After several unsuccessful rounds of voting for the most powerful post in the American Parliament, the US House of Representatives has started a new attempt to determine a chairman. Republican Kevin McCarthy also lost the sixth ballot.
Republican Kevin McCarthy has failed for the sixth time in his election as Chairman of the House of Representatives. This resulted from the result of the oral vote on Wednesday, which still had to be formally confirmed by the head of the session in the parliamentary chamber. McCarthy had already failed to obtain the required number of votes in previous elections because various party colleagues refused to support him.
Once again, the Republicans had nominated an opposing candidate – again Republican MP Byron Donalds. As in the previous election, he received 20 votes. Donalds was nominated by an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, Lauren Boebert. Hours earlier, Trump had called on the party to back McCarthy and vote for him.
Trump should tell McCarthy that he has to retire, Boebert demanded – who is actually one of the loudest Trump supporters. The ex-president had already expressed his support for McCarthy before the election, but this did not prevent the campaign against him.
Even if McCarthy were ultimately elected, it would be a disgrace of historic proportions: the last time it took more than one round of voting to elect a chairman in the constituent session of the House of Representatives was 1923.
