The House of Representatives still chose the speaker from the 15th time: such problems with voting arose for the first time in 160 years

Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in the early hours of Saturday, January 7, a major victory for a Republican from California. He led the majority of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives. Writes about it CNN.

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To secure his position, McCarthy had to break down opposition from a bloc of hardline conservatives in what was the longest contest in 164 years. To win over critics, McCarthy and his allies made a series of concessions to conservatives, a move that disappointed moderate Republicans, who were concerned that the concessions could make it difficult to effectively manage the new GOP majority.

As Republicans turn their attention to the implementation of their agenda, the problem McCarthy faces may herald the problems he will face in trying to unite party members in the future. Closing the deal, which included McCarthy, apparently, may also leave him with a weaker position in the new leadership position.

The speaker's election took place within days of the very first day of the 118th Congress meeting and revealed divisions between conservatives and moderates. The final hours before McCarthy's election were marked by chaotic and tense moments on the floor of the House of Representatives, as lawmakers sat on the edge of their seats waiting for the handful of remaining opponents to vote.

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A number of leading Republicans expressed confidence that McCarthy could win on the 14th ballot, but he ultimately lost. This result threw the House of Representatives into disarray and prompted the Republicans to adjourn. However, at the last moment, the Republicans decided to move to the 15th ballot, and on this round, McCarthy finally won.

McCarthy wins key support amid concessions

As a result of major concessions, McCarthy and his allies successfully won more than 10 GOP votes on January 6, the first sign of a major shift in support for his candidacy for Speaker after a series of unsuccessful votes over the course of several days.

Here is a list of key concessions and promises made by McCarthy and his allies during the talks:

• any member of the House of Representatives can propose to vacate the speaker's seat - this is important because it will greatly simplify the process that we have now, initiating what is effectively a vote of no confidence in the speaker. Conservatives actively pushed for it, while moderates fear it would weaken McCarthy's position;
• McCarthy agreed to stay out of the open Republican primary;
• The House of Representatives will vote on key conservative bills, including a balanced budget amendment, term limits for Congress, and border security;
• Efforts to raise the public debt ceiling must be combined with spending cuts. This could become a major problem in the future when the time comes to raise the debt limit to avoid a catastrophic default because Senate and White House Democrats are likely to oppose spending cuts;
• review the 12 appropriation bills separately. Instead of passing separate government funding bills, Congress often passes a massive year-end spending package known as a "summary" that rolls everything into one bill. Conservatives object to this, arguing that it eludes oversight and allows legislators to pursue side projects;
• more Freedom Coucus representation on committees, including the powerful House Rules Committee;
• cap discretionary spending at FY2022 levels, which would mean lower levels for defense and domestic programs;
• give members the opportunity to propose more amendments on the floor of the House of Representatives;
• create an investigative committee to investigate the "arming" of the federal government;
• restore Holman's rule, which can be used to reduce the salaries of government officials.

14 votes for McCarthy on the 12th ballot: Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Michael Cloud of Texas, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Byron Donalds of Florida, Mary Miller of Illinois, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Chip Roy of Texas, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Paul Gosar of Arizona and Congressman-elect Josh Brechin of Oklahoma, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Keith Self of Texas, and Andy Ogles of Tennessee.

On the 13th ballot, McCarthy received another supporter, Andy Harris of Maryland.

On the 12th ballot, the final score was: 213 for McCarthy, four for Rep. Jim Jordan, and three for Rep. Kevin Hearn.

In the 13th round, McCarthy had 214 votes, while Jordan had six.

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The final result in the 14th round was 216 for McCarthy, two for Biggs, two for Jordan.

On the 15th and final ballot, McCarthy won 216 votes.

According to several sources, part of McCarthy's strategy to secure the speakership was to get some opponents to vote yes. Another plan of McCarthy's allies was to poach the remaining opponents one by one and get votes.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• Republicans January 4th failed to elect their leader Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House of Representativesnor come up with a new strategy to end the political chaos that has made it difficult to launch their new majority rule.

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