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

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