It took five days and 15 grueling rounds of voting that tested the Republican leadership in Congress, but finally the conservative California legislator Kevin McCarthy was elected at dawn this Saturday as the new speaker of the House of Representatives.
McCarthy, 57, managed to add 216 votes, four more than Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, which allowed him to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi in
the second most important position in the line of presidential succession
after Vice President Kamala Harris.
Republican Kevin McCarthy, (center of the image) is cheered after achieving the necessary votes to become the new speaker of the House of Representatives, on January 7, 2023.Alex Brandon / AP
Against many odds, McCarthy won the support of a group of conservative legislators in the first few minutes of Saturday morning who opposed his candidacy in previous votes, creating political chaos never seen in a century and totally paralyzing the operation of the Lower House, unable to go ahead with legislative activity without first electing its leader.
The president of the Government, Joe Biden, congratulated McCarthy and reached out to work with the conservatives.
[Byron Donalds, the Republican that those who do not support Kevin McCarthy want as president of the Lower House]
"The American people expect their leaders to govern in a way that puts their needs first, and that's what we have to do now. As I said after the midterm elections, I'm willing to work with Republicans when I can and Voters have made it clear that they expect Republicans to be willing to work with me as well," he said in a statement.
To win the presidency, McCarthy had to make concessions with the most rebellious conservatives, including reinstating an old rule that would allow any member of the House of Representatives to call a vote to remove the president.
Winds of change are blowing for Kevin McCarthy (but still not enough to clinch the presidency)
Jan 7, 202302:12
That is why the experts assure that his election is not a complete triumph: he will be a vulnerable
speaker
after having given up some of his powers, and the threat of being dismissed by his detractors will always loom over him.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, warned that such concessions "will cause a government shutdown or default with devastating consequences for our country."
"Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy's dream job could turn into a nightmare for the American people," Schumer said in a statement.
"He caved in to the demands of a fringe element of the Republican party," he claimed.
a dramatic night
The vote was dramatic on Friday night.
In the fourteenth round, McCarthy fell just one vote away from achieving his goal after Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz said "there" and caused, for the first time during voting day, the California congressman to lose the vote. composure.
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It was contemplated to suspend the session until Monday, but the motion was not approved and they resorted to holding another round of voting, which concluded almost half an hour after midnight with McCarthy's victory.
We will guarantee the security of the border
Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the House of Representatives
In his first speech as Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Republican assured that it is due to the American citizens and promised that his term in office will without delay address "the long-term challenges of the United States: the debt and the rise of the Chinese Communist Party". .
He also had words for the migration "crisis" that affects the border with Mexico.
"We are going to guarantee the security of the border," she promised.
The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, takes the floor for the first time, on January 7, 2023. Alex Brandon / AP
McCarthy claimed that his door is "always open."
"I hope one thing is clear after this week: I never give up," he stressed to the round of applause from Republicans.
Moments later, he was sworn in as the new president of the House of Representatives, ending five agonizing days.
Subsequently, he swore in the members of the Lower House, initiating the 118th United States Congress.
last minute negotiations
The tie in the Lower House broke
a 100-year record: since 1923, the election of the president of that House had not undergone so many rounds
.
The longest and most grueling election began in late 1855 and lasted for two months, with 133 ballots, during the slavery debates in the run-up to the Civil War.
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Republicans who for days opposed McCarthy had nominated other candidates, including Byron Donalds, a self-described Republican representative from Florida as “a pro-Trump, freedom-loving, pro-life, pro-Trump black man.” the Second Amendment."
During the first few days of voting, McCarthy failed to garner more than 203 votes, but he began Friday's session by convincing 14 of his 20 detractors to garner 214 votes, narrowly falling short.
The House then adjourned early and resumed voting at 10 p.m. ET.
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, left, pulls Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, as they speak with Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and other congressmen during a tense moment in the 14th round of voting for the speaker of the House of Representatives, the night of January 6, 2023. Andrew Harnik / AP
During that time, he negotiated with the representatives individually until he added up the votes he needed.
Despite the difficult journey,
McCarthy had insisted that he was confident of being elected.
"I will have the votes," he assured the CNN television network, after the end of the thirteenth ballot, which he lost again by a narrow margin.
Republicans wrested control of the House of Representatives from Democrats in the Nov. 8 midterm elections.
The Republicans start the legislature with an agenda that includes, among other issues, an investigation of Biden for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the commercial activities of his son Hunter.