This week, for the first time in 100 years, the election for US House speaker was not decided on the first ballot.
As of Thursday night, the Republican Party remained deadlocked over the matter. Kevin McCarthy, who has been the party’s minority leader for years, has not been able to secure the support needed to win the speakership. There were three failed votes on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, and five on Thursday.
The obstacle for McCarthy, who has defiantly vowed to stay in the race, is that he faces a small but determined contingent of hardline conservatives. The group is using the leverage they have in the razor-thin Republican majority to extract concessions as they threaten to deny the GOP leader critical votes.
Until a new speaker is elected, the House can’t kick off the new Congress or swear in new members.
Recent Headlines
Health Concerns in Sports
Buffalo Bills players react after teammate Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the field during an NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, January 2. Hamlin was resuscitated and intubated on the field, according to Dr. William Knight IV. He was still critically ill as of Thursday, but he was awake and showing signs of improvement, doctors said.
Celebrating the New Year
Revelers celebrate the start of the new year in New York’s Times Square on Sunday, January 1. Mark Peterson/Redux
Tributes and Remembrances
Mourners at the Vatican pay their respects to former Pope Benedict XVI as he lies in state inside St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday, January 3. Benedict died December 31 at the age of 95. He was elected Pope in 2005, and in 2013 he became the first pontiff in almost 600 years to resign his position. Antonio Calanni/AP
Global Events
A woman transports the coffin of her son, who was killed while fighting Russian soldiers, across the Siverskyi-Donets river near Staryi Saltiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, January 4.Vehicles are submerged on Dillard Road in Wilton, California, on Sunday, January 1. Parts of California were hit with powerful storms that brought hurricane-force winds and torrential rain to the region. Hector Amezcua/APTCU linebacker Ryan Quintanar celebrates amid confetti after the Horned Frogs defeated Michigan on Saturday, December 31, to advance to college football’s national championship game.
Political Landscape
US Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York who will become the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress, acknowledges applause during a House speakership vote on Tuesday, January 3. Alex Brandon/AP
