House Vote on Speaker Enters Its Second Day - The New York Times

Politics|McCarthy Scrounges for Votes arsenic G.O.P. Fight Over Speaker Enters Its 2nd Day

WASHINGTON — Representative Kevin McCarthy of California grasped connected Wednesday for the votes helium needs to go talker aft failing 3 times to triumph the post, arsenic Republicans began their 2nd time successful power of the House without a person and deadlocked astir however to determination guardant amid a hard-right rebellion.

Mr. McCarthy’s successive defeats connected Tuesday marked the archetypal clip successful a period that the House has failed to elite a talker connected the archetypal rotation telephone vote, and it was not wide however oregon erstwhile the stalemate would beryllium resolved. After adjourning abruptly connected Tuesday with nary leader, the House was acceptable to reconvene astatine noon connected Wednesday to effort to resoluteness the impasse.

The Republican person and his allies were moving down closed doors trying to unafraid the votes. Mr. McCarthy said helium had spoken to erstwhile President Donald J. Trump, who had endorsed him but stayed soundless connected Tuesday passim his humiliating bid of defeats connected the House floor.

“Some truly bully conversations took spot past night, and it’s present clip for each of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN,” Mr. Trump wrote successful a societal media station connected Wednesday. He beseeched Republicans not to “TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT.”

“Kevin McCarthy volition bash a bully job, and possibly adjacent a GREAT JOB — JUST WATCH!” Mr. Trump added.

For now, a mutiny waged by ultraconservative lawmakers who for weeks person held accelerated to their vow to reason Mr. McCarthy has paralyzed the enclosure astatine the dawn of Republican rule, delaying the swearing successful of hundreds of members of Congress, putting disconnected immoderate legislative enactment and exposing heavy divisions that threatened to marque the party’s House bulk ungovernable.

Mr. McCarthy has vowed not to backmost down until helium secures the speakership, raising the imaginable of a grueling agelong of votes that could spell connected for days.

“I’m staying until we win,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters betwixt the 2nd and 3rd votes connected Tuesday. “I cognize the path.”

House precedent dictates that members proceed to ballot until idiosyncratic secures the bulk needed to prevail. But until Tuesday, the House had not failed to elite a talker connected the archetypal rotation telephone ballot since 1923, erstwhile the predetermination stretched for 9 ballots.

It was not wide however agelong it mightiness instrumentality for Republicans to resoluteness their stalemate this time, oregon whether Mr. McCarthy’s had a strategy for coming backmost from an embarrassing bid of repudiations. His supporters suggested helium was consenting to resistance retired the process for immoderate time, recognizing that his governmental vocation was connected the line.

“I deliberation that Kevin knows that this is his past shot, and truthful he’s going to play this arsenic agelong as” helium can, said Representative Ken Buck of Colorado, who voted for Mr. McCarthy 3 times connected Tuesday. “He withdrew erstwhile truthful that helium would person this chance. He’s not going to person this accidental again.”

No viable challenger has emerged, but if Mr. McCarthy continues to flounder, Republicans could displacement their votes to an alternative, specified arsenic his No. 2, Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

On Tuesday, right-wing Republicans coalesced down Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a founding subordinate of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, arsenic an alternate to Mr. McCarthy, but Mr. Jordan, a onetime rival who has since allied himself with Mr. McCarthy, pleaded with his colleagues to unite alternatively down the California Republican.

But the enactment has truthful acold refused to bash so. The failed votes connected Tuesday showed publically the grade of the absorption Mr. McCarthy faces. With each members of the House contiguous and voting, Mr. McCarthy needs to person 218 votes to go speaker, leaving small country for Republican defections since the enactment controls lone 222 seats.

He fell abbreviated again and again, drafting nary much than 203 votes — acold beneath a bulk and less than the votes received by Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic person whose caucus remained agreed down him.

Emily Cochrane and Annie Karni contributed reporting.