Kevin McCarthy’s speaker bid in peril after ‘Taliban 20’ saboteurs derailed first three votes: Republican rebel hints he is open to switching vote back to McCarthy as he slams colleagues for comparing critics to terrorists
- Congress will restart voting for Speaker at noon, with McCarthy still battling
- Republicans called the group of dissenters the ‘Taliban 20’ and ‘chaos caucus’
- Byron Donalds, who voted for Jim Jordan in final ballot, slammed comparison
- He said he hadn’t spoken to McCarthy, but is open to switching his vote back
- Matt Gaetz last night sent a letter to the Capitol asking why McCarthy had already moved into the Speaker’s office
Kevin McCarthy’s bid to be House Speaker is in peril after a group of Republican rebels nicknamed the ‘Taliban 20’ and ‘chaos caucus’ derailed the first three ballots.
The GOP is in disarray after a chaotic first day in the majority, where the dissenters threw their weight behind Jim Jordan instead of the leader.
McCarthy and his team will be in talks with members of the party to try and find a path forward before voting restarts at noon.
Last night a senior Republican source in the House told DailyMail.com that McCarthy is ‘forging ahead and taking a stand’ in a sign he will keep fighting as his critics dug in and looked for more ways to derail his campaign.
Matt Gaetz, who nominated Jordan, sent a letter to Capitol officials on Tuesday night asking why McCarthy has already moved into the Speaker’s office before winning the gavel.
Byron Donalds, who flipped his vote from McCarthy to Jordan during the farcical day in the House, hinted on Wednesday morning he is open to switching his vote back as negotiations continue.
He also criticized Rep. Don Bacon for saying colleagues had privately called the McCarthy opponents that ‘Taliban 20’.
Byron Donalds, who flipped his vote from McCarthy to Jordan during the farcical day in the House, criticized Rep. Don Bacon for saying colleagues had privately called the McCarthy opponents that ‘Taliban 19’ during the first two votes
Kevin McCarthy’s bid to be House Speaker is in peril after a group of Republican rebels nicknamed the ‘Taliban 20’ and ‘chaos caucus’ derailed the first three ballots
REPUBLICAN REBELS VOTING AGAINST MCCARTHY
Andy Biggs – Arizona
Dan Bishop – North Carolina
Lauren Boebert – Colorado
Josh Brecheen – Oklahoma
Michael Cloud – Texas
Andrew Clyde – Georgia
Eli Crane – Arizona
Byron Donalds – Florida
Matt Gaetz – Florida
Bob Good – Virginia
Paul Gosar – Arizona
Andy Harris – Maryland
Ana Paulina Luna – Florida
Mary Miller – Illinois
Ralph Norman – South Carolina
Andy Ogles – Tennessee
Scott Perry – Pennsylvania
Matt Rosendale – Montana
Chip Roy – Texas
Keith Self – Texas
‘We’re in a process where votes have been earned not given,’ Donalds told CNN.
‘For that language to be used is reprehensible, I like Don Bacon, this is like any negotiation.
‘So to refer to people on the other side of the a negotiation as to be aligned with some of the worst terrorists the world has ever seen is outrageous.’
Donalds did hint that he is open to switching his vote back to McCarthy.
‘What I’m going to do right now is vote for who I think is in the best interest of the conference.
‘My vote yesterday was basically to break a deadlock, because we were deadlocked, and we were not getting anywhere.’
However he did say the leader doesn’t have a ‘strategy’ and there needs to be ‘serious conversations’ about the way forward.
Donalds added that ‘very little’ progress had been made in negotiations overnight after the House adjourned for the evening.
Gaetz, one of those 20 Republicans, expressed his own anger that McCarthy had already moved into the speaker’s office – sharing a letter he had written to the Architect of the Capitol ‘demanding answers.’
‘How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?’ Gaetz asked Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton.
The Democrats have no plans to budge, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries – the Democrats’ pick for House Speaker – indicating the party wouldn’t get behind a moderate ‘consensus candidate.’
‘We are looking for a willing partner to solve problems for the American people, not save the Republicans from their dysfunction,’ Jeffries told reporters at a press conference Tuesday night, after the Republican majority adjourned Congress for the day so they could try to work their leadership issues out.
He also tweeted: ‘Day one. House Dems are united and ready to get to work. Complete chaos on the other side of the aisle.’
Earlier, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told two of the Republican rebels – Reps. Paul Gosar and Gaetz – that the Democrats didn’t have a deal with McCarthy to sit the votes out, in order to decrease the threshold he would need to capture the majority.
Without a chosen speaker the House of Representatives cannot conduct business, nor can new members be sworn-in.
Matt Gaetz, who nominated Jordan, sent a letter to Capitol officials on Tuesday night asking why McCarthy has already moved into the Speaker’s office before he winning the gavel
Donalds speaks to colleagues on the floor of the House on Tuesday after the House failed to elect a Speaker in the opening round of votes for the first time in 100 years
Some members of the House of Representatives were seen keeping tallies of the votes
Republican Rep. Pete Sessions signaled that he believes Tuesday’s vote could be a long one – complicating a day that’s normally reserved for ceremony and new members of Congress’ celebrations with family.
‘I don’t think anybody’s gonna get tired that’s here right now. And then at some point, somebody’s gonna have to figure out at what point enough is enough,’ Sessions told reporters between the second and third round votes.
He noted that ‘the whole world is watching’ the GOP squabble over their leadership.
McCarthy lost the first round of votes for the Speakership earlier in the afternoon, kicking off a dramatic session that is expected to last hours.
Nineteen House Republicans backed someone other than McCarthy in the initial vote.
McCarthy ended up finishing second behind House Democrats’ new leader Hakeem Jeffries. McCarthy clinched 203 votes, while Jeffries won the support of all 212 members of his caucus.
It’s the first time in a century that a House Speaker was not elected on the initial round.
It became apparent soon after the roll call vote began that McCarthy did not have the votes to outright win the gavel.
Audible gasps could be heard in the cavernous House chamber as more than a dozen Republican lawmakers stood in defiance to the California legislator’s bid.
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