US House speaker debacle goes on, 11th McCarthy bid fails

The deadlock in the United States House of Representatives continued on Thursday as Kevin McCarthy failed to sway hardline Republicans to back his bid to become speaker.

McCarthy's bid failed again in a ninth, tenth and eleventh round of voting due to the opposition of 20 hardline Republicans — more rounds of voting than the ten held in 1859. 

Late on Thursday, Republicans voted to adjourn and return to voting at noon on Friday (1700 GMT).

In the eighth round of voting on Wednesday, he did not get enough votes despite concessions to his detractors.

In order for the US Congress's lower chamber to conduct any business, including the swearing in of new members, the party with the most seats must elect a leader, the Speaker of the House.

The Republicans have a narrow majority following the country's November congressional elections, and party leaders had put forward former Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California for the job. 

Far-right Republicans have either voted for another, less-popular candidate or refused to vote at all, denying McCarthy the numbers he needs to get through. Democrats, who unanimously elected Hakeem Jeffries of New York as minority leader, have so far refused to leave the floor, which would decrease the number of votes McCarthy needs to win.

"It's my hope that today the House Republicans will stop the bickering, stop the backbiting and stop the backstabbing so we can have the backs of the American people," Jeffries told reporters at the US Capitol.

Some Democrats have indicated to reporters that they would vote for a Republican candidate if the party puts forward a nominee more likely to compromise on certain issues.

A three-day standoff

What started as a political novelty, the first time in 100 years a nominee had not won the gavel on the first vote, has devolved into a bitter Republican Party feud with around 20 hardliners in McCarthy's camp holding out. 

As things got underway on Thursday, it was clear that McCarthy had lost yet another round of voting. He is facing increasing pressure from both sides of the aisle to gather the votes he needs or step aside.

This happened despite apparent concessions to the 20 or so Republicans who are stalling McCarthy's ascension. This includes, according to reports, crossing his own red line and agreeing to give far-fright Freedom Caucus members a couple of seats on a key committee.

 Three Republican lawmakers due to head national security committees also warned in an open letter early on Thursday that the House is currently unable to conduct necessary oversight of the Defense Department or the intelligence services until a speaker is elected.

"We cannot let personal politics place the safety and security of the United States at risk," they said.

Why is electing a speaker so important?

The Republicans are officially set to take control of the US House of Representatives, but new members cannot be sworn in until a speaker is elected.

The speaker effectively serves as the US lower house of Congress' presiding officer and the administrative head.

Lawmakers are not obliged to vote for the party's chosen candidate.

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.

es/aw (AP, AFP, Reuters)