US House Adjourns After Not Electing Speaker
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned Tuesday after failing three times to elect a Speaker in a development not seen for a century.
Republican Kevin McCarthy, the leading candidate to replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi in the job, lost three rounds of votes.
The Californian congressman needed a 218-vote majority, but last-minute concessions failed to convince several more conservative Republicans to back him.
It was another setback for former U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who endorsed McCarthy for speaker and had tried to rally support for him. “We’ll see what happens,” Donald Trump told the NBC network when asked whether he’ll stick with his support for McCarthy.
Speaker of the House is one of the most important jobs in American politics.
McCarthy suggested he was comfortable breaking the record for the longest speakership election in history, which stands at two months and 133 ballots.
“We may have a battle on the floor,” McCarthy told reporters. “But the battle is for the conference and the country, and that’s fine with me.”
The House was to hold the next vote round later Wednesday, and observers warned they could continue holding round after round of voting until someone gets a majority.
U.S. President Joe Biden faces a Republican majority in the House for the first time, but Democrats will keep control of the Senate.
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