Increasingly desperate GOP remains immobile after sixth speaker ballot

Kevin McCarthy failed a sixth straight vote for speaker on Wednesday as signs of desperation grew among a paralyzed — and increasingly furious — GOP conference.

One of them, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), compared the process to Dante’s nine circles of hell: “I’m in at least one of them right now.”

Without any movement, the New Jersey Republican suggested party leaders should “get everybody back in the caucus room and start beating the daylights out of each other until we get somewhere.”

He could get his wish. The House adjourned after the sixth ballot until 8 p.m., though the full Republican conference had no plans to meet.

There’s no end in sight to the GOP stalemate, and lawmakers’ determination to resolve the humiliating standoff is growing increasingly frantic. They’ve started floating a range of longshot ideas to their colleagues, and even to Democrats.

One idea multiple members are discussing is adjusting the rules on how to elect a speaker, namely by switching from a roll-call vote to a secret ballot — though the GOP appears split on whether that would help McCarthy or encourage the rebellion.

Another tactic under consideration is arguably more risky for Republicans: Some McCarthy allies have privately proposed electing a House leader through a plurality of votes instead of a majority. That path, which one Republican described as the “nuclear option,” is intended to force conservatives to back the GOP leader or risk handing the gavel to incoming Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Few lawmakers on either side of the aisle believe those strategies would solve their problems. Still, it’s a sign of Republicans’ increasing fatigue and frustration as they see no clear path to electing a speaker after two straight days of votes and months of bargaining.

“This is like OJ and the white Bronco. Everybody’s watching … waiting for something to happen at 40 miles per hour,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) said.

One GOP aide mused: “Is this a less bloody version of World War I at this point?”

Even some Democrats are so alarmed about the situation that they’ve contacted Republicans — through floor conversations, phone calls and even private meetings — to discuss potential ways out of the predicament. But many Democrats caution that these talks, about power-sharing or coming to some other cooperative agreement, are not serious discussions about helping the GOP out of their own mess. While that could still happen, they insist there’s no widespread appetite to alleviate the GOP’s suffering, at least not yet.

“We were talking about ideas,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who, along with Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) crossed to the Republican side of the floor Wednesday to speak with Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) as Democrats wondered how this all might end.

As the votes ticked up on Wednesday, House Republicans remained almost entirely immobile on the second day of a public reckoning over the future of their conference. McCarthy’s gang of dissenters — labeled the “Taliban 19" by some of their own colleagues — are now rolling tape on an uglier and more drawn-out sequel to McCarthy’s failed 2015 bid for the top gavel. And this time, he likely won’t have another chance for redemption.

On each vote, the California Republican repeatedly failed to win over the 20 conservatives who voted against him on the floor Tuesday. Some Republicans predicted his number of defectors would grow but, in fact, the number of anti-McCarthy votes remained mostly constant. Just one member, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), who is weighing a Senate bid, voted present in every ballot Wednesday after previously backing McCarthy.

It’s unclear how many more votes the House will endure as the chamber remains in a state of chaotic limbo. While GOP leaders could try to adjourn the House and punt further speaker ballots, it's unclear if they'll have the votes to do so. Democrats are whipping against the move, hoping to make the GOP squirm on the floor, and conservatives indicated Wednesday they could also oppose a delay.

In the meantime, private conversations between McCarthy allies and the holdouts began to break into public view. Shortly after the fifth ballot, Reps. Mike Gallagher, Jason Smith, Michael Guest, Brian Fitzpatrick — all McCarthy allies — were seen talking to stalwart opponent Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas), more McCarthy detractors, also joined that discussion.

McCarthy, too, has refused to budge.

“It may not happen on the day we want it, but it’s going to happen,” McCarthy told reporters Tuesday night, while trying to downplay his precarious standing. “I wouldn’t say it’s a battle. It’s not that far away … we’ll get there.”

Behind the scenes, several key McCarthy allies attempted to back-channel with his defectors, yet few shared resounding optimism that he could win enough votes on Wednesday.

“I don’t think anyone should be assuming something drastic happens quickly. We have to be patient,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), a McCarthy ally who's trying to negotiate with his conservative colleagues. “The fever’s got to break here. The very thing that’s got to happen is the temperature has got to come down.”

GOP lawmakers across the party agree it’s entirely unknown what happens next. One thing that does seem clear to them, however, is it seems impossible for McCarthy to shore up the support he needs in the coming hours.

McCarthy has dropped hints about his next step: If he can’t flip enough of his opponents to vote for him, then he could try to get some of them to vote “present,” which would lower the total number of backers he needs to win the gavel. But by Wednesday afternoon, that hope failed to become reality.

And some of his most dug-in defectors quickly shot down the possibility. Gaetz called the proposal “absurd.” And Roy, asked about whether the 19 "no" votes might switch to present, added: “I just don’t see it.”

Others cast it as a decision prompted by panic after McCarthy's dissenters grew from 19 to 20 on the third ballot Tuesday, with Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) switching his support from the Californian to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

Donalds didn’t explicitly rule out switching back to McCarthy if he can show a path to securing the gavel, but criticized the strategy of holding continuous votes with little movement.

“We’re basically at an impasse. So what are we going to do, have the same vote numbers for 10 ballots? That’s ridiculous and that makes no sense,” Donalds said. “He’s got to prove he can get there. At the end of the day you have to close the deal. … We do not reward not being able to close deals.
The extra time, however, also created the opportunity for members to cluster and chat about who could possibly take McCarthy's place. Some say they can't fully explore that question while McCarthy is still in the race, as his allies stress that dozens, perhaps as many as 80, "Only Kevin" members are refusing to hear other possibilities.

And there's another factor at play outside the Capitol halls: Whether Trump uses his power — which is not as strong as it once was — to pressure some of the "no" votes to flip. On his social media platform Wednesday morning, Trump reiterated his support, despite growing rumblings that he was bowing away from his endorsement of the GOP leader.

“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,” he wrote. “DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT. IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT. Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB.”

Two of the 20 House Republicans who voted against McCarthy, however, told POLITICO they haven't heard directly from Trump about the speakership race. And one said they haven't heard much at all from McCarthy's camp or his allies.

Nicholas Wu contributed.