Trump phone calls, near fights and 15 votes: Key moments of a chaotic election for the speaker of the House
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Kevin McCarthy was finally elected Speaker of the House of Representatives after 15 rounds of voting, raising the gavel shortly after midnight on Saturday.
The longest contest for speaker of the House in more than a century finally came to an end, when the six remaining Republicans chose to vote “present,” giving McCarthy a majority over Democrat Hakeem Jeffries.
Earlier, Republican House member Mike Rogers had to be physically restrained after lunging at Matt Gaetz amid chaotic scenes in the House.
Congressman Richard Hudson grabbed Mr. Rogers by the face and physically pushed him away.
In his first speech as speaker, McCarthy thanked former President Donald Trump for “helping get these final votes.”
McCarthy’s bid had been delayed by a group of far-right Republicans, including Lauren Boebert and Gaetz.
However, on Friday he made considerable progress on the 12th ballot, managing to flip a total of 14 elected representatives in his favor after lengthy negotiations.
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Watch: Key moments of a chaotic House Speaker election
Trump phone calls, near fights and 15 votes, these are the key moments of a chaotic House Speaker election.
Clashes and close fights: key moments of a chaotic election for the Speaker of the House
From clashes and anger to lawmakers’ restraint, here are the highlights from the night a new Speaker of the US House was elected. Kevin McCarthy was voted in as Speaker of the House of Representatives last night after 15 rounds of voting over four days. The night saw McCarthy challenge Matt Gaetz to withhold his vote in the 14th round before he later changed his mind in a dramatic turn of events, cementing him as Nancy Pelosi’s successor. Rep. Richard Hudson was filmed restraining Alabama’s Mike Rogers when he confronted Gaetz. The role is second in the line of presidential succession in the United States, after the vice president, marking the position as one of the most powerful jobs in American politics. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Bevan Hurley January 8, 2023 5:30 am
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Matt Gaetz reveals why he flipped the House Speaker’s vote
Matt Gaetz said he finally agreed to vote “present” after Kevin McCarthy agreed to all of his demands.
“I ran out of things I could even imagine asking for,” Gaetz told CNN reporter Melanie Zanona after Friday night’s dramatic vote.
After previously vowing never to vote for McCarthy, Gaetz was one of six Republican holdovers who switched their vote to run for McCarthy on Friday night.
Bevan Hurley January 8, 2023 4:30 am
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Republican held back in the confrontation with Matt Gaetz during the vote for the president
Republican House member Mike Rogers had to be physically restrained after lunging at Gaetz amid chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill.
Congressman Richard Hudson of North Carolina grabbed Mr. Rogers from behind by the face and shoulder and pushed the irate Alabama lawmaker away.
Bevan Hurley January 8, 2023 3:30 am
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Marjorie Taylor Greene brags about Donald Trump’s ‘perfect phone call’
Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Green bragged about former President Donald Trump’s “perfect phone call” shortly before Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives early Saturday.
The GOP member-elect from Georgia shared a photo of her showing her smartphone to colleague Matt Rosendale, with “DT” flashing on the screen, likely referring to the former president.
He could be seen holding his hand and waving it, as Ms Greene tries to hand him the phone.
Bevan Hurley January 8, 2023 02:30 am
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Kevin McCarthy’s concessions to far-right Republicans risk wrecking the global economy
House Republican Kevin McCarthy’s numerous concessions to the most right-wing members of his conference risk setting the House and Congress up for a series of crises over the next two years.
At the top of the list is the US debt ceiling, which far-right lawmakers can hold hostage to extract political concessions and spending cuts, while jeopardizing the full faith and credit of the US and the global economy.
McCarthy and Republican leadership released their proposed rules package Friday evening ahead of another round of votes to choose a House speaker. This came after 14 Republicans who had previously voted against McCarthy flipped their votes to support him on the 13th ballot.
Bevan Hurley January 8, 2023 1:30 am
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Speaker McCarthy: A weakened leader or an emboldened survivor?
“Republican Kevin McCarthy is the new speaker of the House, but as emphatic as it was for him to pick up the gavel in a history-making election, it may be even harder for the embattled leader to do much with the powerful position, or even keep it,” writes Lisa Mascaro for The Associated Press.
“Like the two most recent Republican speakers, John Boehner and Paul Ryan, McCarthy takes the helm of a rebellious and restless majority, divided as the party itself is between what remains of the conservatives of the Grand Old Party and a new tea generation. Donald Trump’s supporters prefer almost no big government.”
Bevan Hurley January 8, 2023 12:30 AM
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Calls for C-SPAN to have more freedom in the House after wild speaker election scenes
Shortly after midnight on Saturday, Kevin McCarthy was finally elected Speaker of the House by his Republican colleagues, after 14 previous unsuccessful votes. The incident didn’t just highlight the division and dysfunction within the GOP.
It also, after numerous, lengthy and dramatic votes, highlighted how rare it is for the public to actually watch the proceedings of Congress live, prompting calls to give C-SPAN more control over its cameras inside the House.
As the House scrambled to go about its normal business, cameras at C-SPAN, the nonprofit public affairs network backed by major cable companies, captured all kinds of remarkable scenes.
Bevan Hurley January 7, 2023 11:30 pm
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Joe Biden congratulates McCarthy
President Biden issued a statement congratulating Kevin McCarthy following his election as Speaker of the House.
The statement read: “Jill and I congratulate Kevin McCarthy on his election as Speaker of the House. As I said after the midterms, I am ready to work with Republicans when I can and voters made it clear that they expect the Republicans are also ready to work with me.
“Now that the leadership of the House of Representatives has been decided, it is time for that process to begin.”
Kevin McCarthy accepted the speaker’s gavel on Friday night
(Associated Press)
Bevan Hurley January 7, 2023 10:30 pm
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Democrat Katie Porter showed her “subtle” side as Republicans squabbled
As Republicans bickered, swaggered and almost came to blows during Friday night’s chaotic House Speaker election, Democrat Katie Porter had a not-so-subtle response.
California lawmaker photographed reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** on the House floor as heated arguments between warring GOP factions nearly led to a fistfight between Mike Rogers and Matt Gaetz .
Photos of Ms Porter reading Mark Manson’s bestseller in 2016 went viral on Twitter.
Bevan Hurley January 7, 2023 9:45 pm
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Matt Gaetz reveals why he flipped the House Speaker’s vote
Matt Gaetz said he finally agreed to vote “present” after Kevin McCarthy agreed to all of his demands.
“I ran out of things I could even imagine asking for,” Gaetz told CNN reporter Melanie Zanona after Friday night’s dramatic vote.
After previously vowing never to vote for McCarthy, Gaetz was one of six Republican holdovers who switched their vote to run for McCarthy on Friday night.
Bevan Hurley January 7, 2023 9:00 p.m