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Jan. 4 (UPI) — Kevin McCarthy was nominated for a fourth time to lead Republicans as speaker of the House on Wednesday after he failed to get the necessary votes on Tuesday.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., nominated McCarthy, saying he was the best choice to lead the party as the House convened for a fourth vote to settle the chamber’s leadership.
“I believe that in my bones, nobody has done more to lay out a plan for how we restore the basic functioning of this institution than Kevin McCarty,” he said.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., while Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, nominated Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.
“We do not seek to judge people by the color of their skin but rather the content of their character,” Roy said. “There’s an important reason for nominating Byron, and that is, this country needs a change.
Tuesday’s vote marked the first time in 100 years a speaker has not been elected on the first ballot.
McCarthy expressed optimism on Tuesday night that he would still emerge victorious, even though some Republicans have suggested that McCarthy could lose more votes.
“This isn’t about me,” McCarthy told reporters. “This is about the conference now because the members who are holding out … they want something for their personal selves.”
McCarthy also told reporters that it doesn’t matter if he loses more votes.
“It doesn’t matter – I have the most votes,” he said.
A total of 20 Republican colleagues opposed McCarthy during the third vote, which wrapped up shortly before 5 p.m., an increase from 19 during the second vote.
McCarthy, 57, collected 202 votes on the third ballot, one less than during the second round. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, received 20 votes cast with the aim of denying McCarthy’s bid for the position. Jordan collected 19 votes in the second round.
Jeffries collected 212 votes from Democrats. No other votes were cast.
Donalds had voted for McCarthy during the first two rounds, but voted against him during the third round. He suggested that McCarthy could lose more votes the longer voting goes on.
McCarthy has reportedly said that there is no scenario where he pulls out of the race for Speaker, noting that he could seek a path in which he does not need to secure 218 votes, but rather a smaller majority by convincing some of his detractors to vote “present.”
“You’re sitting on 202 votes, so you need technically just 11 more votes to win,” he said. “Democrats have 212 votes. You get 213 votes, and the others don’t say another name, that’s how you can win.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s votes, McCarthy had announced several concessions in a proposed House rules package, including changes to how the speaker could be removed, in an effort to gain the necessary votes. The concessions would allow any five Republican party members to call for the speaker’s removal at any time, rather than a threshold of more than half of the House GOP conference that Republicans adopted in an internal rule in November.
Despite the concessions, several Republicans followed through on their plan to vote for Jordan.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia criticized fellow Republicans who opposed McCarthy, noting that even Jordan is supporting McCarthy.
“How did 19 Republicans not respect that?” Greene said. “I think 19, or 20 now, should respect Jim Jordan’s wishes.”
