The US House has adjourned without electing a new speaker after Kevin McCarthy failed to win a majority of votes across 11 ballots over three days in his push to become House speaker, CNN reported.
Lawmakers voted five times on Thursday. However, Kevin McCarthy was unable to secure the majority of votes needed for being elected as the speaker. He was not able to secure a majority of votes despite offering major concessions to his hardline conservative opponents on Wednesday, as per the news report. It is now the longest speaker contest in 164 years.
The final tally for the 11th round of voting was 212 for Representative Hakeem Jeffries, 200 for Representative Kevin McCarthy, 12 for Representative Byron Donald, 7 for Rep. Kevin Hern, 1 for Donald Trump, and 1 present vote, as per the CNN report. Talks have continued between Republican lawmakers as the GOP majority tries to find a way forward. Negotiators between the McCarthy allies and opponents have been making efforts to make a deal in order to show progress, CNN cited a source in talks. They think that they have made significant progress. However, they continue to have differences over some of the details.
The House will remain paralyzed until the standoff to elect a speaker continues. As per the news report, it is the first time an election for a speaker has gone to multiple ballots since 1923.
Notably, a candidate needs to win a majority of members who vote for a specific person of the House to become the speaker, which implies that a lawmaker requires 218 votes if no member skips the vote or votes "present."
In a series of new concessions first reported by CNN Wednesday night, McCarthy agreed to propose a rules change that would allow just one member to call for a vote to oust a sitting speaker, according to two sources familiar with the matter. McCarthy had initially proposed a five-member threshold, down from current conference rules that require half of the GOP to call for such a vote.
As per the news report, McCarthy proposed more major concessions in his efforts to secure 218 votes. McCarthy agreed to propose a rules change that will permit just one member to call for a vote to oust a sitting speaker, CNN cited two sources familiar with the matter.
Initially, McCarthy offered a five-member threshold, down from current conference rules that require half of the GOP to call for such a vote. He also agreed to allow for more members of the Freedom Caucus to serve on the House Rules Committee.
( With inputs from ANI )
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