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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Champagne popping in President McCarthy’s office
Kevin McCarthy celebrated his late election as Speaker of the House early Saturday morning with champagne.
Political reporter Olivia Beavers shot video of dozens of bottles of Gloria Ferrer bubbly being brought into the speaker’s office.
Earlier in the week, boxes of Washington DC favorite Wiseguy Pizza were seen being brought in as negotiations continued late into the night.
Bevan Hurley January 7, 2023 4:15 pm
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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 7, 2023 3:45 pm
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‘The King of Ashes’
MSNBC political commentator Elie Mystal said Kevin McCarthy would burn down the House if he could become “king of the ashes.”
Speaking on Chris Hayes’ show Friday night, Mystal compared the GOP House leader to the traitorous Game of Thrones character Littlefinger.
“Little finger McCarthy has shown that he was willing to let Congress burn to be king of the ashes,” he said.
“And now we have, for the next two years, those ashes that we have to sift through and see if we can find some functioning government out of the wreckage that McCarthy has wrecked with his own sweaty, desperate ambition.”
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and John Leganski, his deputy chief of staff, celebrate after McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House on January 7, 2023 in Washington, DC
(Getty Images)
Bevan Hurley January 7, 2023 3:15 pm
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Kevin McCarthy thanks Trump for ‘helping get these final votes’
New House Speaker Kevin McCarthy credited the former president’s lobbying with helping him secure the gavel in a speech early Saturday morning.
Bevan Hurley January 7, 2023 2:45 pm
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Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House in the 15th round after the fight almost broke out
Kevin McCarthy was finally elected Speaker of the House amid chaotic scenes, with the 15th and final vote extending past midnight on Friday.
The Independent’s Eric Garcia and Alex Woodward have the story.
Bevan Hurley January 7, 2023 2:15 pm
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Exclusive: AOC says GOP chaos shows how reasonable progressives are
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has told The Independent that Republicans’ chaotic efforts to pick a speaker for the new Congress serve to highlight how reasonable and reasonable she and other members of the so-called “Squad” of progressive Democrats have been.
Read more about what he had to say:
Namita Singh January 7, 2023 1:40 pm
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Meet Cheryl Johnson
If there was an unexpected star in the House this week, it wasn’t a prominent elected representative, but a diligent official doing his job and rightly earning praise for keeping proceedings on track.
Oliver O’Connell January 7, 2023 12:40 pm
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C-SPAN praised House Speakers’ coverage of the vote
C-SPAN has been praised for providing unfiltered and transparent live coverage of all the action on the floor of the House of Representatives as Republicans finally elected Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House after 15 rounds of election.
The public has been treated to a fascinating insight into the workings of Congress, or the dysfunctions as the case may be.
There have been hours of footage of lawmakers meeting, spirited negotiations and the unexpected pairing of people with known feuds.
Congressional rules generally dictate what cameras can and can’t show on Capitol Hill, but without sworn representatives there are no such rules, leaving C-SPAN’s camera operators seemingly free to capture all the frustrations, laughs and the intensity of four days of voting. .
Needless to say, the C-SPAN crew — and the still-present photographers — have won praise from political junkies across the country for putting us all ringside.
Howard Mortman, director of communications for the network, shared some images of some of the team members who brought these images to the world.
Others offered their own praise.
C-SPAN co-CEO Susan Swain noted that while its coverage is getting praise, the nonprofit network “doesn’t get a dime” of government funding.
“Unfortunately, we are not available for all pay TV clients, especially YouTube and Hulu,” he tweeted, adding the request: “Please help convince them to add C-SPAN to their their lineups by liking and retweeting.”
Namita Singh January 7, 2023 11:40 am
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The ex-deputy who served time for the January 6 attack on Congress is looking for a seat in the Chamber
Because, of course, who better to join the House of Representatives than someone who participated in an attack on it?
Oliver O’Connell January 7, 2023 10:40 am
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John Bolton promises that in 2024 the presidential candidacy will stop Trump
Former US national security adviser John Bolton has vowed to launch a presidential bid and take on Donald Trump, whose support he claims is in “final decline”.
The 74-year-old foreign policy hawk has never held elected office but has said he thinks he could win in two years, pushing for America to take a harder line against nations like China and Russia.
A long-time supporter of the invasion of Iraq, Bolton claimed in an interview with a British broadcaster that his career would not be a vanity project.
Oliver O’Connell January 7, 2023 9:40 am