In the ninth attempt this week to elect a House speaker, at least five Republicans voted for lawmakers other than Kevin McCarthy, which means no majority can be reached.
The ninth vote ties the number of votes needed in 1923 to decide on a speaker – 2023 will now exceed that, as a 10th vote will be needed at least.
In the latest attempt, anti-McCarthy Republicans nominated both Rep.-elect Byron Donalds of Florida and Rep.-elect Kevin Hern of Oklahoma. Each had collected a handful of votes in early the vote – enough to deny McCarthy a 218 majority.
