Kevin McCarthy failed to get House speaker votes. In fact, Hakeem Jeffries received more than he did | Boing Boing

At least 19 Republicans voted against Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy today, blocking him from becoming House speaker. This is the first time in 100 years, according to DW, that a majority nominee lost the initial vote to become Speaker of the House.

A C-SPAN graphic (see Alejandra Caraballo‘s tweet below) shows Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries receiving more votes (211) than Kevin McCarthy (only 202). McCarthy needed 218 to win. Nothing like a good sucker punch to get the day rolling.

From DW:

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday failed to secure enough votes to be elected as the speaker of the US House of Representatives, in a first round of voters that saw at least 19 defections from his own party when he could only afford to lose one.

If a candidate does not get the majority of the votes of the lawmakers present on the House floor, it goes to a second ballot, and so on. …

The Republicans are officially set to take control of the US House of Tuesday, but new members can’t be sworn in till a speaker is elected.

While it has been tradition for the speaker candidate to be a member of the House, it is not required. In past years, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have received some votes for House speaker. 

Front page thumbnail image: C-SPAN