The ladies of Harlem are making a comeback. Prime Video released the trailer for season 2 of the show, which will premiere next month. It sees best friend group Camille (Meagan Good), Tye (Jerrie Johnson), Quinn (Grace Byers) and Angie (Shoniqua Shandal) as they continue to navigate relationships and careers.
The trailer also introduces fans to other members of season 2’s cast, which includes returning cast members Tyler Lepley, who portrays Camille’s ex Ian; Sullivan Jones, Camille’s love interest Jameson;and Whoopi Goldberg aka Dr. Elise Pruitt,as well as a few newcomers. Rachel True, Courtnee Carter and Luke Forbes join the cast as recurring stars, while Rick Fox, Sherri Shepherd, Countess Vaughn and Lil Rel Howery will make guest appearances.
Season 2 of Harlem will premiere February 3 on Amazon Prime Video, with two episodes airing every week. There are a total of eight episodes this season.
Vernon Sanders, head of global television at Amazon Studios, released a statement about the show’s upcoming return.
“Culturally relevant, critically acclaimed, and hysterical, Harlem and Tracy Oliver accomplished something very special with the first season of this show,” he said. “Tackling real-life strife with levity and laughs, the show means so much to our global Prime Video customers and perfectly fits the types of stories we aim to tell. We look forward to following the Season Two journey of Camille, Quinn, Angie, and Tye, and giving fans more reasons to laugh out loud as they cheer on these four dynamic Black women doing it their way.”
(COLUMBIA, S.C.) — South Carolina’s Supreme Court struck down the state’s six-week abortion ban Thursday, claiming it violates the state’s constitution.
The 2021 so-called “heartbeat act” bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected, which is typically around six weeks, before most women know they are pregnant. It included exceptions for rape, incest and if the mother’s life is in danger.
The ban had previously been [suspended] by federal courts, but took effect after the Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade this summer. The ban was temporarily blocked in August while the state’s Supreme Court heard the case.
In a 3-2 ruling, the court agreed with the plaintiffs — which included Planned Parenthood South Atlantic — and said the ban violated a patient’s right to privacy.
“We hold that the decision to terminate a pregnancy rests upon the utmost personal and private considerations imaginable, and implicates a woman’s right to privacy,” Justice Kaye Hearn wrote in the majority opinion. “While this right is not absolute and must be balanced against the State’s interest in protecting unborn life, this Act, which severely limits — and in many instances completely forecloses — abortion, is an unreasonable restriction upon a woman’s right to privacy.”
The two justices who voted to uphold the ban said the right to privacy in the state’s constitution only applies to searches and seizures.
“The court’s decision means that our patients can continue to come to us, their trusted health care providers, to access abortion and other essential health services in South Carolina,” Jenny Black, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic said in a statement.
Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary commended the decision and wrote in a tweet that the White House is “encouraged by South Carolina’s Supreme Court ruling today on the state’s extreme and dangerous abortion ban. Women should be able to make their own decisions about their bodies.”
However, conservatives, including Governor Henry McMaster — who signed the original ban into law — blasted the justices for their ruling.
“Our State Supreme Court has found a right in our Constitution which was never intended by the people of South Carolina,” he tweeted. “With this opinion, the Court has clearly exceeded its authority. The people have spoken through their elected representatives multiple times on this issue.”
McMaster added, “I look forward to working with the General Assembly to correct this error.”
(CINCINNATI, Ohio) — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is starting to wake up after collapsing from cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, physicians treating him at University of Cincinnati Medical Center said.
Hamlin has shown “substantial improvement” in the past 24 hours and it appears his neurological function is intact, UC Health’s Dr. William Knight IV and Dr. Timothy Pritts said during a press briefing Thursday.
When Hamlin first woke up last night, he asked, “Did we win?” according to the doctors, which they took as a good sign.
“So we know that it’s not only that the lights are on. We know that he’s home. And it appears that all the cylinders are firing within his brain, which is greatly gratifying for all of us,” Knight said.
Hamlin can’t speak yet, as he is still intubated, but is able to shake his head and write short notes on paper, they said. His family and the Bills staff have discussed with him what happened and the support he’s received, according to the doctors.
He continues to be critically ill and remains on a ventilator, but has good lung function, the doctors said. He is heading in the right direction, they said, and noted his age, fitness level and the quick care he received on the field during Monday night’s game as contributing to his improvement.
The Bills also said Hamlin is showing “remarkable improvement” after the incident.
“Per the physicians caring for Damar Hamlin at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Damar has shown remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours,” the team said in a statement on Twitter Thursday morning. “While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact. His lung continue to heal and he is making steady progress.”
Hamlin’s teammate, fellow defensive back Kaiir Elam, also tweeted Thursday morning that Hamlin was “doing better, awake and showing more signs of improvement.”
Hamlin woke up “much sooner than expected,” Dr. Thom Mayer, an NFL Players’ Association medical official, told reporters on a Zoom call Thursday.
“All signs are highly optimistic and point to what is likely to be a full neurological recovery,” Mayer said, though cautioned that “there is a long way to go.”
‘Something that we’ll never forget’
Bills head coach Sean McDermott teared up talking about Hamlin and his recovery.
“Glory to God for his keeping Damar and his family in the palm of his hand over the last couple of days,” McDermott said during a press briefing Thursday.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen told reporters the scene on the field has been playing “over and over” in his head.
“It’s something that we’ll never forget, but to know that Damar is doing okay … we heard that news this morning and there’s nothing that could have been told to us to bring our day down,” he said.
“We’re extremely happy for him and his family,” he continued. “We just want to love up on him, so the next chance we get.”
Hamlin, 24, remains hospitalized in critical condition in the intensive care unit at University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The second-year safety from the University of Pittsburgh collapsed during the Monday Night Football game against the Bengals after making a tackle in the first quarter.
The game was halted and then suspended indefinitely after doctors provided CPR to resuscitate Hamlin on the field before taking him to the hospital. The NFL announced Thursday night that the Bills-Bengals game will not resume and has been canceled.
Doctors had told family members Wednesday morning that Hamlin’s condition was moving in a “positive direction,” according to Hamlin family spokesperson Jordon Rooney.
In an interview with ABC News, Rooney also clarified statements made by Hamlin’s uncle, Dorrian Glenn, who said Tuesday that Hamlin had to be resuscitated twice — on the field and at the hospital. Rooney said that was a misunderstanding and that Hamlin was not resuscitated more than once.
Responding to reports that the defibrillator used on Hamlin malfunctioned, Rooney said those reports were incorrect and that all of the medical equipment worked properly.
President Joe Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he spoke to Hamlin’s parents “at length,” though he did not elaborate on the conversation.
Hamlin’s family thanked the “dedicated first responders and healthcare professionals” at the hospital for their “exceptional care” in a statement released Tuesday.
Likely life-saving on-field response
Medical staff from both team teams responded at the scene, Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, said.
“It’s certainly not an exaggeration to say that the skilled and immediate response by all of these talented caregivers prevented a very tragic outcome at that moment,” Sills told reporters during a briefing by the NFL on Wednesday.
There has been some speculation in the medical community that Hamlin suffered from commotio cordis, a rare condition that occurs when the heart’s rhythm is disrupted due to a blow to the chest that lands at a very specific moment in the heartbeat.
Knight, from UC Health, said it’s too early to tell if that were the case, but that the condition is “on the list of considerations” while they work through testing.
Sills also said it “certainly is possible” that Hamlin had the condition, but that “there’s still a lot of investigation that needs to happen.”
Commotio cordis is “almost a diagnosis of exclusion,” meaning that no other cause has been found, Sills said. In some cases of cardiac arrest, the cause may go undiagnosed, Dr. Jim Ellis, the NFL’s director of emergency preparedness, said.
“The difficulty you have in this particular case, obviously a 24-year-old, very healthy, fit male, sometimes you just may not find the cause,” he told reporters during a press call. “There’s not always a pathway. You can’t get an MRI, a CT scan, there’s no blood test in particular that’s going to tell you exactly why they had that, certainly nothing for commotio cordis.”
Sills said the league will examine whether any changes need to be made to the players’ protective equipment, as is customary after someone is evacuated from the field. Shoulder pads typically cover the sternum, which is the “major area of interest for prevention” of commotio cordis, he said.
Both doctors commended the quick response on the field.
“I think the important lesson that we can all take away from this is really, for every sport at every level, for preparation for a sudden cardiac event,” including proper training and having automated external defibrillators available, Sills said.
“That is a very, very key message and something we can all learn from,” he added.
Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, got emotional talking about Hamlin and called the medical response “outstanding.”
“You gave our brother Damar another day to live, another chance to fight,” Vincent said, his voice shaking.
Bills return to practice
Buffalo Bills players returned to their practice facility on Wednesday.
The New England Patriots, who are still scheduled to face Buffalo in Sunday’s final game of the season, said in a statement both teams had been given an extra day before meeting with the media “due to these unique circumstances.”
McDermott told reporters Thursday that the Bills playing their next scheduled game this weekend is what “Damar would’ve wanted.”
Vincent told reporters Wednesday that he is letting the Bills take the lead on whether to postpone the game.
“It’s really important that we just keep the pulse of the coach and the players, and don’t get in front of that,” he said. “And we will allow [Bills head coach] Sean [McDermott] and his team and his staff and the players, which are the most important thing here, to guide us if we have to make that decision collectively with the club.”
The Pro Football Hall of Fame also announced Tuesday night it would be delaying its announcement of the 15 finalists for this year’s class out of respect to Hamlin.
ABC News’ Mark Osborne, Will McDuffie, Matt Foster and Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — As the House barrels toward a historic fourth day of speaker deliberations, Republicans and Democrats are warning that the paralysis in the chamber is impacting their work on Capitol Hill — and the interests of some constituents.
Because the House is required to select a speaker before swearing in members-elect, the House is in a state of suspended animation until Republicans can settle on a leader.
The path forward was still unclear on Thursday night as Republican leader Kevin McCarthy suffered defeat after defeat after defeat until lawmakers voted to adjourn until Friday.
Without a speaker and sworn-in members, the chamber can’t take up and pass legislation or set up committees. Some lawmakers are warning that they have lost their access to classified briefings until they can take their oaths of office.
“We’ve seen what happens over the last two years when deterrence fails, when weakness invites aggression,” Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s up to this Congress to restore deterrence, to restore peace through strength. But we aren’t able to do that vital work until we actually get past the speaker vote, populate our committees and start getting to work.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott that the speakership showdown is a “shame for the country.”
“This is a great institution. And really, I wish they voted [to] elect the speaker on the first vote because we have important work to do. And this undermines that,” she said.
Obtain security clearances, access briefings
Top lawmakers have said that they won’t have security clearance until they are sworn in. That means they can’t take classified briefings with military, intelligence and senior administration officials on a whole range of sensitive issues — one of their main oversight responsibilities.
“The Biden administration is going unchecked and there is no oversight of the White House, State Department, Department of Defense, or the intelligence community. We cannot let personal politics place the safety and security of the United States at risk,” Republican Reps. Mike Turner, Mike McCaul and Mike Rogers said in a joint statement.
Those three lawmakers will lead the influential House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Armed Services committees in the new Congress.
Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said a speaker needs to be chosen for “national security reasons.”
“In fact, much of the national security work that we need to be doing is interrupted right now because we don’t have a speaker of the House because we’re not routinely getting those briefings,” Barr told ABC News’ Linsey Davis.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price, when asked Thursday about the implications of the drawn-out battle for the speaker’s gavel, told reporters: “This is obviously something that we’re watching. The U.S. Congress has indispensable functions when it comes to foreign policy.”
Constituent casework
Congressional offices routinely help hundreds — if not thousands — of constituents every year with interactions with the federal government. From helping Americans renew passports to applying for federal benefits and updating tax information, this casework makes up a large chunk of the work on Capitol Hill and in offices across the country.
But because members of Congress have not been sworn in, many offices and members are claiming that they have run into issues interfacing with the federal government.
“My office was informed by an agency today that they cannot communicate with my staff regarding active casework because we are not yet sworn in!” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., tweeted on Thursday. “The handful holding up the speaker election is not helping Americans but directly hurting them.”
Democratic offices were instructed on Thursday not to accept new casework from constituents, only to have that guidance updated and reversed later in the day.
Politico has reported that the Internal Revenue Service told one Republican office that they couldn’t help them until members are sworn in.
Payroll for staffers
There is widespread concern on Capitol Hill that some staffers will not get paid later this month without members being sworn in.
This is a worry particularly on committees, where budgets are allocated based on the number of members on the panel, and in some new member offices, where many staffers have not been onboarded and can’t yet access their work email, phones or computers.
The New York Times reported that there is “no authority” to process payroll for committee staff without the chamber approving a rules package, another step that follows the selection of a speaker.
(NEW YORK) — When the mpox outbreak first struck the United States over the summer, experts said it was mostly affecting minority men.
But new federal data published Thursday shows that among the few hundred cases diagnosed in women — less than 3% of total U.S. cases — Black and Hispanic women were disproportionately affected.
The report, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looked at cisgender and pregnant women who were diagnosed with the rare disease between May 11, 2022 and Nov. 7, 2022.
The 2022 outbreak was primarily concentrated in men who have sex with men, a group that includes people who identify as gay, bisexual, transgender and nonbinary, although health officials have said anyone — regardless of sexual orientation — is at risk if they have direct contact with an infected patient.
Over the six-month period, 769 women aged 15 and older were diagnosed with mpox across the country, including 23 who were pregnant or recently pregnant.
Among infections of cisgender women with available data, 44% were among Black women, 25% among white women and 23% among Hispanic women.
This means Black and Hispanic women make up 67% of all mpox cases among women in the United States despite making up a little over 20% of the population, as of 2019.
“This finding is similar to disparities among mpox cases in the United States overall and underscores the continued need for public health efforts to provide education on prevention of mpox and ensure equitable access to mpox vaccination, testing, and treatment,” the authors wrote.
Among the roughly 60% of women with data on their recent sexual behaviors, 73% reported sexual activity or close intimate contact as the likely way they were exposed.
The most common symptom was rash with 93% reporting lesions, particularly on the legs, arms, genitals and chest or stomach.
Other common symptoms included itchy skin at 57%, headache at 54%, malaise at 54%, fever at 49%, and chills at 49% Less than half of the women had data for symptoms.
“Rash location was similar when comparing cisgender women who reported recent sexual exposure with those who did not,” the report read.
Additionally, among the 23 pregnant or recently pregnant women who were diagnosed with mpox, nine reported sexual contact as likely exposure and three reported household contact. The remaining 11 didn’t have exposure data available.
One recently pregnant woman was breastfeeding, and she developed lesions four days after giving birth, under her breast. The newborn subsequently developed lesions on the chest and face six days later, showing how infectious mpox lesions can be.
The CDC said the report also illustrates how more public health efforts needs to be placed on reaching cisgender women at risk for infection.
“Clinicians caring for cisgender women and pregnant persons should become familiar with clinical considerations for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mpox and should provide pre- and postexposure prophylaxis if indicated,” the team wrote. “Vaccination with JYNNEOS should be provided to eligible persons, including those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and providers should discuss vaccination risks and benefits.”
Monroe County Correctional Facility via Getty Images
(MOSCOW, Idaho) — A roommate who survived the quadruple murders at the University of Idaho told police she saw a man in black clothes and a mask walking past her in her house on the night of the killings, and she stood “frozen” and in “shock,” according to newly released court documents.
The roommate said she didn’t recognize the man, who walked toward the back sliding glass door at her off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, according to documents released on Thursday. She locked herself in her room after seeing him, the documents said.
Other chilling details revealed in the court documents include that the suspect’s phone was near the victims’ house at least 12 times before the murders, at least as far back as August, but his phone was off when the murders unfolded.
Two roommates, who police said are not suspects, survived the attack in the early hours of Nov. 13. Later that morning, the roommates called friends over to their house because they thought one of the victims on the second floor had passed out and wasn’t waking up, police said. Around noon, a 911 call from one of the roommate’s phones requested help for an unconscious person, police said.
Responders found University of Idaho students Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Ethan Chapin all stabbed to death.
The mysterious slayings went unsolved for weeks and garnered national interest. The 28-year-old suspect, Bryan Kohberger, was arrested in his home state of Pennsylvania on Friday and was extradited to Idaho on Wednesday.
Here’s what we learned from the court documents:
DNA
DNA from the suspect was recovered on a tan leather knife sheath left on Mogen’s bed, according to the documents.
On Dec. 27, police recovered trash from Kohberger’s parents’ house in Pennsylvania, and a lab then determined that the DNA from the trash was the father of the person who left DNA on the knife sheath, the affidavit said.
A shoe print believed to be from the intruder was found outside one of the survivors’ rooms, the affidavit added.
The timeline of the murders
Police believe the murders unfolded between 4 a.m. and 4:25 am., according to the court documents.
Kernodle got a DoorDash order at the house at about 4 a.m., according to the affidavit.
One of the surviving roommates said she woke up around 4 a.m. from what sounded like Goncalves playing with her dog in one of the third floor bedrooms, according to the affidavit.
“A short time” after, the roommate said “she heard who she thought was Goncalves say something to the effect of ‘there’s someone here,'” the documents said. But that could have been Kernodle on her phone because records showed she was on TikTok at about 4:12 a.m., the affidavit said.
The roommate said “she looked out of her bedroom but did not see anything when she heard the comment about someone being in the house,” the documents said. “She opened her door a second time when she heard what she thought was crying coming from Kernodle’s room.”
The roommate “then said she heard a male voice say something to the effect of ‘it’s ok, I’m going to help you,'” according to the documents.
The roommate said she opened her door again when she heard the crying, and that’s when she saw the figure in the mask, the documents said.
She described the intruder as 5-foot-10 or taller, and “not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows,” according to the documents.
At about 4:17 a.m., a security camera less than 50 feet from Kernodle’s room picked up sounds of a barking dog and “distorted audio of what sounded like voices or a whimper followed by a loud thud,” according to the documents.
The white Hyundai Elantra
After the victims were discovered, authorities reviewed surveillance video from the area and saw the suspect’s white Hyundai Elantra go by the victims’ house three times, before entering the area for a fourth time at 4:04 a.m, according to the documents.
Police said they traced the car’s travel that night back to nearby Pullman, Washington, where the suspect lived while attending Washington State University.
Kohberger was a Ph.D. student in Washington State’s department of criminal justice and criminology at the time of the murders. Washington State’s campus is less than 10 miles from Moscow, Idaho.
Moscow police asked law enforcement to look out for white Elantras, the affidavit said, and on Nov. 29, a Washington State University police officer searched cars that matched that description at the university and found one registered to Kohberger.
Kohberger registered his white Elantra in Washington state on Nov. 18 — five days after the murders — and received a new license plate, according to the documents. The car had previously been registered in Pennsylvania and his Pennsylvania plate was set to expire on Nov. 30.
Tracking Kohberger’s phone
Kohberger’s phone was tracked heading to Moscow before the attack and as the driver of the white Elantra returned to Pullman. However, the phone was off from 2:47 a.m. to 4:48 a.m., which “is consistent with Kohberger attempting to conceal his location during the quadruple homicide,” the document said.
His phone was near the victims’ house at least 12 times before the murders, at least as far back as August, the document said. All of those times, except for one, were late at night or early in the morning.
The morning after the murders, he went near the house between 9:12 a.m. and 9:21 a.m., the documents said, citing cellphone data.
Who is Bryan Kohberger?
Police said they learned Kohberger applied for an internship with the Pullman police in the fall of 2022, and in an essay he said he wanted to help “rural law enforcement agencies with how to better collect and analyze technological data in public safety operations,” the affidavit said.
“Kohberger also posted a Reddit survey which … asked for participants to provide information to ‘understand how emotions and psychological traits influence decision making when committing a crime,'” the affidavit said.
Kohberger appeared in court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday on the first-degree murder and burglary charges and agreed to be extradited to Idaho, where he is now in custody.
Kohberger’s attorney in Pennsylvania, Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar, said in a statement his client was “eager to be exonerated of these charges.”
Kohberger appeared in court in Moscow on Thursday. Kaylee Goncalves’ parents stared down Kohberger as he entered the courtroom in a bright orange jumpsuit and no shackles.
Kohberger, whose skinny shoulders could not fill out his jumpsuit, leaned in to confidently answer the judge’s questions.
The judge asked Kohberger if he wants to represent himself or have a court-appointed attorney, and he calmly and confidently replied, “I have court-appointed counsel.”
Charges were read for the murders of each student; the judge said each victim was “stabbed and murdered with premeditation with malice and forethought.” Families were overcome with emotion as their child’s name was read.
Kohberger’s attorney requested bond, saying he has a “good family that stands by him.” But the prosecutor argued against bond and the judge agreed.
Latah County Sheriff Richard Skiles told ABC News that Kohberger’s vegan diet is being accommodated in the Latah County Jail.
Kohberger’s next status hearing is Jan. 12.
Moscow police said Tuesday night that an Idaho judge has issued a nondissemination order in the case
“The order prohibits any communication by investigators, law enforcement personnel, attorneys, and agents of the prosecuting attorney or defense attorney concerning this case,” police said. “Due to this court order, the Moscow Police Department will no longer be communicating with the public or the media regarding this case.”
ABC News’ Luke Barr, Kayna Whitworth, Jenna Harrison, Timmy Truong, Nick Cirone, John Capell and Dea Athon contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The House Republican leadership standoff will stretch into a fourth day on Friday after 11 failed votes so far to decide on a speaker over Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is being stymied by a small group of hardliners. They are demanding concessions, to reshape how the House is run and legislation it prioritizes, or alternative candidates.
The House can conduct no other business — and members can’t be sworn in — until a speaker is chosen.
This is now the longest speaker election since 1859.
Here’s how the story is developing. All times Eastern.
Jan 05, 8:20 PM EST
House adjourns after 3 days of failed votes
House Republicans successfully, though narrowly, voted on Thursday night to adjourn until noon on Friday following another day of unsuccessfully trying to choose a speaker.
Talks are ongoing between leader McCarthy and his critics. But the five rounds of votes on Thursday repeatedly showed the same results as Tuesday and Wednesday: McCarthy is opposed by 20 members of his party, depriving him of the gavel.
The vote to adjourn ’til Friday was 219-213, with Democrats and one Republican opposed.
-ABC News’ Adam Carlson
Jan 05, 8:25 PM EST
McCarthy critics insist impasse is ‘healthy’
Several critics of McCarthy are insisting that their opposition is sparking worthwhile debate on the floor.
“I think it’s incredibly healthy, actually, for the American people to see that we’re on the floor,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who has sought to block McCarthy’s path to the speakership and nominated Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., to hold the gavel.
Several more junior lawmakers lamented the lack of debate on legislation on the House floor and said the conversations over the speakership marked a drastic uptick in the amount of back-and-forth in the chamber.
“We have had more discussion and debate over the last three days than I have participated in on this floor for the last two years,” said Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., who also nominated Donalds. “And it’s healthy. It absolutely promotes the collegiality that everyone is striving to obtain.”
Jan 05, 7:59 PM EST
Republicans attempt to adjourn until Friday
Following another failed vote for speaker, at the end of the third day of deliberations, Republicans moved to adjourn the House until noon on Friday.
Democrats vocally opposed the motion, leading every lawmaker to have to cast an electronic ballot.
The vote is ongoing.
ABC News’ Adam Carlson
Jan 05, 7:54 PM EST
McCarthy loses 11th round of voting
McCarthy on Thursday night lost the 11th round of voting for House speaker, with little proven progress despite rumors of a coming agreement with his critics.
McCarthy won 200 votes, while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York won 212. 12 Republicans voted for Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and seven more voted for Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., voted for former President Donald Trump, and Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., voted “present.”
Given that no person clinched an outright majority of votes, a speaker was not elected.
Jan 05, 6:14 PM EST
McCarthy loses 10th round of voting
In a repeat of the previous nine rounds since Tuesday, McCarthy on Thursday lost the 10th round of voting, extending his streak of defeats as his party failed to choose a speaker.
McCarthy won 200 votes, while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York won 212. Thirteen Republicans voted for Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., a protest candidate against McCarthy, and seven more voted for Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who is backing McCarthy himself despite this.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., again voted “present.”
These tallies were essentially unchanged from every other round of voting.
It’s unclear if Republicans will try to adjourn after the vote is tallied, though talks between McCarthy and his critics are expected to continue.
Jan 05, 5:42 PM EST
Movement possible between McCarthy, critics — but real obstacles remain
With the speaker vote already at 10 historic rounds and counting, there are some early signs of movement toward a potential deal on a rules package between McCarthy and some of his detractors currently blocking him from the gavel.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a top McCarthy ally, said off the House floor to “stay tuned” and that the public should “see some movement in the next 24 hours or so” toward a potential deal regarding a rules package. That has been a sticking point for many of the McCarthy holdouts who want rules that would shrink the overall power of the speaker — and, in this view, increase the influence of other members and change the priorities of the GOP.
Fitzpatrick added, however, that, “We’re gonna be missing some numbers for medical issues and whatnot” on Friday.
That is another complicated issue facing McCarthy that may push the speaker vote to next week, given at least four members voting for McCarthy have to leave town for medical issues and family matters, according to sources.
Meanwhile, some of the most vocal McCarthy opponents have gone silent when asked for updates on progress — often a sign on Capitol Hill that a deal could be in the works.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a current no on McCarthy who has been in deep conversations with him and his team, has been mostly mum in the building, only saying that they are trying to work things out.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin
Jan 05, 5:45 PM EST
Lauren Boebert nominates Kevin Hern
Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert nominated her colleague from Oklahoma, Rep. Kevin Hern, for speaker.
Speaking to her GOP colleagues, Boebert said “it’s time to build momentum” around a different candidate.
“Many of you have said it. You see that Kevin McCarthy does not have the votes,” she said.
Boebert and Oklahoma’s new Rep.-elect Josh Brecheen voted for Hern in the previous round. Hern was first elected to the House in 2018 and has served on the House Ways and Means Committee. He currently chairs the Republican Study Committee.
Jan 05, 4:44 PM EST
McCarthy losses continue to pile up
McCarthy lost in the ninth round of voting, as he continues to remain stagnant with an insufficient amount of support.
Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries again netted 212 votes as his entire caucus rallied around him. The GOP alternatives to McCarthy — Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and Kevin Hern, R-Okla. — earned 17 votes and three votes, respectively.
McCarthy lost one vote from prior rounds as supporter Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., did not vote though it was unclear why.
Indiana Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz again voted present.
For the first time since 1859, before the Civil War, at least a 10th round of voting is needed to elect a speaker of the House.
Jan 05, 2:59 PM EST
McCarthy loses again in 8th round of voting
McCarthy has suffered yet another defeat.
The California congressman received 201 votes in the eighth round, matching other recent rounds. Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York won 212 votes and Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, the GOP nominee put up against McCarthy, won 17 votes.
This round, there was another Kevin — Republican Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma — who received votes.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Rep.-elect Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., voted for Hern, who hadn’t previously been mentioned for speaker. Hern has served in the House for four years and has been backing McCarthy for speaker.
For a second time today, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., voted for former President Donald Trump. Indiana Republican Victoria Spartz again voted present.
Jan 05, 2:18 PM EST
Nominations read out for 8th round of voting
The eighth round of speaker voting began on Thursday after Kevin McCarthy, Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Byron Donalds, R-Fla., were again nominated.
Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., put for McCarthy as speaker favored by a majority of the GOP conference, saying he would be different from past Republican speakers and mentioning several of the Californian’s critics by name.
“I vouched to my community that Kevin will do as he has promised. He will give us the opportunity to right to course,” Mast said.
Rep. Kathleen Clark, D-Mass., nominated Jeffries, the Democratic leader, while panning Republican opposition to policies on guns, insulin costs and more.
“This intraparty fight that the American people have been drawn into is imperiling our national security. It will imperil the ability of this government to deliver basic services. It is imperiling our jobs and our responsibility to serve our constituents. But it is also entirely predictable. They’re failing to convene Congress today, but for years they have failed to deliver their votes for the American people,” Clark said.
And Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who nominated Donalds, the GOP protest nominee against McCarthy, said it was necessary to change Congress’ leadership in order to change policies.
“They want something new. They want something different. And we are on a path that just continues. Where were we just 12 years ago? An $11 trillion national debt. Where are we now? Almost three times that. Both parties share blame in that. We have to bring that under control. You bring that under control not just by changing the rules of an institution but by changing the leadership,” Biggs said.
“I believe if you want to make change, you have to make change. Maintaining the status quo is not an option today.”
Jan 05, 2:18 PM EST
Nominations read out for 8th round of voting
The eighth round of speaker voting began on Thursday after Kevin McCarthy, Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Byron Donalds, R-Fla., were again nominated.
Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., put for McCarthy as speaker favored by a majority of the GOP conference, saying he would be different from past Republican speakers and mentioning several of the Californian’s critics by name.
“I vouched to my community that Kevin will do as he has promised. He will give us the opportunity to right to course,” Mast said.
Rep. Kathleen Clark, D-Mass., nominated Jeffries, the Democratic leader, while panning Republican opposition to policies on guns, insulin costs and more.
“This intraparty fight that the American people have been drawn into is imperiling our national security. It will imperil the ability of this government to deliver basic services. It is imperiling our jobs and our responsibility to serve our constituents. But it is also entirely predictable. They’re failing to convene Congress today, but for years they have failed to deliver their votes for the American people,” Clark said.
And Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who nominated Donalds, the GOP protest nominee against McCarthy, said it was necessary to change Congress’ leadership in order to change policies.
“They want something new. They want something different. And we are on a path that just continues. Where were we just 12 years ago? An $11 trillion national debt. Where are we now? Almost three times that. Both parties share blame in that. We have to bring that under control. You bring that under control not just by changing the rules of an institution but by changing the leadership,” Biggs said.
“I believe if you want to make change, you have to make change. Maintaining the status quo is not an option today.”
Jan 05, 1:50 PM EST
McCarthy tells ABC he’s ‘confident’ solution will come as he faces another defeat
As he barreled toward a seventh defeat on Thursday, McCarthy told ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott that he was still confident his party would get to a solution to the historic stalemate over speaker. But he insisted he doesn’t “pick the day.”
Scott pressed McCarthy on whether the concessions he made to his opponents were enough.
“Concessions,” he laughed with a smirk.
“I think we’re having good discussions. I think everybody wants to find a solution. And the good thing about it is we worked this all out at the beginning, so the rest of the Congress will be very productive for the American public,” he said.
When asked if he was confident he would get the votes he needed on Thursday, McCarthy responded: “Look, I don’t pick the day. I’m confident we’ll get to the solution. Otherwise, we won’t be successful. So I think everybody, of the members I’ve talked to, have been very productive. They’ve been productive in their discussions, their ideas, and I just feel in these meetings the attitudes of everyone is they want to find a solution. And that’s positive. So I think we’ll get there.”
Pressed on how to convince his critics who don’t trust him to vote for him, McCarthy laughed again.
“Everybody builds trust,” he said.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., said he expects another round of voting on Thursday.
-with ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Gabe Ferris and Allison Pecorin
Jan 05, 1:44 PM EST
McCarthy loses 7th round, Gaetz votes for Trump
McCarthy on Thursday lost another election for speaker, failing to pick up any votes despite making new concessions to the conservative GOP rebels opposing his bid.
McCarthy received 201 votes in the seventh round — the same number he received in the three votes held on Wednesday.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., again saw the most support with 212 votes from the Democratic caucus. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., received 19 votes as the GOP’s protest nominee against McCarthy.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, a leading opponent of McCarthy, voted for Donald Trump for House speaker. This is the first time Trump has received a vote. The former president, weighing in on the speaker battle, has thrown his support behind McCarthy.
One lawmaker, Indiana Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz, voted present.
Jan 05, 12:38 PM EST
7th round of voting underway
Members are currently voting for a seventh time to elect a speaker of the House.
The matchup is the same as the previous three rounds: McCarthy is facing Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Republican Rep. Byron Donalds.
The results will show whether McCarthy’s gained any support after offering new concessions to his critics.
“People ask me, ‘What is the end game? How does this end?’ The answer to this question is that this is a dynamic process. All of the decisions on this floor result from the coming together of minds, one way or another,” Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., said as he nominated Donalds. “This is the people’s business. We will resolve the people’s business.”
Jan 05, 12:34 PM EST
Freshman John James nominates Kevin McCarthy for speaker
Freshman Rep. John James, D-Mich., nominated House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, Calif., for speaker as the third day of voting got underway.
James compared the vote to that of 1856, when it took months to elect a speaker — but boasted that McCarthy would emerge victorious.
“The leading Republican nominee won then, and the leading Republican nominee will win again today,” he said.
James conceded that “we’re stuck at a malaise, at an impasse, and we will stay here,” but insisted that McCarthy deserved the speakership after Republicans won the House majority.
“You don’t fire a guy who’s winning,” he said, before urging Republicans to accept the victory.
“We need to learn how to win.”
Jan 05, 9:27 AM EST
McCarthy makes new offer to defectors amid speakership showdown
There is now an offer on the table from McCarthy to the small but influential group of hard-line conservatives opposing his bid for speaker, sources familiar with discussions told ABC News.
The Republican leader, who has now notched six successive losses for speaker, has proposed a new round of key concessions that includes making it easier for members to remove him as speaker.
McCarthy’s offer, if approved by the full GOP conference on the floor in the rules package, would make it so a single member from either party could trigger an up-or-down simple majority vote on whether to oust the speaker. This is down from the threshold of five members McCarthy initially agreed to.
It’s unclear if the offer will make a difference, as some hard-line conservatives are digging in against McCarthy. The House is set to reconvene at noon today.
He’s also offered to put more members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus on the House Rules Committee and votes on legislation his opponents have been pushing for, including term limits for members of Congress and border security.
The group of conservative rebels who’ve opposed him are meeting this morning to consider the offer and plot their strategy going forward.
Jan 04, 9:38 PM EST
McCarthy sounds undeterred: ‘We talk until we get this done’
Leaving the chamber after it adjourned for the night on Wednesday, McCarthy — surrounded by a phalanx of security and a mob of reporters — initially joked and razzed a reporter he’s known for more than a decade. He seemingly celebrated a razor-thin GOP vote to adjourn the chamber after another day of unsuccessful attempts to elect him speaker.
He also said “continual votes,” like they been having since Tuesday, are unproductive, instead touting the evening’s closed-door talks as the way forward.
McCarthy asked the reporter, John Bresnahan, “Club for Growth — is that movement for you? You just saw a vote on the floor that the conference voted together on?”
McCarthy was referring to a newly announced deal between a political action committee aligned with him and Club for Growth, another major conservative group.
Bresnahan jokingly replied of the successful adjournment vote, “You’re very proud of that.”
“Hey, I crawl before I walk and walk before I run, and I felt as though we had a very good discussion,” McCarthy said, adding, “I think what you should gauge, being able to do that vote, [is] that the discussions are going well but that doesn’t mean they’re done. That doesn’t mean anything on that. But it’s just in that realm.”
Another reporter asked, “What happens between now and noon tomorrow [when the House returns]?”
“We talk until we get this done,” McCarthy said.
Bresnahan asked if there would be votes tomorrow, to which McCarthy replied: “People know where everybody’s at. These votes don’t really change at all. So I mean, that’s fine. I think these discussions help that. I think from this aspect of seeing the vote here — people want to spend their time discussing than being on the floor.”
A reporter asked if McCarthy has asked Byron Donalds, a GOP protest candidate, to drop out. McCarthy said, “No. No.”
-ABC News’ Trish Turner
Jan 04, 8:54 PM EST
House narrowly agrees to adjourn ’til Thursday after another day of failed votes
The motion to adjourn that was introduced shortly after the House returned from its Wednesday afternoon break passed by a narrow 216-214 vote. The chamber will return at noon on Thursday, presumably for more speaker votes.
Republicans had pushed for the adjournment, while Democrats and four Republicans opposed it, with some Democrats shouting for the clerk to stop the vote while the “no” votes were ahead.
The move to end for the night came after McCarthy held a closed-door meeting with detractors trying to block him from winning the speaker’s gavel. The meeting yielded no deal, but McCarthy said progress was made.
The vote to adjourn marked the climax of a second day of historic failed speaker votes — the first time in a century it has taken more than one round to pick a speaker.
Jan 04, 8:20 PM EST
Lawmakers gather after afternoon break, try to adjourn until Thursday
Lawmakers gathered Wednesday around 8 p.m. in the House after their afternoon adjournment and swiftly launched into a vote to adjourn again until Thursday at noon.
The House clerk asked for a voice vote, with Democrats then pressing for an individual counting of the votes, which is underway.
The effort to adjourn comes after McCarthy said progress had been made with the group of GOP critics blocking him the speakership but that there was no path yet to a firm deal.
Jan 04, 8:02 PM EST
McCarthy says 7th speaker vote would not yet be ‘productive’
Leaving a closed-door meeting during the House’s break from voting for a speaker on Wednesday, McCarthy said progress had been made but that there’s no deal yet and he doesn’t think another vote Wednesday night would be “productive.”
McCarthy, the Republican leader, has so far been blocked from the speakership by 20 members of his party repeatedly voting for other candidates — now across six rounds of voting over two days.
“I think it’s probably best to let people work through this more. I don’t think a vote tonight is productive. Let people work a little more,” McCarthy said after leaving the meeting with critics seeking to stop him from winning the speakership.
McCarthy said that while he didn’t have a deal in hand after meeting with the rebels, he insisted there was movement.
–ABC News’ Will Steakin, Lalee Ibssa and Gabe Ferris
Jan 04, 5:53 PM EST
Sources say House Republicans discuss ‘nuclear option’: Lower vote threshold to be speaker
As McCarthy’s quest to become speaker of the House continues to fall short, some of his allies are exploring a radical idea: lowering the threshold needed to be elected.
Under current House rules, a candidate needs an outright majority of all members voting to be elected speaker. With 433 members voting so far — and one member voting “present,” which doesn’t affect the total — that means McCarthy has repeatedly fallen far short of the 217 currently needed to win a majority.
The rules, however, can be changed: With a simple majority vote, the House could decide to allow a speaker to be elected with a plurality, or whoever has the most votes when no one has a majority. This has happened before, but very rarely.
It’s called the “nuclear option” because it would force anti-McCarthy voters to face a stark choice: vote for him or watch Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries get elected instead. After all, Jeffries has received 212 votes in every single round so far and the most McCarthy has received has been 203.
But would those 20 renegade Republicans continue to vote against McCarthy if doing so would result in electing a Democrat as speaker? Advocates of the option say the change would call the critics’ bluff and force them to vote for McCarthy or take the blame for ceding control of the House to Democrats.
According to two McCarthy allies in the House, the idea is being discussed among House Republicans. They believe Democrats would support the rules change.
One influential Republican voice, however, told ABC News he opposes the idea.
“I know it is an idea that has been floating around,” incoming House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said. “I’d be opposed it.”
He added: “I know Hakeem would like, but I don’t.”
-ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl
Jan 04, 5:00 PM EST
State spokesperson on House speaker vote: ‘Democracy at work’
While the State Department does not frequently weigh in on matters of domestic politics, spokesperson Ned Price on Wednesday afternoon directly addressed the tumult on Capitol Hill, painting a cheerier outlook than President Joe Biden did earlier.
Price was asked what message other countries around the world might take from the prolonged vote for House speaker — the first in a century.
“Our message has never been that democracy is neat or that democracy is seamless in terms of its operations. But what we’re seeing, what the world is seeing, are our democratic institutions at work,” Price said. “They are seeing our democracy at work.”
“Democracy isn’t always without its complications. But when processes are followed, institutions are respected, ultimately the outcome is one that everyone can get behind.”
Reporters asked Price whether the redundant, and so far fruitless, votes in the House — which is keeping the chamber in limbo — might give the impression of an inefficient governing system and if the first failed speaker vote in 100 years was an indicator that U.S. democracy was weakening.
“Look, I’m not going to characterize the U.S. political system,” Price said. “I will just say that there is a process that is being hued to right now by elected lawmakers. That in itself is a testament to the functioning of democracy, even if that functioning may be taking just a little bit longer than it has in the past 100 years or so.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Jan 04, 5:06 PM EST
Meet ‘the most famous future member of Congress’
ABC News’ Jay O’Brien caught up with Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., outside of the House floor during the sixth round of votes for speaker — but Gomez wasn’t alone.
He was holding, in a swaddle, who ABC News Live anchor Kyra Phillips called “probably the most famous future member of Congress.”
Gomez had brought along his 4-month-old son Hodge for the votes on Tuesday and Wednesday; photos of the baby had already lit up social media.
“One of the things my wife and I wanted to do is make sure that he was, you know, personable, he got along with people and that he loved people,” Gomez said. “So we started making sure that he was used to it. And then he loved it. He loved being on the floor. Everybody was smiling at him, playing with him … And I think he’s gotten more votes for speaker than I have, maybe even Kevin McCarthy.”
Gomez called his son “my legacy, and I think all kids are our legacy. So I realized I wanted to bring him to the [House] floor to have him witness history, but also to recognize that he is what we’re fighting for. He represents the millions of kids that don’t have the privilege to be on the floor.”
O’Brien noted how well behaved Hodge was in the bustling chamber. Hodge had no comment but seemed to bob his head in response.
Of the news of the day, Gomez said he does not believe any Democrats will break ranks to vote for McCarthy, who has so far failed to unify the GOP majority to vote for him as speaker.
Jan 04, 4:36 PM EST
House adjourns until 8 p.m.
With the Republican conference still divided between a pro-McCarthy majority and 20 anti-McCarthy members, the House has chosen to adjourn until 8 p.m.
The motion from Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., was adopted by voice vote, though Democrats appeared staunchly opposed to the break — but did not call for a recorded vote.
Shortly before adjournment, McCarthy told reporters “we’re gonna break in a little then go meet” when asked what was next after the sixth failed vote.
Jan 04, 4:21 PM EST
McCarthy loses speaker vote for the sixth time
McCarthy, for the sixth time in two days, has failed to get enough votes to become the next speaker of the House.
The vote count for this round was unchanged from the previous two rounds: McCarthy won 201 votes, Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries won 212 votes and Rep. Byron Donalds, the current GOP protest candidate against McCarthy, won 20 votes.
Indiana Republican Victoria Spartz also voted “present” for the third time.
Jan 04, 3:56 PM EST
McCarthy says: ‘We’re gonna break … then go meet’
McCarthy is likely to continue negotiating into Wednesday night, after two days of failed speaker votes, and ABC News has learned that he is working to set up talks to attempt to come to an agreement with the group of 20 voting against him.
The logistics of such talks are still being nailed down — and according to people close to him, there is no singular leader of this group of 20.
When this will happen is unclear. Democrats and some Republicans have not yet wanted to adjourn the House, meaning they do not have the votes for adjourning and then continuing negotiations.
Off the House floor during the sixth round of voting, which McCarthy looked set to lose as well, he told reporters that “we’re gonna break in a little then go meet” when asked what’s next. He did not give any other specifics.
The House on Tuesday afternoon adjourned for the day after three rounds of votes, and they could repeat that pattern on Wednesday.
McCarthy has already made some major concessions to his critics without winning their support. He has agreed to lower the threshold to five members to force a vote to remove the speaker — known as a motion to vacate the chair.
Some anti-McCarthy members want this threshold to be lowered to one member.
Others have said that they want more responsibilities on the the panel charged with placing members on committees — known as the steering committee — and have proposed giving more members of the House Freedom Caucus and Republican Study Committee designated seats on it.
McCarthy would likely only agree to this if he knew he was able to flip enough votes.
Former congressman Justin Amash, who left the Republican Party in 2019 and became the first member of Congress to call for Donald Trump to be impeached, is also present on the House floor.
He spoke to reporters, saying he’s here to pitch himself as a consensus speaker candidate if he’s needed and said he plans to speak to members about it. (This is a long shot bid, although the speaker does not need to be a current member of Congress.)
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin
Jan 04, 4:01 PM EST
Perry is latest McCarthy critic to nominates Donalds
Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., the chair of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, nominated Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., for speaker in the sixth round of voting.
“He has accomplished many things. He is a man of faith, he is a family man, he is a businessman … he has come from the school of hard knocks,” Perry said. “He’s got a record of accomplishing things. He’s got a record of being on the right side. He is respected. He is trusted.”
Perry also took a swipe at GOP leader McCarthy and his allies, who have suggested the Californian is responsible for heralding in the new Republican majority.
“I think the person that has done the most to make this fabulous, this wonderful Republican majority, is Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and her policies. That’s what has achieved this majority here,” he said.
Donalds is so far earning 20 votes from Republicans in each round. He initially voted for McCarthy in the early rounds but switched his vote, saying McCarthy couldn’t win.
Jan 04, 4:32 PM EST
Cammack sparks Dem outrage after suggesting they brought alcohol to the floor
Remarks from Republican Rep. Kat Cammack suggesting Democrats brought alcohol into the chamber caused an outcry from the party shortly before the sixth round of speaker voting began.
“Diversity of thought is a good thing. But they want us divided. They want us to fight each other. That much has been made clear by the popcorn and blankets and alcohol that has come in over there,” she said as she was nominating McCarthy.
Some Democrats shouted back “take down her words!” — referring to a request to have her comment formally challenged and then stricken — and “make her apologize!”
Many members were also heard vocally reacting, including yelling objections.
Clerk Cheryl Johnson then asked “all members-elect to abide by the established decorum of the House” while nominating candidates for speaker.
Jan 04, 3:22 PM EST
House setting up sixth vote: ‘It’s Groundhog Day’
The House is moving full steam ahead with a sixth round of voting on Wednesday.
“Well, it’s Groundhog Day, again,” Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., said as she began her nomination speech for McCarthy.
“To all Americans watching right now, I want to tell you we hear you, we hear you,” Cammack said. “And we will get this right. No matter how messy this process is, we will emerge better for having been through this because nothing great ever comes easy.”.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York was again nominated by his party, with California Rep. Pete Aguilar again giving the speech.
Jan 04, 3:21 PM EST
Biden jokes that a reporter has just been chosen as speaker
President Joe Biden joked to a reporter outside of Air Force One on Wednesday afternoon that “I’ve got good news for you: They just elected you speaker.”
But in a more substantive comment, he again repeated his concerns about how the House will be able to operate given Republican in-fighting.
“Well obviously I am,” he said, when asked if he was concerned about the dangers of the House not being functional.
“I’s embarrassing for the country. I mean literally … that’s the reality, that to have a Congress that can’t function, is just embarrassing,” he said. “We’re the greatest nation in the world, how can that be? And we’ve had a lot of trouble … with the attacks on our institutions already. And that’s what worries me more than anything else.”
-ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky
Jan 04, 2:46 PM EST
McCarthy loses fifth vote for speaker
McCarthy has lost the fifth round of voting for speaker.
The vote count was the same as the previous round: McCarthy received 201 votes, Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries received 212 votes and Rep. Byron Donalds, the latest protest nominee from a faction of GOP lawmakers, received 20 votes.
Indiana Republican Victoria Spartz again voted “present.”
Jan 04, 2:37 PM EST
Boebert calls on McCarthy to withdraw
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., a firebrand conservative and McCarthy foe — while nominating Rep. Byron Donalds in the fifth round of voting — said McCarthy does not have the votes to prevail and should withdraw.
She also said that former President Donald Trump, who has backed McCarthy, should now also call on McCarthy to end his bid..
“The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that sir, you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw.”
Other members booed her as she concluded her remarks.
Jan 04, 1:58 PM EST
5th round of voting underway
The House wasted no time in starting up a fifth round of voting for speaker after Kevin McCarthy’s latest loss.
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, stood up to nominate McCarthy shortly after the House clerk announced the vote count for the fourth round, during which McCarthy lost another supporter.
“Can we take a win every now and then? And give hope to the forgotten men and women of America, who no longer believe this place, this people’s house?” Davidson said.
Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar again nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert stood up to again nominate Florida Rep. Byron Donalds.
Jan 04, 1:55 PM EST
Who is Byron Donalds, latest protest nominee against McCarthy?
Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds was nominated on Wednesday as the latest protest nominee from within the GOP as leader Kevin McCarthy continues to struggle to win a majority to be elected speaker.
Who is Donalds?
Rep. Chip Roy, who nominated Donalds, called him a “dear friend, a solid conservative and, most importantly, a family man.”
Donalds’ campaign team has described him as a “Trump-supporting, liberty-loving, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment Black man.”
Roy noted in his nominating speech on Wednesday that, because Democrats are also nominating their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, “For the first time in history, there have been two Black Americans placed in nomination for speaker of the House.” That prompted a standing ovation from the chamber.
Donalds, like Jeffries, grew up in Brooklyn but went to college in Florida and built a career there in the financial and insurance industries, according to his House biography.
He was first elected to the House in 2020 after serving as a state representative and now represents Florida’s 19th Congressional District.
He and his wife have three sons.
-ABC News’ Adam Carlson and Benjamin Siegel
Jan 04, 1:22 PM EST
McCarthy fails to gain any support, loses speaker vote for 4th time
Kevin McCarthy has added another loss to his bid for House speaker.
McCarthy received 201 votes in the 4th and latest round, his least amount of support so far. On Tuesday, he had 203 votes in the first two rounds followed by 202 votes in the third round.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries netted 212 votes in this round. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, nominated as an alternative to McCarthy, received 20 votes.
One member, Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, voted present — a departure from her three previous votes for McCarthy. Spartz’s present vote prompted cheers from McCarthy’s critics.
Jan 04, 1:19 PM EST
McCarthy, Pelosi on today’s vote as they headed to House floor
Kevin McCarthy, when walking to the House floor just moments before what appears to be another failed bid to be elected speaker, told reporters he remains just as determined to win the gavel.
But there’s still no strategy emerging. Asked how he gets to 218 votes today, he said, “We’re going to continue to talk; we’ll find an agreement, where we all get together, and we’ll work through this and we’ll get it done.”
McCarthy should not expect Democrats to come to the rescue, at least not according to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“This is a problem of their own making,” Pelosi told reporters.
“Don’t put this at the Democrats’ doorstep – this is their problem, and their lack of respect for this institution; their lack of respect for the responsibility that we all have to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and get the job done for the American people,” Pelosi said as she walked to the floor.
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
Jan 04, 12:55 PM EST
McCarthy appears headed for another defeat as Donalds nets critical votes
Rep. Byron Donalds already has 13 votes for speaker — apparently enough to defeat McCarthy’s bid to be speaker for a fourth time.
The vote is ongoing, and the final results are yet to be announced.
Jan 04, 12:40 PM EST
Standing ovation from both sides over Donalds nomination
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, pointed out that this is the first time two Black Americans have been nominated for speaker.
His remarks were met with a standing ovation from both Republicans and Democrats.
“However … we do not seek to judge people by the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character,” Roy said after the applause quieted. “Byron Donalds is a good man, raised by a single mom, who moved past adversity, became a Christian man at the age of 21 and has devoted his life to advancing the cause for his family and for this country. And he has done it admirably.”
Democrats nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who has already made history as the first Black man elected to lead a party in Congress. He will serve as the Democratic caucus leader for the next two years.
The fourth vote for speaker is ongoing.
Jan 04, 11:08 AM EST
GOP leadership in talks to adjourn after House reconvenes at noon
Republican leadership is in talks to adjourn the House right after it reconvenes at noon to resume the votes for speaker, sources familiar with the discussions told ABC News.
Some Kevin McCarthy allies have been pushing for the delay, so they can continue to engage in talks behind the scenes.
The House adjourned Tuesday after three rounds of failed votes to elect McCarthy.
It’s not yet clear if there will be any objections to adjourning. There was no roll call vote to adjourn the House Tuesday, but any member can request one.
If there is a roll call vote, which is likely, 218 votes are needed to adjourn the House.
-ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, Katherine Faulders and Will Steakin
Jan 04, 11:14 AM EST
Biden calls GOP fight over speakership ’embarrassing’
Asked on his way out of the White House about the GOP standoff in the House, President Joe Biden said electing a speaker is “not a good look” to the rest of the world.
“That’s not my problem,” Biden offered reporters. “I just think it’s a little embarrassing, that it’s taking so long and the way that they’re dealing with each other. And the rest of the world is looking, they’re looking at can we get our act together.”
“For the first time in 100 years, we can’t move,” he added later on. “It’s not a good look, it’s not a good thing. This is the United States of America, and I hope they get their act together.”
Biden was on his way to highlight improvements to a bridge that connects Cincinnati and Covington, Kentucky, to tout an investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law alongside Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Jan 04, 10:44 AM EST
McCarthy arrives on Capitol Hill: ‘I think we’ll get to 218’
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy arrived on Capitol Hill moments ago and entered the House speaker’s office, although he’s still fighting for the votes to take the position. McCarthy opponent Rep. Matt Gaetz has called him a “squatter” in the office.
McCarthy and his security pushed through a swarm of reporters and photographers who sprinted up the stairs to chase him.
Asked by ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott if he made any progress, McCarthy said, “I think we’ll get to 218.”
Asked by another reporter what the game plan is, he answered, “same as yesterday.”
Jan 04, 10:48 AM EST
Trump repeats endorsement of McCarthy for speaker
Former President Donald Trump again called on Republicans to support McCarthy as the House remains without a speaker and Republicans appear in disarray.
“Some really good conversations took place last night, and it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY …” Trump posted on Truth Social this morning. “Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!”
The post follows McCarthy telling reporters Tuesday night that the former president had reiterated his support for him. In an earlier interview with NBC News, Trump declined to say whether he supported McCarthy.
Among those Republicans who did not vote for McCarthy are some of Trump’s closest supporters in Congress, including Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
It comes almost two years to the day that McCarthy, on the House floor, said Trump “bears responsibility” for the “attack on Congress by mob rioters” on Jan. 6, before flocking to Mar-a-Lago to see Trump three weeks later.
Jan 03, 9:36 PM EST
Speaker vote expected to resume Wednesday
A fourth round of voting for the House speaker is certain to resume after the chamber gathers again on Wednesday at noon.
Members-elect adjourned until then shortly before 6 p.m. on Tuesday, after three rounds of voting failed to elect a speaker.
Republicans, who hold the majority, did not coalesce behind their chosen leader, McCarthy, with roughly 20 lawmakers choosing other candidates.
Walking off the House floor earlier Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told reporters that the conference wants to be unified so they can start on long-promised investigations.
He said he does not want to be the speaker, despite the backing of some McCarthy defectors — he said he wants to chair the judiciary committee.
Jan 03, 5:46 PM EST
Frustration was growing as voting wound down
House lawmakers adjourned until Tuesday as some of them grew restless following the three rounds of unsuccessful voting for a new speaker.
Signs of frustration mounted during the third vote, with Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., saying he was backing McCarthy “because I’m interested in governing.”
The voting took place as lawmakers had family and friends in town, and it was unclear at the time how deep into the night voting would go.
McCarthy had vowed to keep voting until there was a speaker, but the motion to adjourn shortly before 6 p.m. drew little opposition.
-ABC News’ Will Steakin and Benjamin Siegel
Jan 03, 5:35 PM EST
House adjourns, will resume Wednesday
The House overwhelmingly chose late Tuesday afternoon to adjourn until noon on Wednesday after a motion from Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., was adopted by voice vote
That decision came after three unsuccessful rounds saw no member-elect chosen as speaker, including McCarthy.
It’s the first time in a century that the speaker vote has taken multiple rounds.
Jan 03, 5:39 PM EST
McCarthy defector calls for ‘huddle’ to sort out speaker vote
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who changed his vote for speaker in the third round, said on social media that “continuous votes aren’t working.”
Donalds supported McCarthy during the first two rounds of voting, but then switched his choice to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. On Twitter, Donalds indicated that he does not believe McCarthy has the support to ultimately become speaker.
“Our conference needs to recess and huddle and find someone or work out the next steps…but these continuous votes aren’t working for anyone,” Donalds wrote.
“When the dust settles, we will have a Republican Speaker, now is the time for our conference to debate and come to a consensus.”
“Democracy is messy at times, but we will be ready to govern on behalf of the American people. Debate is healthy,” he added.
Jan 03, 5:07 PM EST
McCarthy loses a supporter — and 3rd round of speaker vote
In the third round of voting, 20 Republican lawmakers voted against McCarthy for speaker — the highest amount so far. Those votes went to Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
In the first two rounds, 19 Republicans voted for a different candidate. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., voted for McCarthy two times before changing his vote to Jordan.
McCarthy received 202 votes in the latest round, making it the third time he’s trailed Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Democrats have already elected Jeffries to be their caucus leader in the new Congress.
Jan 03, 4:33 PM EST
McCarthy to ABC: ‘Their secret candidate nominated me’
“We stay in until we win,” McCarthy said as he headed back onto the House floor ahead of the third round.
After huddling with Reps. Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise, Patrick McHenry and a few others off the floor, McCarthy told ABC News on his way back to the House floor that the prolonged vote was exactly what he was expecting to happen.
“This isn’t about me; this is about the conference now,” he said.
“If anybody wants to earn something, committee slots or others, you go through the conference to do that. You don’t get it by leveraging people. It just doesn’t happen,” he added.
McCarthy disputed that he hasn’t shown any progress throughout the afternoon.
“They put [Rep.] Jim Jordan [up as a candidate for speaker]. Remember how they all said they had a secret candidate. Their secret candidate nominated me, so where do they go now?”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Allison Pecorin
Jan 03, 4:34 PM EST
McCarthy gets new defector in third round of voting
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., switched his vote for speaker after voting for McCarthy in the first two rounds.
Donalds, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, backed Rep. Jim Jordan in the third round of voting. If every candidate who voted for Jordan on the second ballot does so again, the Ohioan will get at least 20 votes.
Jan 03, 4:37 PM EST
Historic 3rd speaker vote underway in the House
Ahead of the House entering a third vote for the speakership, Rep. Pete Aguilar again nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries for Democrats, prompting “Hakeem” chants from their side of the chamber, as Republicans remain in disarray.
“For unity in Congress and progress in our country, Democrats are united behind Hakeem Jeffries. I recommend Hakeem Jeffries as our speaker,” Aguilar said to applause.
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas nominated Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, again, despite Jordan losing in prior votes, his saying he didn’t want the position and asking Republicans to unite around McCarthy.
“Now, Jim has said he doesn’t want that nomination, and Jim has been down here nominating Kevin, and I respect that. Again, I have no personal animus toward Kevin,” Roy said. “But we do not have the tools or the leadership yet to stop the swamp from rolling over the American people. Jim has been doing it, he has a track record for doing that, and for those reasons, I’m nominating Jim Jordan for speaker of the House.”
Jan 03, 4:15 PM EST
Scalise says McCarthy critics are obstructing legislation
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., McCarthy’s No. 2, slammed McCarthy’s critics as obstructionists to legislative efforts to tackle issues like immigration and energy reserves.
“We all came here to get things done. To get big things done. To solve the problems. And I hope when we get through today that all the members on both sides of the aisle will get together to solve the problems,” he said when nominating McCarthy before the third round of voting.
However, he said, “we can’t start fixing those problems until we elect Kevin McCarthy” as speaker.
Scalise’s speech came after Jordan nominated McCarthy. Both men have been floated as potential alternatives if McCarthy is unable to win the majority needed to clinch the speakership.
Jan 03, 4:00 PM EST
Scalise seems to be drafting McCarthy nomination speech
ABC News’ Ben Siegel, on the House floor, spotted Steve Scalise seemingly drafting a nomination speech for Kevin McCarthy.
This would mark another twist as Republicans still struggle to coalesce around any single candidate.
Jan 03, 3:58 PM EST
White House ‘willing to work’ with GOP in new Congress but avoids weighing in on leadership fight
After two failed votes to select a House speaker on Capitol Hill, the White House said it is “certainly not going to insert ourselves” into that process but are
“looking forward to working” with the new Republican-controlled House.
Asked by ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce what the president wants to work on with Republicans once the House GOP leadership is in place, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn’t offer any specifics on what policies it wants to be first on the agenda.
“He’s willing to work with Republicans who are willing to continue to deliver for the American people,” she said. “He is very optimistic on what lies ahead and how we are going to move our country forward.”
And when asked whether it may be more difficult to work with Republicans after the ongoing leadership fight, Jean-Pierre repeated President Joe Biden’s optimism and noted bipartisan legislation that was passed in his first two years.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Jan 03, 3:31 PM EST
Jordan says he told Gaetz not to nominate him as speaker
Right after Rep. Jim Jordan spoke on the House floor following the first vote — to support McCarthy in the next round — Rep. Matt Gaetz turned the tables and enthusiastically nominated Jordan to be speaker.
But Jordan told ABC News afterward that he told Matt Gaetz not to nominate him. Jordan would go on to pick up 19 votes in the second ballot.
Gaetz had said weeks ago he thought Jordan would be a good choice for speaker.
-ABC News’ Will Steakin and Katherine Faulders
Jan 03, 3:27 PM EST
McCarthy loses 2nd ballot as 19 Republicans vote for Jordan
Kevin McCarthy has fallen short of the votes needed to win House speaker for a second time.
Once again, 19 Republicans voted against McCarthy — this time unanimously backing Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Jordan had urged his colleagues to back McCarthy as he nominated the California congressman for speaker. But Rep. Matt Gaetz stood up to nominate Jordan, calling him the “most talented, hardest working member of the Republican conference.”
The House vote was identical to the first round: McCarthy again won 203 votes compared to Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ 212 votes.
Jan 03, 2:45 PM EST
Jordan wins enough votes to deny McCarthy speakership in 2nd vote
Enough Republicans have already voted for Jordan to deny McCarthy the speakership in a second ballot.
Just after Jordan rose to renominate McCarthy before the start of the second round of voting, nine Republicans backed the Ohioan before vote counting even got halfway through the alphabet.
Jordan was able to flip a number of Republicans who opposed McCarthy on the first ballot but didn’t vote for him, including Biggs, who voted for himself during the initial round of voting.
Jan 03, 2:31 PM EST
Gaetz nominates Jordan after Jordan urges colleagues to back McCarthy
After Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio took to the floor to encourage Republicans to back Rep. Kevin McCarthy for speaker, Rep. Matt Gaetz got up to nominate Jordan for the position.
“I rise to nominate the most talented, hardest working member of the Republican conference, who just gave a speech with more vision than we have ever heard from the alternative,” the Florida congressman said.
“Jim Jordan is humble. Perhaps today, humble to a fault,” Gaetz continued. “Maybe the right person for the job of speaker of the House isn’t someone who wants it so bad. Maybe the right person for the job of speaker of the House isn’t someone who has sold shares of themselves for more than a decade to get it.”
In the first round of voting, Jordan received six votes.
Jan 03, 2:28 PM EST
Jim Jordan nominates McCarthy in 2nd round of voting
After receiving six votes of his own on the first ballot, Rep. Jim Jordan nominated Kevin McCarthy in the second round of voting for House speaker.
“I rise to nominate Kevin McCarthy for speaker of the House,” Jordan said, prompting applause from several Republican members.
“We need to rally around him, come together, and deal with these three things, because this is what the people sent us here to do,” he added, ticking through Republican priorities in the new Congress.
“We owe it to them, the American people, the good people of this great country, to step forward to come together, get a speaker elected so we can address these three things. I hope you’ll vote for Kevin McCarthy and that’s why I’m proud to nominate him for speaker of the House,” Jordan said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Bob Good, one of the original “Never Kevin” members, said off the House floor that he plans to vote for Jordan on the second ballot despite Jordan’s call to support McCarthy — and expects other detractors will follow.
-ABC News’ Will Steakin
Jan 03, 2:20 PM EST
‘Optics are terrible’: ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on GOP speaker battle
ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl weighed in after the first ballot vote for House speaker.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy fell well short of the majority needed to clinch the position. He received 203 votes, while Democrat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries received 212. Nineteen lawmakers voted for someone else.
“The optics for Republicans is terrible,” Karl told ABC’s David Muir following the vote.
“They’ve taken control, they’ve won control of the House by a narrow majority, and [in the] first act of this Republican House, more votes went to the liberal Democrat candidate for speaker than went for Kevin McCarthy. Think about that David,” Karl said.
Jan 03, 2:13 PM EST
McCarthy to ABC News: Vote against him ‘exactly what we thought it’d be’
McCarthy told ABC News, after stepping off the House floor, that the current vote against him was “exactly what we thought it’d be.”
McCarthy added that this vote could go on for days and that “we got a number of members who are trying to fight for their own personal items” instead of for the country.
When asked how he what he can do to persuade the large number of members who voted against him by voting for others, McCarthy said he needs to convince them that “they don’t win gavels by trying to threaten or leverage somebody … I don’t think that’s what their constituents elected.”
-ABC News’ Will Steakin
Jan 03, 1:54 PM EST
McCarthy falls short in first speaker vote
After the first round of voting, no member obtained the 218 votes needed to become House speaker, but Democrat Hakeem Jeffries earned more votes than Kevin McCarthy — on the first day of a new Republican-controlled House.
Jeffries received 212 votes to McCarthy’s 203. Far-right Republican Andy Biggs of Arizona received 10 votes, and there were nine votes for others, including six for Rep. Jim Jordan, and, in a surprise move, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas voted for Florida’s Byron Donalds.
Nineteen Republicans broke from McCarthy, who could only afford to lose four, marking a stunning defeat by 15 votes. Despite having a majority this Congress, McCarthy got fewer votes this time than the last time he ran for speaker against Nancy Pelosi.
For the first time since 1923 — and the first time since floor proceedings have been televised — the speaker’s vote appears headed towards a second ballot.
While McCarthy has signaled he’s up for more voting rounds, he faces a steep hurdle in a second vote with so many lawmakers to win over — and the potential for Republicans to nominate another member, such as No. 2 Steve Scalise.
Jan 03, 1:37 PM EST
McCarthy gets quick standing ovation after voting for himself
After standing to cast a voice vote for himself, Kevin McCarthy smiled as he got a round of applause from his GOP supporters – even as it appeared that he would lose the first ballot for speaker.
McCarthy faced enough defections from his conference – with some voting for Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona or Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio – to likely not prevail in the first tally.
But the quick standing ovation for McCarthy was both indicative of the support he still has in the House Republican Conference and the challenges of a slim Republican House majority.
Jan 03, 1:41 PM EST
Appears McCarthy will not have votes on first ballot to be elected
The majority of House Republicans applauded when Rep. Elise Stefanik rose to nominate Kevin McCarthy — but more than a dozen, most of them sitting by the center aisle in the second to last row of the chamber, sat on their hands. The applause for McCarthy was hardly thunderous.
And with every vote against McCarthy, the sounds of murmuring in the chamber grew, as it also grew more obvious that McCarthy will not have the votes on the first ballot to be elected speaker.
In contrast, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., had a sustained standing ovation when he nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY. Once the applause died down, Aguilar declared, “Today, House Democrats are united” — prompting even louder and more sustained applause from Democrats — while McCarthy sat silently and stone-faced on the other side of the aisle.
As McCarthy entered the rear of the chamber through the center door about 15 minutes earlier, he did so quietly and with little fanfare. Most people on the floor seemed not to notice. He walked all the way down to the area in front of the clerk before somebody went to talk to him, and it was a staffer for Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.
-ABC News’ Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl
Jan 03, 1:00 PM EST
Tense roll call vote begins
A tense roll call vote for speaker is beginning.
In alphabetical order, members are being asked to say aloud whom they are voting for as speaker.
-ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel
Jan 03, 12:53 PM EST
Aguilar declares Democrats ‘united’ behind Hakeem Jeffries
Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., has nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York to be the House minority leader.
Jeffries has made history as the first Black leader to be elected leader a congressional caucus. He was elected by Democrats in late November after Rep. Nancy Pelosi announced she was stepping down from the role.
“Today, madam clerk, House Democrats are united by a speaker who will people over politics,” Aguilar declared, an apparent dig at Republicans as the party struggles to unite behind a candidate for speaker.
“Hakeem Jeffries has worked his entire life to improve economic opportunity for all people. He’s committed to strengthening the American dream by lowering costs for working families, building safer communities by taking weapons of war off streets and by creating good-paying jobs in industries of the future.”
“He does not traffic in extremism,” Aguilar continued. “He does not grovel to or make excuses for a twice impeached so-called former president. Madam clerk, he does not bend a knee to everyone who would seek to undermine our democracy because, madam clerk, that’s not what leaders do.”
Jeffries and Pelosi greeted each other on the House floor on Tuesday morning.
Jan 03, 12:46 PM EST
Stefanik introduces McCarthy as GOP nominee for speaker
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., introduced Kevin McCarthy on the House floor as the GOP nominee for speaker.
Stefanik, a McCarthy ally, touted the Californian’s efforts to bolster House Republicans’ ranks by campaigning for diverse candidates from coast to coast.
“Since the day Kevin was elected as our leader, House Republicans have only gained seats and won,” she said. “Kevin knows what we stand for, he knows when to engage in the fight, and he knows how to build consensus.”
“His relentless effort has yielded an extraordinary House Republican majority,” she added. “Today’s House Republican Conference is the most diverse Republican conference in our nation’s history.”
And while her speech was mostly focused on building up McCarthy, Stefanik also offered a dig at his detractors, boasting that “Kevin McCarthy has earned this speakership of the ‘People’s House.'”
Jan 03, 12:44 PM EST
Magnetometers at House chamber entrances removed
Ahead of the vote for speaker, the magnetometers placed outside the doors of the House chamber in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have been removed, as the new GOP majority demanded.
The GOP’s new proposed House rules had called for removing the magnetometers.
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders, Will Steakin and Nicole Moeder
Jan 03, 12:33 PM EST
VP Kamala Harris swears in new senators
As House Republicans enter the 118th Congress in disarray over who will hold the speaker’s gavel, the Democrat-controlled Senate opened with Vice President Kamala Harris swearing in new members and those who won reelection in November.
Among the new faces in the chamber are Pennsylvania’s John Fetterman, Alabama’s Katie Britt and Missouri’s Eric Schmitt.
Arizona’s Mark Kelly and Georgia’s Raphael Warnock were sworn in for their first full, six-year terms.
Despite losing majority control in the House, Democrats expanded their advantage in the Senate by one seat.
Jan 03, 10:39 AM EST
McCarthy tells Republicans ‘I earned this job’: Source
In a closed-door meeting with House Republicans, Kevin McCarthy made a last-ditch case for speaker.
“I’m not going to go away. I’m going to stand until the last four friends stand with me,” he told the GOP members, according to a source in the room.
“I earned this job,” McCarthy said. “We earned this majority, and goddammit we are going to win it today.”
Jan 03, 10:33 AM EST
Rep.-elect George Santos arrives near House office
Rep.-elect George Santos, who has faced controversy and national attention for lying about or embellishing details of his background, was spotted by reporters in Congress Tuesday morning.
Santos was walking toward his office in the Longworth House Office Building, accompanied by a staffer, when he stopped and turned the other way once he saw reporters.
He declined to answer most questions, but told ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa he will vote for Kevin McCarthy for speaker.
Santos faced calls for accountability from some Republicans, but not from current Republican House leadership. He has said he will serve out his term in the House.
New members of the House will not be sworn in until a speaker is elected.
-ABC News’ Hannah Demissie, Lalee Ibssa, and Oren Oppenheim
Jan 03, 10:20 AM EST
McCarthy ready to battle for speaker’s gavel, sources say
As Republicans met behind closed doors ahead of the speaker vote, it appeared Kevin McCarthy still did not have the votes needed to be elected.
Sources close to the Republican leader say he’s ready to battle it out. It could go into multiple rounds of votes — something that hasn’t happened in 100 years — and the floor fight could drag on for hours, if not days. The longest battle for speaker was in 1856, and it took two months and 133 votes to resolve.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, who opposes McCarthy’s bid, has warned, “We may see the cherry blossoms bloom in Washington, D.C. before a speaker is elected.”
All of this overshadows the start of the new Congress where Republicans have a majority in the House for the first time since 2018.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott
Jan 03, 9:43 AM EST
McCarthy arrives for GOP meeting: ‘We are going to have a good day’
Rep. McCarthy has arrived for a closed-door meeting with his fellow Republicans.
“We are going to have a good day today,” McCarthy said as he walked by reporters, who asked if he had the votes for speaker.
The California congressman then laughed as a reporter asked if he’d support Rep. Steve Scalise for speaker should he fail to get enough votes.
Jan 03, 9:42 AM EST
‘Follow Kevin McCarthy’ sign posted outside speaker’s office
Hours before the vote to elect a new House speaker, a sign has appeared in front of the speaker’s office with the message: “Follow Kevin McCarthy.”
McCarthy was set to shore up more support for his speaker bid in a closed-door meeting with the Republican caucus this morning. He faces opposition from a group of hard-line conservatives, who could sink what is his second attempt to hold the gavel.
The California congressman’s belongings have been brought into the speaker’s suite, but if he doesn’t get enough votes, he’ll have to move out.
Jan 03, 8:52 AM EST
GOP conference to hold last-minute meeting before speaker vote
The House Republican conference will meet behind closed doors at 9:30 a.m., just hours before the speaker vote begins at noon.
While McCarthy might be able to garner more support in a last-ditch appeal, his detractors have boasted that they’ll be able to muster the necessary opposition to block his bid.
Rep. Scott Perry, the chair of the House Freedom Caucus who is leading the group of hard-line conservatives opposing McCarthy’s bid, released a new statement Tuesday morning blasting the California congressman.
“In his 14 years in Republican Leadership, McCarthy has repeatedly failed to demonstrate any desire to meaningfully change the status quo in Washington,” Perry said.
Jan 03, 8:36 AM EST
McCarthy’s rise from California politics to GOP leader
Kevin McCarthy began his career as a staffer to then-Rep. Bill Thomas before chairing the California Young Republicans and later the Young Republican National Federation.
He was first elected to office in 2002, serving in the California state Assembly until 2007, when was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. At the time, he was dubbed one of the “young guns” of the next generation of conservative leadership.
McCarthy tried to become speaker in 2015 but his chance evaporated after resistance from the same kind of conservatives who are trying to block his path Tuesday. When Democrats took control of the House in 2018, McCarthy was elected House minority leader.
Jan 03, 8:26 AM EST
McCarthy’s bid for speaker unclear as new Congress set to begin
Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become the next speaker of the House is still clouded in uncertainty as lawmakers head to Capitol Hill for the first day of the 118th Congress.
McCarthy and his staffers spent the day Monday setting up the speaker’s office but he may have to move his belongings out if he fails to clinch the votes needed to secure the position.
A few dozen members piled into McCarthy’s office throughout the day Monday to go over last-minute strategy. ABC News spotted three McCarthy critics during the afternoon meeting: Reps. Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert and Scott Perry.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a McCarthy supporter, told ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, “the problem is the people need to realize the art of the deal. They are all Trump supporters, and you can’t be successful if you’re not willing to take the wins when you get them” when asked about those in her party who are trying to tank McCarthy’s bid.
Rep. Jim Jordan, whose name has been floated around as a potential speaker candidate, said he believes McCarthy “can get there.”
McCarthy, however, didn’t directly answer reporter’s questions about how the vote could go, telling them, “I hope you all have a very nice New Year’s” as he exited the Capitol on Monday night.
(NEW YORK) — A major storm is hitting the West Coast with flood, high wind and heavy snow alerts in effect for California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Washington state.
More than 118,000 customers are without power in California.
Although the heaviest of the rain has ended, unsettled weather continues across California and a flood watch remains in effect.
A winter storm warning is in place for the mountains outside of Los Angeles, where up to a foot of snow is possible.
In California, winds gusts up to 132 mph were reported in Alpine Meadows and up to 60 mph at San Francisco International Airport.
Heavy rain will continue Thursday in California and then most of the state will catch a break on Friday before more rain arrives over the weekend and into early next week.
Winds in Los Angeles County gusted up to 87 mph and up to 63 mph on the Santa Barbara County coast.
The highest rainfall totals in California over the last 24 hours were 5 inches in Potter Valley, 3.98 inches in Valley Christian, 4.67 inches in Los Angeles County and 1.8 inches in Beverly Hills.
San Francisco picked up more than half of its annual rainfall in just 30 days.
Winter storm warnings are in effect for the Sierras, where there could be up to 4 feet of snow.
Heavy snow will continue to fall in the Sierras and mountains of Los Angeles later Thursday while snow will also be moving into the central Rockies.
Additional Atmospheric Rivers will move in this weekend and into next weekend. More rounds of flooding rain, winds and mountain snow are to be expected. The northern and central part of the state will likely get the brunt of it.
Elsewhere, there were 23 reported tornadoes across the South.
Seven tornadoes were confirmed in Illinois alone, making it the biggest tornado outbreak for the state since 1989.
To the north, up to 15 inches of snow fell in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, breaking a daily record and making it the snowiest start to January in five years.
With more than 45 inches of snow so far this season, this is the snowiest start to winter in almost 30 years at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport.
(NEW YORK) — Ovidio Guzmán, a top leader of the Sinaloa Cartel and the son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, the notorious drug lord currently serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison, has been arrested by authorities in Mexico, the country’s secretary of defense, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, announced Thursday afternoon.
Guzmán was captured by Mexican armed forces in an overnight raid in a small town just outside the city of Culiacán, the capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
He was transported by military aircraft from Culiacán back to Mexico City late morning on Thursday. Officials said the operation had been in the works for more than six months.
The arrest was also confirmed to ABC News by a U.S. law enforcement official.
Ovidio Guzman has been charged since 2018 in Washington, D.C., with manufacturing or distributing for illegal importation into the United States substantial amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.
A provisional warrant was issued for his arrest in 2019, according to Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary, Marcelo Ebrad.
“This is a request for provisional detention and then there is the extradition procedure,” Ebrad told reporters.
A U.S.-based attorney who has represented Guzman since 2019, Jeffrey Lichtman, declined to comment on the arrest.
Ebrad denied that U.S. agencies had participated or provided information that led to Guzmán’s arrest and also rumors that the arrest was a “gift” to President Joe Biden who is scheduled to visit Mexico next week.
“This operation was kept extremely confidential by the authorities in charge of doing so and there was no intermediation or political consultation. There is no link between the operation and the summit,” he told reporters.
Guzmán is allegedly a major trafficker of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States and has been helping to lead a now-fractured Sinaloa Cartel since his father’s extradition years ago.
Alleged cartel members have since besieged parts of the city, with burning vehicles set up as roadblocks in what appeared to be a failed attempt to impede authorities transporting Guzmán out of the city.
Mexico’s military reported numerous blockades across the city and said that armed men even attacked the city’s main airport.
An Aeromexico flight set to take off from Culiacán to Mexico City was struck by a stray bullet at the airport and did not take off as a result.
“This morning, a bullet impact was detected in the fuselage of an Embraer 190 plane that was ready to start flight AM165 on the Culiacan-Mexico City route, which was canceled for security reasons,” Aeromexico said in a statement. “The plane never started its takeoff run. After this accident, the company’s protocols were activated and the corresponding authorities were notified, with whom we will coordinate the investigations. Customers and collaborators are safe.”
Aeromexico later said it was temporarily suspending all operations at the airport.
This is not the first time the city has come under attack during a raid to capture Ovidio Guzmán.
In a now-infamous event in October 2019, nicknamed the Culiacanazo, authorities briefly detained Ovidio Guzmán at a home in Culiacán.
Word spread quickly, however, and heavily armed gunmen flooded the city, with massive shootouts taking place between cartel members and Mexican armed forces around the city.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered Ovidio Guzmán released in order to avoid more bloodshed — a major embarrassment for the government and one that is routinely held up as a prime example of the power criminal organizations continue to wield in Mexico.
Ovidio Guzmán is wanted on federal charges in the United States and could face extradition to the U.S. pending legal proceedings.
His father, El Chapo, is serving a life sentence in the U.S. after being convicted in 2019 of conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, including large-scale narcotics violations and a murder conspiracy, drug trafficking conspiracies, unlawful use of a firearm and a money laundering conspiracy.
ABC News’ Ivan Pereira and Kirit Radia contributed to this report.
As previously reported, Ian Gillan’s wife, Bron, passed away in November at the age of 67, and now the Deep Purple rocker has shared a tribute to her on his personal website.
“My darling wife, Bron, died of heart failure on Saturday 19 November, 2022, in Exeter Hospital,” he writes. “It’s taken some weeks until I could find the words to dignify her publicly. Publicly, because our life together, (forty. wonderful, happy years), was mainly private.”
He adds, “But, I don’t think she’d mind if I said out loud that ‘I love you my sweet B, we are forever entwined. The wrench of bereavement is softened by your continued presence. Thank you for your love and guidance. See you later.’”
Gillan also shares that Bron was “was funny, beautiful, intelligent and strongly supportive to me and our daughter Grace, in our work,” adding, she “made a wonderful happy place for me and Grace, to come home to.”
As for the upcoming year, Gillan offers, “I’m getting my head together for the year of work ahead, for which I’m grateful (it helps) and excited. We are getting around a bit in this coming year, so I hope to see as many as possible of your smiling faces on the road, or in a bar somewhere.”
