Congressional Republicans are in a dog fight over their party’s leadership in the House of Representatives. One Illlinois Congresswoman is a part of the roadblock that refused to vote in House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of of the House in three separate votes yesterday.
In three votes yesterday, 15th District Illinois Congresswoman Mary Miller was one of 19 House Republicans who voted for someone else besides McCarthy for the gavel. Miller voted each time for fellow House Freedom Caucus member, Ohio Republican Jim Jordan.
Fellow Illinois Republicans Darin LaHood and Mike Bost each voted for McCarthy.
McCarthy became the first front-runner for Speaker of the House to be defeated in the first round of voting for Speaker of the House in a century. It was also the first time in over a century that the U.S. House went to multiple rounds of voting for Speaker of the House.
New York Democrat Hakeem Jeffries received more votes each time than any of the Republicans who were put forth in the three votes, as House Democrats have unanimously selected him as their next leader. McCarthy has refused to concede the fight and spent most of the night after adjournment trying to work a deal to ascend to the Speaker of the House.
It’s been more than 100 years since the House was led by plurality (not led by the majority party in power). McCarthy continued to lose votes as the day went on into multiple votes yesterday. The 1923 vote for Speaker, took 9 ballots before a Speaker was chosen.
The Clerk of the U.S. House, Cheryl L. Johnson, will be the parliamentarian until a new Speaker is chosen.