Republicans failed to elect a Speaker of the House even in the second round of voting

The second round of voting for the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives has ended, and the Republican Party candidate from California, Kevin McCarthy, is nowhere near winning the necessary majority of votes.

This is the first time in the past hundred years that a second round of voting for the Speaker of the House of Representatives is being held.

Observers claim that Democrat Hakeem Jeffries has 212 votes, McCarthy 203, which is how many he received in the first round as well, and his fellow Republican Jim Jordan a mere 19 votes, according to the Guardian.

It is unclear again what will happen next, however, unless McCarthy backs down, a third round of voting lies ahead.

The 118th session of the US Congress began with a partisan battle over the election of the new Speaker of the House.

McCarthy did not win the necessary 218 votes to succeed Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi because ultra-conservative members of his party voted against him.
Representatives of the „hardline faction,“ including Scott Perry, Andy Biggs, and Lauren Boebert, voiced their opposition, concerned that McCarthy is not sufficiently committed to the „culture war“ and conservative goals, according to the Guardian.

McCarthy tried to persuade his opponents at a closed-door party meeting to vote for him and promised to stay in the race until he gets the necessary votes, the British daily adds.

SOURCE: EURONEWS PHOTO: EURONEWS