McCarthy Keeps Taking Ls Despite Nod From Trump

Kevin McCarthy is addicted to losing.

Twenty-one Republicans did not vote for the House speaker hopeful on the fourth, fifth, and sixth ballots on Wednesday. Twenty voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who was the only Republican to vote for McCarthy on Tuesday before changing his vote on the third ballot, while one, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) voted “present” after having voted for McCarthy on Tuesday.

McCarthy’s new batch of failed attempts comes hours after former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to publicly rally Republicans behind him, imploring them to “NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT,” referring to the 2022 midterms, in which Republicans secured control of the House but drastically underperformed expectations.

McCarthy failed to secure enough votes to win the gavel three times on Tuesday, too. The initial vote saw 19 Republicans vote for other members. The second saw the same 19 coalesce behind Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). The third saw 20 vote for Jordan, including Donalds, who voted for McCarthy on the first two ballots.

“My vote yesterday was basically to break a deadlock, because we were deadlocked, and we were not getting anywhere,” Donalds told CNN on Wednesday. “Right now, he doesn’t have a pathway to get there. If that reemerges, yeah, I can be there, that’s fine, but what’s necessary now is that Republicans come together and find a way to elect a speaker.”

Spartz gave a similar reasoning when explaining why she voted “present” on Wednesday. “We have a constitutional duty to elect the speaker of the House, but we have to deliberate further as a Republican conference until we have enough votes and stop wasting everyone’s time,” she said, according to NBC News. “None of the Republican candidates have this number yet. That’s why I voted present after all votes were cast.”

“We have a constitutional duty to elect the Speaker of the House, but we have to deliberate further as a Republican conference until we have enough votes and stop wasting everyone’s time,” she said. “None of the Republican candidates have this number yet. That’s why I voted present after all votes were cast.” Trending Hugh Jackman Begs the Academy Not to ‘Validate' Ryan Reynolds With an Oscar Nomination Gloria Trevi Sex Cult Claims Revived in New Lawsuit McCarthy Keeps Taking Ls Despite Nod From Trump Stars of Franco Zeffirelli's ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Sue Over Underage Nudity Editor’s picks

McCarthy’s prospects look grim given the apparent resolve of Freedom Caucus members who don’t want him to hold the gavel. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) bashed McCarthy on the House floor on Tuesday, and even sent a letter to the Architect of the Capitol asking why McCarthy is allowed to occupy the speaker’s office before he is elected. “We’re done with Kevin McCarthy,” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said ahead of the vote on Tuesday.

McCarthy needs the support of a majority of voting members to secure the speakership, which means he needs 218 votes assuming all members are voting. There are 222 Republicans in the 118th Congress, which means he can only afford to lose four members. It’s unclear how he plans to get the votes he needs, especially considering Trump’s all-caps endorsement Wednesday morning didn’t seem to help. It’s just as unclear what other options are available to Republicans. The only thing that does seem apparent is that this is going to take a while.