Republicans Brace For Multiple Days Of Speaker Ballots

Politico reports:

Twice McCarthy has been on the precipice of taking the gavel, and twice a group of conservatives has worked to block him from the House’s most powerful perch. He bowed out of the race in 2015 amid the House Freedom Caucus opposition. This time, his allies say he’s prepared to fight until the potentially bitter end.

How long that fight will last is still unclear. McCarthy supporters say they expect him to keep Republicans on the House floor, instead of trying to adjourn for off-the-floor strategy sessions between ballots, as he hopes to grind down his opponents.

And while a speakership vote has gone past the first ballot only once since the Civil War, Republicans are mentally preparing not just for multiple ballots, but also multiple days of voting.

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As Kevin McCarthy begins the final descent of his turbulent bid for the speaker’s gavel, Republicans are bracing to see whether he lands the plane or crashes and burnshttps://t.co/ewkNNo6J3y

— POLITICO (@politico) January 3, 2023