On the 11th attempt, McCarthy again received 200 votes, three fewer than the first vote held on Tuesday.

Voting has been postponed until Friday noon local time.

It is a historic defeat and the longest presidential race in 164 years. In 1859 he received 44 votes before being elected Speaker of the House. But McCarthy seemed unfazed by the latest defeat.

Obviously, I would love to make history, said the Republican.

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The election of a new speaker of the US House of Representatives is being delayed because the Republicans are divided. McCarthy has 20 party colleagues who don’t want to let him go.

The dissident group is too small to be able to choose its own nominee, but since the Republicans have a slim majority in the House of Representatives, they are enough to stop McCarthy.

Republican Matt Gaetz had instead nominated former President Donald Trump on the 11th ballot. There is no rule for the president to be a member of the House of Representatives. But Trump only got Gates’ symbolic vote.

It will be “business as usual,” Gates told the room why he wouldn’t support McCarthy as speaker, according to CNN.

Don `t give up

Republican lawmakers said negotiations are ongoing. Despite strong headwinds, McCarthy by no means gave up hope of being elected president.

– It will continue like this until we reach an agreement, he told CNN on Thursday.

When asked at what stage he would realize that the outcome would not change, he replied:

– After I win.

Republicans have held the majority in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Congress, since midterm elections in the fall. Thus, the Republican will replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi in the important position of Speaker of the House.

The House of Representatives consists of 435 members.