Kevin McCarthy says he has enough votes to win election as speaker of the House on Friday night in a what could be the final act of a drawn out saga.
Speaking with reporters just now, the California Republican, who has lost 13 straight votes over four days, said he was confident he finally has enough support to prevail.
House members have just voted to adjourn until 10pm, after which time, McCarthy says, colleagues will finally propel him to the speakership in a 14th vote:
We’ll come back tonight. I believe at that time we’ll have the votes to finish this once and for all.
It just reminds me of what my father always told me. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. And now we have to finish for the American public.“
The adjournment will allow two Republican congress members absent from today’s two votes so far to return to Washington DC, and for McCarthy’s allies to work further on two of the six holdouts who still block his pathway.
Kevin McCarthy talks to Republican colleagues on the House floor Friday. Photograph: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
In particular, RepublicansMatt Rosendale of Montana and Eli Crane of Arizona are believed to be the two most likely members of the so-called “Never Kevins” to flip.
McCarthy won Friday’s two votes so far, with 213 and 214 votes respectively, still shy of the threshold he needs. But he picked up significant momentum, flipping 15 of the 20 rebels who opposed him previously.
In his brief comments to reporters just now, he brushed aside criticism that the length of the process had undermined Republicans’ ability to govern:
Getting together and just finding the ability of how we’re going to work together… it’s new for us, being in a tight majority [but] at the end of the day, we’re going to be more effective, more efficient. And definitely government’s going to be more accountable.
That’s the great part, because it took this long now we learned how to govern. So now we’ll be able to get the job done.
The partner of Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick, who died after the January 6 attack, has sued Donald Trump, alleging that the former president’s “campaign of lies and incendiary rhetoric” motivated the mob.
“I’m representing my constituents back home. In my district they don’t support Kevin McCarthy.”
CNN reported that Crane pointed to the word “representative” outside his door and added: “It’s that simple. A lot of people forget that up here.”
If every member of Congress casts a ballot, McCarthy needs 218 votes to win, which means he can only lose four GOP votes. As of this afternoon, there were six Republican holdouts blocking McCarthy, including Crane and congressman Andy Biggs, also of Arizona, who has just tweeted that he was “still holding the line”. Two other holdouts, Matt Gaetz of Florida and Bob Good of Virginia, have previously suggested that they would not vote for McCarthy under any circumstance.
The remaining two who have voted against McCarthy are Matt Rosendale of Montana and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
You can watch excerpts of Joe Biden’s speech on the January 6 attacks here:
'The people prevailed': Joe Biden remembers January 6 attacks – video
Two years ago … our democracy was attacked. There’s no other way of saying it. The US Capitol was breached, which had never happened before in the history of the United States of America, even during the civil war. A violent mob of insurrectionists assaulted law enforcement, vandalized sacred halls, hunted down elected officials – all for the purpose of the attempt to overthrow the will of the people and usurp the peaceful transfer of power. All of it, all of it was fueled by lies about the 2020 election. But on this day two years ago, our democracy held, because we the people … did not flinch. We the people endured, we the people prevailed, and history will remember your names.”
If you’re just tuning in, here’s where things stand as of late Friday afternoon:
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy lost a 13th consecutive vote for the speakership today, though he has inched closer to earning enough votes.
Fifteen far-right holdouts dropped their opposition and voted for McCarthy, after the congressman from California appeared willing to accept a proposal that would undermine his own power, including making it easier for the speaker to be removed.
The Republicans who have continued to vote against McCarthy are: Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bob Good of Virginia, Matt Rosendale of Montana and Eli Crane of Arizona.
McCarthy for the first time today was the top vote winner, surpassing the Democrats’ choice for speaker, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, though McCarthy still hasn’t received the 218 votes he needs to secure the gavel.
Hi all – Sam Levin here continuing our live coverage for the rest of the day.
Congressman Matt Gaetz, a vocal member of the “Never Kevins”, appeared to concede that Kevin McCarthy might ultimately become speaker, NBC News has reported.
“I think the House is in a lot better place with some of the work that’s been done to democratize power out of the speakership and that’s our goal,” Gaetz said this afternoon, according to the station, which reported that he had been huddled with the rightwing extremist congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who has also staunchly opposed McCarthy.
Biden honors 'heroes' of deadly January 6 Capitol attack
Joe Biden has honored the “heroes” who repelled the deadly January 6 Capitol riot, by awarding them presidential citizens medals at the White House on Friday on the second anniversary of the insurrection. He insisted there was “zero place in America for political violence”.
The president delivered a powerful speech denouncing the rioters who overran the Capitol building at Donald Trump’s behest as he attempted to remain in office, and praising the law enforcement officers who stood in their way.
A violent mob of insurrectionists assaulted law enforcement, vandalized sacred halls, hunted down elected officials, all for the purpose of attempting to overthrow the will of the people and usurp the peaceful transfer of power.
All of it was fueled by lies about the 2020 election. But on this day, two years ago, our democracy held because we the people, as the Constitution refers to us, did not flinch. We the people endured. We the people prevailed.
Joe Biden embraces Gladys Sicknick, mother of late Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, as she accepts a Presidential Citizens Medal on behalf of her late son at the White House Friday. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Biden awarded the medals, the first of his administration, to 12 “extraordinary Americans”, including five law enforcement officers who lost their lives. Relatives of the fallen officers accepted the awards on their behalf, among them Gladys Sicknick, mother of fallen Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick:
History will remember your names, your courage, your bravery, your extraordinary commitment to your fellow Americans.
America owes you all a debt of gratitude that we can never fully repay unless we live up to what you did.
Kevin McCarthy says he has enough votes to win election as speaker of the House on Friday night in a what could be the final act of a drawn out saga.
Speaking with reporters just now, the California Republican, who has lost 13 straight votes over four days, said he was confident he finally has enough support to prevail.
House members have just voted to adjourn until 10pm, after which time, McCarthy says, colleagues will finally propel him to the speakership in a 14th vote:
We’ll come back tonight. I believe at that time we’ll have the votes to finish this once and for all.
It just reminds me of what my father always told me. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. And now we have to finish for the American public.“
The adjournment will allow two Republican congress members absent from today’s two votes so far to return to Washington DC, and for McCarthy’s allies to work further on two of the six holdouts who still block his pathway.
Kevin McCarthy talks to Republican colleagues on the House floor Friday. Photograph: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images
In particular, RepublicansMatt Rosendale of Montana and Eli Crane of Arizona are believed to be the two most likely members of the so-called “Never Kevins” to flip.
McCarthy won Friday’s two votes so far, with 213 and 214 votes respectively, still shy of the threshold he needs. But he picked up significant momentum, flipping 15 of the 20 rebels who opposed him previously.
In his brief comments to reporters just now, he brushed aside criticism that the length of the process had undermined Republicans’ ability to govern:
Getting together and just finding the ability of how we’re going to work together… it’s new for us, being in a tight majority [but] at the end of the day, we’re going to be more effective, more efficient. And definitely government’s going to be more accountable.
That’s the great part, because it took this long now we learned how to govern. So now we’ll be able to get the job done.
Joe Biden is speaking now at the White House to pay tribute to the law enforcement officers who defended the US Capitol against a violent mob of Donald Trump-incited insurrectionists two years ago.
We’ll bring you the best of his comments very shortly.
.@POTUS: “But on this day two years ago, our democracy held because We the People did not flinch. We the People endured. We the People prevailed.
And on this day of remembrance, we honor a remarkable group of Americans who embodied the best.”
Happening Now: President Biden marks two years since the January 6th insurrection during a Presidential Citizens Medal ceremony. https://t.co/LVhkWzSs8e
Kevin McCarthy has picked off at least one of the seven remaining Republican holdouts, Andy Harris of Maryland.
It won’t change the outcome of the 13th vote for speaker – McCarthy will still lose this round – but it would appear to point to a successful strategy of picking off the rebels one by one.
BIG — Andy Harris, one of the seven remaining holdouts, has just flipped to McCarthy.
McCarthy’s critics picking off the remaining opponents one by one. Now the focus shifts to Rosendale & Crane.
So far today, 15 of the 20 Republicans who have voted against him consistently through 11 votes from Tuesday to Thursday have been persudade to join the McCarthy camp.
The Californian will sense that he’s edging closer.
