House speaker vote live updates: Jim Jordan loses first round

Table Of Content

• Palmer drops out of race for speaker; field down to seven candidates
• The new GOP speaker candidates
• Why Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2003 tabloid deal came up at Trump’s hush-money trial
• Ambition keeps him loyal to Donald Trump. But what does Kevin McCarthy stand for?
• Editorial: Speaker Mike Johnson’s Ukraine aid bill is better late than never

The floor fight dragged on for the better part of a week, the longest since 1859, and paralyzed the House, with lawmakers stripped of their security clearances because they could not be sworn in as official members of Congress until a speaker was chosen. The House has been in a state of uncertainty and chaos since Oct. 3, when rebels forced a vote to oust Mr. McCarthy as speaker. Eight Republicans backed that move along with Democrats, who remained united behind their own leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Republicans had cast aside two previous winners of their closed-door nominating process — Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio — before settling on Mr. Emmer. Only hours later, Mr. Emmer told Republicans in a closed-door meeting that he was dropping his bid, according to a person familiar with his decision who divulged the private discussion on the condition of anonymity. Mr. Emmer’s demise was the latest evidence of the seemingly unending Republican dysfunction.

Palmer drops out of race for speaker; field down to seven candidates

The candidates were Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, Mark Green of Tennessee, Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Roger Williams of Texas. Although Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was not in the running, he received more votes than Donalds in the final round. Majority Leader Steve Scalise threw his support behind Johnson late Tuesday, calling him a "dear friend" in a statement. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had asked the Supreme Court to block "the use of unlawful election results without review and ratification by" the four state legislatures and allow them to appoint a different slate of presidential electors.

The new GOP speaker candidates

Mr. Johnson faced no opposition from his own party, and won in a party-line vote. In previous rounds of voting, as many as 25 Republicans opposed their party’s nominee. "I made my decision based on my relationship with the conference," Emmer told reporters when asked whether Trump helped doom his candidacy. Emmer voted to certify the 2020 election results after Jan. 6, 2021, but signed onto an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn the presidential election results. Scalise had been the party's first nominee after McCarthy was ousted, but withdrew his name one day after winning the internal GOP vote.

Why Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2003 tabloid deal came up at Trump’s hush-money trial

At one point, Representative Mike Rogers, Republican of Alabama, had to be restrained after stepping toward Mr. Gaetz. Friday night, Mr. McCarthy remained one vote short of what he needed to seal the deal. Representative-elect Eli Crane of Arizona and Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana — the two holdouts who seemed most likely to move — both voted against him, leaving his fate in the hands of his lead tormentor, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida.

But while the vote was being tallied, there appeared to be a breakthrough. Republicans quickly switched their votes to oppose the adjournment and proceeded to a 15th speaker vote, which ended well after midnight. After a spectacle of arm-twisting on the House floor, Kevin McCarthy won over just enough of the far-right rebels he needed to become speaker. He swore in the chamber’s members, ending days of paralysis at the start of Republican rule. An earlier version of this article misstated the number of votes Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana received in House Republicans’ internal election to choose a speaker nominee.

Some of the Republicans who supported 2020 election lies have led the charge against Kevin McCarthy.

The fight, which began on the first day of the 118th Congress, has thrown the new House GOP majority into chaos and undercut the party's agenda. Before the vote, the House Democratic leadership urged their caucus to vote "yes" on the motion to vacate. Though McCarthy had the support of most House Republicans, there were enough opponents within his party to cost him the speakership. Jordan lost 20 Republican votes in the first round, and in the final count, he ended up with 200 votes, leaving him shy of the 217 needed for a majority.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says Speaker Mike Johnson should resign as Democrats signal potential support - NBC News

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says Speaker Mike Johnson should resign as Democrats signal potential support.

Posted: Sun, 21 Apr 2024 17:57:03 GMT [source]

They also were unhappy that he had suggested in an interview on Fox News that the House committee investigating the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, had the political aim of damaging Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. “He will have to live the entirety of his speakership in a straitjacket constructed by the rules that we’re working on now,” Mr. Gaetz said. Representative Chip Roy of Texas started out as an enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Trump’s claims of a stolen election but gradually grew alarmed about the push to invalidate the results and ultimately opposed Mr. Trump’s bid to get Congress to overturn them on Jan. 6, 2021. Not every Republican involved in blocking Mr. McCarthy’s ascension was among those who voted against certifying Mr. Biden’s victory. Ms. Alli and Ms. Cole work under the clerk of the House of Representatives, Cheryl L. Johnson, who is charged with keeping lawmakers in order until a new speaker is elected.

No secret deals for Emmer, colleague says

He said that millions of unborn children had lost their lives because of what he called a “legal fiction that the Supreme Court foisted upon this country” and said that “God will bless us” for the court’s decision. When Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana wanted to make the case against abortion rights last year during a Capitol Hill committee hearing, he grilled a witness in graphic fashion. On Nov. 8, 2020, Mr. Johnson was onstage at a northwest Louisiana church speaking about Christianity in America when Mr. Trump called.

Ukraine, Israel aid advances in rare House vote as Democrats help Republicans push it forward

“The door to the speaker’s office now is open to the members and to the constituents, not just the lobbyists,” Rep. Matt Rosendale told reporters. European allies, for their part, had watched the drawn-out aid drama with mounting anxiety and exasperation. Just as important in that initial reaction was what Zelensky did not say. The proposed constitutional amendment would guarantee abortion rights until a fetus could survive outside the uterus, typically around 24 weeks. It also would allow later abortions to save the patient’s life or to protect their physical or mental health. Dozens of people gathered outside the state Capitol before the House and Senate were scheduled to meet, many carrying signs or wearing shirts showing their opposition to abortion rights.

She told The Hill shortly after starting the job that she had taken diction classes to prepare and had done a three-minute audition that involved reading out a resolution, amendment, handwritten amendment, presidential message and bill. Reading clerks, who are often described as the “voice of the House,” are responsible for reading bills, resolutions, motions and more on the House floor, and for reporting the chamber’s legislative actions to the Senate. The House is back to the floor for its 14th vote for speaker, and the one that Representative Kevin McCarthy is saying will finally clinch the deal for him.

Johnson did vote for the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022. "We'll be talking about the support and what's necessary to get it," Johnson said. "We have to ensure Vladimir Putin is not successful, and I think all the House Republicans are united in that cause." "House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson will never give up," she said.

The GOP conference voted Friday to drop Rep. Jim Jordan as its nominee for speaker after he failed to win a majority three times, losing more Republican support in each successive round. The Republican conference then held a secret ballot on whether Jordan should remain the nominee. It sent the party back to the drawing board Friday, leaving the House leaderless for at least three more days.