Republicans gear up for long speaker battle after candidates make their cases: Recap

Table Of Content

• Republicans move to second round of voting; Fleischmann eliminated
• Santos says that he will vote for 'ANYONE but Scalise' in floor vote
• Cellphones were collected going into GOP meeting
• Rep. Grace Napolitano, a veteran Democrat from Norwalk, to retire from Congress
• Opinion: Is planting trees on Arbor Day one way we can all fight climate change? Not so much
• ‘How the hell does that even happen?’ McCarthy exits Congress amid confusion over who can run to replace him

Following his win, the Republican conference held a roll call vote to gauge Emmer's support. Roughly 20 GOP lawmakers voted no on the Minnesota Republican's speaker bid, according to Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York. Shortly after Emmer was elected as the GOP's nominee for speaker, several conservative lawmakers publicly announced plans to vote against him when the House convenes for a formal floor vote.

Republicans move to second round of voting; Fleischmann eliminated

The Florida Republican was seated next to Boebert and could be seen gesturing toward McCarthy and an aide. Phillips then invited six Republicans to join with Democrats and elect Jeffries as House speaker. "The 'Speaker' selection process, as crazy as it may seem, has made it all much bigger and more important than if done the more conventional way. Congratulations to Kevin McCarthy and our GREAT Republican Party!" he wrote. President Biden released a statement congratulating McCarthy, saying he is "prepared to work with Republicans when I can." McCarthy also said the first hearing would be held on the southern border to address the migrant crisis. McCarthy said his primary responsibility is not to his conference or even the Congress, but to the country.

Santos says that he will vote for 'ANYONE but Scalise' in floor vote

It’s not the first time that the speakership scramble has exposed fault lines in the upper ranks of House GOP leadership. Jeffries also said that conversations between senior Democrats and Republicans have “accelerated” in recent days and that it’s his hope they will continue to do so tonight. It’s now been two weeks of high-stakes chaos over the speaker’s gavel following the unprecedented ouster of Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The House’s slim margin is what led to McCarthy’s removal at the hands of a band of eight GOP rebels – and now a similarly sized group of House Republicans could block Jordan’s ascension, too. “Gil Cisneros is an outstanding public servant and leader,” Pelosi said in a statement released Thursday, noting a variety of legislation the two had collaborated on together in Congress.

Cellphones were collected going into GOP meeting

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan again failed to win the House speaker’s gavel in a second vote on Wednesday, faring worse than he did during the first round of voting one day earlier. The loss raises serious questions over whether the Ohio Republican has a viable path forward as he confronts steep opposition and the House remains in a state of paralysis. House Democratic candidates have held a financial edge over their GOP rivals ever since the Democratic small-dollar fundraising boom that took place after former President Donald Trump took office. But just two years later, the GOP won big across the House battlegrounds despite operating at a financial deficit, setting the party up to retake the majority in 2022.

Rep. Grace Napolitano, a veteran Democrat from Norwalk, to retire from Congress

Without a speaker, the chamber is effectively frozen, a precarious position that comes amid conflict abroad and a potential government shutdown next month. McCarthy’s successor, Johnson, brought four bills to the House floor Saturday — three to provide vital military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and one to force a Chinese company to sell TikTok or cease operating in the United States. The bills passed overwhelmingly, with all but the Ukraine bill winning a majority of Republicans’ votes. It remains unclear whether the two candidates will participate in a public debate ahead of the election. Jordan and McCarthy were seen huddling on the floor Tuesday, and Jordan, after losing a floor vote on the first ballot, decamped to the former speaker’s suite.

Emmer, the majority whip, is one of the two speaker candidates who voted to certify the 2020 presidential election results. Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas told reporters some of Emmer's past comments are "causing him some problems today," though he didn't specify what the statements were. Still, the Texas Republican cast doubt on Emmer's ability to garner 217 votes and again pledged to nominate Trump for speaker on the floor.

Steve Scalise withdraws from House speaker race after postponed vote - The Washington Post - The Washington Post

Steve Scalise withdraws from House speaker race after postponed vote - The Washington Post.

Posted: Thu, 12 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Opinion: Is planting trees on Arbor Day one way we can all fight climate change? Not so much

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN earlier today that his caucus has not yet made a decision on whether they'd back such a temporary solution. Jordan told CNN the plan is for the House to gather again for a third speaker vote at noon ET Thursday. Money alone doesn’t determine winners and losers, especially in a presidential cycle where most voter attention will be focused on the top of the ticket. And Republicans expect their candidates and outside effort to be well-funded.

WASHINGTON (AP) — For a long and frustrating third day, divided Republicans kept the speaker’s chair of the U.S. House empty Thursday, as party leader Kevin McCarthy failed again and again in an excruciating string of ballots to win enough GOP votes to seize the chamber’s gavel. It's unclear how much of an impact the former president's backing would have on the race for speaker — he endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan's bid last week, but after three failed attempts to win a majority on the floor, the Ohio congressman was forced to drop his bid Friday. "I'm staying above it. I have to right now," the former president told reporters Monday in New Hampshire. "But I've spoken to just about all the candidates, there are quite a few of them. And they're terrific people."

‘How the hell does that even happen?’ McCarthy exits Congress amid confusion over who can run to replace him

The 22nd is a majority Latino district that includes parts of Kern, Tulare and Kings counties, several small towns and a portion of Bakersfield. Voters here favored Biden over Trump by 13 percentage points in 2020, making Valadao one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents in the country. House candidates Democrat Adam Gray’s and Republican John Duarte’s stances on abortion, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, inflation, other issues.

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said Republicans should move to Jordan, who narrowly lost the nomination to Scalise. So McHenry will have to go back to the floor at some point to adjourn until a specific time. In a post on X, embattled Rep. George Santos wrote, "I applaud Congressman Steve Scalise for his diligence and hard work." That is a reversal from his comments last night declaring himself to be "an ANYONE but Scalise" voter.

One of the rule changes the group negotiated was the change requiring only one member to bring a motion to vacate the speaker, the rule used by Gaetz last week. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, of Florida, said yesterday that she would vote for Scalise to be speaker after holding a private meeting with him. Rogers, an ally of Scalise, expressed concern that the conference would never reach the necessary 217 votes to elect a new speaker without the help of Democrats. "We spend more time getting together and actually electing a speaker and at this point, I care less who that person is, and more that they’re willing to get policy to the floor," he said. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, said the fight to name a speaker is so divisive that one Republican member said they didn't think "Lord Jesus himself" could get the 217 votes needed to win.

“It doesn’t mean there’s not healthy conversations for us as a conference,” Cloud told reporters. "I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as candidate for the speaker designee," he said. "Our conference still has to come together and is not there. There are still some people that have their own agendas. And it was very clear we have to have everybody put their agendas on the side and focus on what this country needs." Scalise confirmed to reporters he was dropping his bid for speaker a day after his nomination. "Look, when I decided to run before, I waited until the next day after Kevin [McCarthy] made his decision. I thought that was appropriate. I will do the same thing right now. I’ll wait," he told reporters. GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a Kevin McCarthy supporter, told CNN that the speaker vote process could go on "for a long time."

“As California’s chief election official, it is my duty to take steps necessary to protect voters,” she said. Bakersfield Republican Assemblymember Vince Fong can run in a Central Valley congressional race to replace former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), a Sacramento County judge ruled Thursday. Even if McCarthy is able to secure the votes he needs, he will emerge as a weakened speaker, having given away some powers and constantly under a threat of being voted out by his detractors. But he would also be potentially emboldened as a survivor of one of the more brutal fights for the gavel in U.S. history. “That’s the goal,” McHenry said when he was asked whether a speaker would be elected by the end of the week. "It’s important whoever takes that job is willing to risk the job for doing what’s right for [the] American public."

House Republicans have begun voting on the first ballot for their speaker nominee after convening to elect a fourth candidate just hours after Emmer, who won the conference's nomination earlier Tuesday, withdrew his candidacy amid growing opposition. Sources say Jordan tapped former New York GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin – who is close with the freshman New York Republicans — to help lean on the holdouts, some of whom named Zeldin on the floor during speaker votes this week. The holdouts have also heard from conservative New York donors in recent days encouraging them to get on board with a Jordan speakership, sources say.

The district has a slight Latino majority, with white voters also accounting for nearly 40% of the electorate, according to data from California Target Book. It includes cities like Madera, Ceres and Merced and portions of Modesto and Turlock, as well as rural swaths of the San Joaquin Valley. Calvert — who has represented parts of the Inland Empire for more than three decades — narrowly staved off Rollins last cycle in a race that was far more competitive than expected. This time, Rollins will be aided by the full backing of the Democratic Party and far more fundraising support. With Porter and her whiteboard out of the picture after a failed Senate bid, the former GOP Assembly leader’s competition appears less formidable this time around.