The 118th Congress ended its first day in session without electing a Speaker of the House.
The House of Representatives adjourned around 4:30 p.m. CST on Tuesday after three rounds of voting and will resume at noon on Wednesday.
On the first day of the legislative session, the House votes for a new speaker, and usually, the session then moves on as planned. However, in a historic vote, the House failed to appoint a speaker — something that has not happened since 1923.
Before the new Congress began, many anticipated that Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) would struggle to obtain the speakership, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Going into the first round of voting, Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) nominated McCarthy, Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA) nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) nominated Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
In the first round, House Democrats were unified behind Jeffries, who received 212 votes. Meanwhile, Republicans were expectedly divided. McCarthy earned 203 votes, while Biggs received 10.
Additionally, 9 Republicans voted for other Republicans who were not formally nominated, including Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Jim Banks (R-IN), Byron Donalds (R-FL), and former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), who concluded his term on Tuesday when the 117th Congress officially ended.
In order to win the speakership, one must receive an outright majority of the votes cast. All 434 members of the House were present for Tuesday’s vote, meaning that 218 votes were needed to secure the speakership.
The second round of voting ended with the same vote count for Jeffries and McCarthy. However, the dissenting Republicans united behind Jordan, this time formally nominated by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), giving him all 19 remaining votes.
In the third round, Jeffries again earned 212 votes, while McCarthy lost a vote, receiving only 202. Rep. Donalds switched his vote from McCarthy to Jordan.
But how were the citizens of Dallas-Fort Worth represented in these votes?
As expected, Democratic Reps. Colin Allred (TX-32), Marc Veasey (TX-33), and Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) each voted for Hakeem Jeffries.
“I proudly cast my first and very unified vote for Hakeem Jeffries,” said Rep.-elect Crockett.
Kevin McCarthy received votes from the following Republican representatives: Pat Fallon (TX-04), Lance Gooden (TX-05), Jake Ellzey (TX-06), Kay Granger (TX-12), Beth Van Duyne (TX-24), Roger Williams (TX-25), and Michael Burgess (TX-26).
“The fourth district of Texas votes for Kevin McCarthy,” said Fallon.
One of the aforementioned dissenting Republicans was Rep.-elect Keith Self (TX-03), who voted for Jim Jordan in all three rounds.
In fact, all 11 of these representatives maintained the same vote throughout all three rounds.
