Three days into a standoff over who would lead the Republican-majority US House of Representatives, members of the party expressed anger that a small group of hardline holdouts were squandering their chance to use the power they had won. | Reuters
A weaker-than-expected performance in the November midterm elections gave Republicans a smaller-than-expected 222-212 majority in the House. McCarthy would need 218 votes to be elected speaker, a role second in line to the Oval Office, and the narrow margin gives the hardliners outside influence.
“Is he going to fight for us? Is he willing to shut the government down?” Representative Ralph Norman, who has voted against McCarthy all six times, told Reuters. “His history has not been that.” The last time the House failed to elect a speaker on the first ballot was in 1923, during a contest that took nine ballots to resolve.McCarthy said late on Wednesday that he was making progress, but it was not clear whether he would win over the holdouts or if the party would have to search for an alternative when the chamber reconvenes at noon on Thursday.
Democratic Representative Ro Khanna told Reuters he and others could support a moderate Republican who would agree to share subpoena power with Democrats and to avoid brinkmanship over government funding and the debt ceiling.Wednesday’s three failed votes – following three failed votes on Tuesday – also served as a rebuke to Trump, who had urged Republicans to unite behind McCarthy.
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