The Republican candidate for the head of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, failed for the 11th time in the elections, with a conservative group of his party maintaining the vote for other candidates.
Already beyond the tenth attempt to elect the leader of the House of Representatives, this crisis scenario has not been registered in North American politics for 160 years, reported the news agency France-Presse (AFP).
In the 11th attempt, McCarthy got 200 votes, while House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries kept his party’s 212 votes, short of the 218 needed for the election.
Alternative candidates proposed by anti-McCarthy conservatives, Kevin Hern and Donald Trump, nominated by Florida ultra-conservative Matt Gaetz, got eight votes in total.
Republican Byron Donalds also received 12 votes, although this time he was not nominated.
It talks about whether the congressmen go to a vote number 12 or postpone the session for this Friday, reported the Efe agency.
During the vote, US media, such as the Washington Post and The Hill, reported that the Republicans had reached an agreement to choose Kevin McCarthy, who would have given in to many of the demands of opponents within the party.
However, some of the congressmen refused to consider the possibility of accepting the choice of McCarthy, who guaranteed this Thursday that he is determined to maintain the candidacy.
But supporters and opponents arose this Thursday, apparently increasingly desperate, in the face of a situation with no end in sight, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
By regulation of Congress, the chamber will continue to meet until a candidate obtains the 218 votes necessary for his leadership.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has already described the blockade of the election of the new leader of the House of Representatives as “shameful”, due to the internal divisions of the Republicans.
Some of the opponents accuse McCarthy of funding more moderate candidates in the November midterm elections, in which the conservatives managed to wrest control from the Democrats, but fell far short of the good results that many media predicted.
Others criticize McCarthy for not negotiating with them to reform the rules of debate and the names to lead congressional committees in the new term.
The leader of the House of Representatives is the third highest authority in the country, after the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and the vice president, Kamala Harris, who also presides over the Senate.
Source: TSF
