House Speaker Battle Likely Headed To Multiple Ballots

Roll Call reports:

A small faction of “never Kevin” Republicans is threatening to ensure McCarthy is denied the 218 votes needed to win the speaker’s election. But a larger group of Republicans who have pledged to vote for “only Kevin” are making clear they won’t support any other returning members of Congress for the role.

The two positions are seemingly irreconcilable, and members on both sides of the intra-party standoff predict the speaker’s election will require multiple ballots for the first time since 1923.

McCarthy and his allies are still trying to negotiate a truce that will allow him to get the votes he needs on the first ballot. At 4 p.m. today, McCarthy will host a call with the House GOP Conference to try to iron out a deal to get the gavel.

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The Jan. 3 House election to determine who will take the speaker’s gavel from Nancy Pelosi is poised to be the most dramatic in a century. https://t.co/j1ZGn5yMYw

— Roll Call (@rollcall) December 31, 2022