House of Representatives: why is it taking so long to elect a speaker?

What was supposed to be a day of triumph for Republicans coming into the US House majority turned into chaos on Tuesday as fighting over who should lead them ended with no speaker elected.

Kevin McCarthy has led House Republicans since 2019 but he could not overcome opposition from the right following an hours-long series of votes. The opposition from 20 lawmakers stopped the House starting work and delayed the swearing-in of returning members and freshmen.

On Wednesday, Republicans will try again – despite uncertainty over how McCarthy can rebound after becoming the first nominee in 100 years to fail to win the gavel with his party in the majority.

Why is there no speaker?

Needing 218 votes in the full House, McCarthy received 203 in the first two votes, less than the Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries. McCarthy dropped to 202 in round three.

Detractors had warned for months that McCarthy did not have the votes to be speaker, second in line to the presidency. McCarthy negotiated with members prominently including Andy Biggs, Scott Perry and Matt Gaetz until Monday night, when the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus presented its final offer, including demands for committee assignments. McCarthy refused.

“For the last two months, we worked together as a whole conference to develop rules that empower all members but we’re not empowering certain members over others,” McCarthy told reporters.

As a result, those members and others opposed him.

What does this mean for the chamber?

Without a speaker, the House cannot fully form since that person is the presiding officer and administrative head. Swearing in members, naming committee chairs, engaging in floor proceedings and launching oversight investigations will all be delayed until a speaker is elected.

“The spotlight needs to be put on these 19 – now 20 – that are stopping the business of Congress that we got elected to do,” said Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican. “It’s on them.”

Bacon was also heard to refer to McCarthy’s opponents as the “Taliban 20”, a reference to the Islamic extremists who for 20 years fought – and outlasted – US troops in Afghanistan. Gaetz tweeted: “As hurtful and false as that is, I too am prepared for an extended battle that I will ultimately win.”

How will this be resolved?

It remains unclear if McCarthy can pass the threshold to become the next speaker, or when. The number of Republicans who have pledged support to other candidates is at 20, with some suspecting that list will grow.

The House is scheduled to begin voting again at noon on Wednesday. Once the House is in a quorum, meaning the minimum number of members are present to proceed, nominees will be read aloud before a roll-call vote.

Could someone else be speaker?

On Tuesday, Republicans nominated candidates including Biggs, Jim Jordan of Ohio and even Lee Zeldin of New York, who left the House last year to run for governor in his state. The speaker does not have to be a House member. Some Republicans have toyed with the outlandish idea of nominating Donald Trump. McCarthy says the former president still backs him – and Trump says he backs McCarthy.

Early on Wednesday, Trump urged Republicans to vote for McCarthy, writing on his Truth Social platform: “Close the deal, take the victory. Republicans, do not turn a great triumph into a giant and embarrassing defeat.”

Many of the rightwingers opposing McCarthy are close Trump allies. Nonetheless, on Tuesday, Gaetz nominated Jordan, a rightwinger currently loyal to McCarthy.

“I rise to nominate the most talented, hardest-working member of the Republican conference, who just gave a speech with more vision than we have ever heard from the alternative,” Gaetz said.

McCarthy told reporters he would not drop out. But Bob Good of Virginia, one of the rebels, said: “Kevin McCarthy is not going to be a speaker.” Many observers think McCarthy’s righthand man in Republican leadership, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, could emerge as an alternative candidate acceptable to the far right. Staying loyal, Scalise formally nominated McCarthy on Tuesday.

A speaker needs a majority of the votes from House members present and voting. Every lawmaker voting “present” lowers the overall tally needed to reach a majority. But with the chamber split 222-213 between Republicans and Democrats, McCarthy cannot afford to lose more than a handful of votes.

Should he come up short again on Wednesday, the clerk will repeat the roll call vote until McCarthy is able to garner a majority or a motion to adjourn is approved.

Has this happened before?

The last time the House did not elect a speaker on the first ballot was 1923, when the election stretched for nine votes.

Republicans had the majority despite losing a staggering 77 seats, shrinking their margin over Democrats from 171 to 18. The majority party named Frederick Gillett of Massachusetts to the position but several other candidates, including a Democrat, received votes during the roll call.

This resulted in a series of ballots over three days before the majority leader, Nicholas Longworth of Ohio, held an emergency meeting with those opposing. Their concern, similarly to those issued against McCarthy, was over rules changes they believed deserved a fair hearing. Longworth obliged. The next day, Gillett got the 215 votes he needed.

There is also the example of 1855-56, in the years of division over slavery that preceded the civil war. Then, with the Republican party newly emerged as an anti-slavery force, it took 133 ballots over nearly two months to elect a speaker.