Trump Takes a Side on Heated Speaker of the House Battle: 'CLOSE THE DEAL'
If the 20-odd Republican holdouts who voted against Rep. Kevin McCarthy for the House speakership yesterday were waiting for permission from the most recent Republican president to drop their opposition to the former House minority leader, they now have it.
The Donald has spoken.
Former President Donald Trump posted earlier this morning on his social media platform Truth Social that it was time to seal the deal.
“Some really good conversations took place last night, and it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY, & WATCH CRAZY NANCY PELOSI FLY BACK HOME TO A VERY BROKEN CALIFORNIA,THE ONLY SPEAKER IN U.S. HISTORY TO HAVE LOST THE “HOUSE” TWICE!” Trump wrote in a post published just after 7:30 this morning.
“REPUBLICANS, DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT. IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT,” he added.
And finally, the former president doubled down on his previous endorsements of McCarthy for the job: “Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!”
McCarthy made history Tuesday, but not in the way he had hoped, becoming the first nominee in 100 years to fail to garner the votes to become House speaker on the first attempt.
A few hours later, McCarthy repeated the feat in a second round, again losing due to the stance taken by 19 conservative hard-liners. Still later in the day, he lost a third round and yet another GOP supporter.
During the second vote, the division among members of the new majority party made itself evident when Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida nominated Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan for speaker, though Jordan himself had urged his peers to unite under McCarthy, NPR reported.
“The differences we may have … pale in comparison to us and the left, which now unfortunately controls the other party,” Jordan said. “So, we had better come together.”
“That’s what the people want us to do,” he added, “and I think Kevin McCarthy is the right guy to lead us.”
Although he knew going into the session that he faced a small but ardent opposing faction, McCarthy started the day by proclaiming that the position should be his.
“I earned this job,” McCarthy said, according to the New York Post. “We earned this majority, and God d*** it, we are going to win it today.”
Voting will continue today.
The last time the House failed to elect a speaker in the first round was in 1923, when Frederick Huntington Gillett won in the ninth round of voting.
In 1856, it took two months and a record 133 votes — in a Congress sharply divided by the slavery issue — to elect Massachusetts Rep. Nathaniel Prentice Banks.
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