For the first time this week, McCarthy’s allies sounded optimistic that they had enough support within the Republican Party to elect him speaker.
Republican leader Kevin McCarthy appeared on the brink of a turnaround after swaying more than a dozen holdouts in his party who had been preventing him from attaining the House speakership.
The House adjourned Friday afternoon, giving time for two of his supporters to return to the Capitol and for his allies to work the remaining six holdouts before the chamber reconvened at 10 p.m. that evening. McCarthy vowed — despite the two unsuccessful ballots earlier in the day — that by nighttime he would finally have the votes required to win.
“We’ll come back tonight … and finish this once and for all. It just reminds me of what my father always told me: It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” McCarthy said. “I think at the end of the day, we’re going to be more effective, more efficient.”
Republicans’ infighting over the speakership has caused a logjam unprecedented in modern history. With 13 failed rounds of voting, the House surpassed the number of votes it endured — nine — the last time such a stalemate occurred, in 1923.
Signs of movement finally emerged after McCarthy, his allies and the 20 holdouts spent all Thursday negotiating on and off the House floor, in an effort to hammer out a framework that would move a considerable number of votes to his side. Though the process resulted in McCarthy losing five ballots in one day, Republicans responsible for tracking how members would vote projected that at least 10 members would flip.
With the tentative agreement in hand on Friday, 14 of the McCarthy holdouts switched over on the 12th ballot, each flip prompting cheers from the GOP side of the aisle. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who for months had telegraphed that he was dead-set against McCarthy, shocked some of his colleagues with his move. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), who had voted “present” over the previous two days to urge her colleagues to reach consensus, resumed backing McCarthy.
“That vote is an indicator that we have a negotiation in place that is a good-faith effort,” Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), who flipped for McCarthy, said after the 12th ballot. “The potential of what’s been described to us, pending approval, is transformative to empower the rank-and-file.”
On the 13th ballot, McCarthy gained support from one more holdout, Andy Harris (R-Md.), capping the most momentum he had seen all week. Still, those 214 votes were not enough.
All Republicans then agreed to adjourn until Friday evening to allow for the return of two pro-McCarthy members who had missed the 12th and 13th ballots: Wesley Hunt (Tex.
