WASHINGTON: The stalemate over electing a speaker of the US House of Representatives continued on Wednesday, with Republican Kevin McCarthy losing again in a fifth round of voting. A sixth round was underway at the time of going to press.

In the fourth vote, Mr McCarthy got 201 votes, two short of the 203 he received in the first vote on Tuesday. A candidate needs 218 votes to win the 435-member lower chamber of the US Congress.

The 20 McCarthy opponents, all of whom voted for Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, on Tuesday, switched their votes to the new conservative candidate Byron Donalds of Florida. Democrat Hakeem Jeffries of New York once again got all 212 Democratic votes.

In a change from Tuesday, Representative Victoria Spartz of Indiana voted “present”. She had voted for Mr McCarthy in all three votes on Tuesday.

This is the first time in hundreds of years that the House speaker was not elected on the first ballot. The vote in 1923 was decided on the ninth ballot. Before that the 1869 speaker vote lasted to 60 ballots over the course of two months.

A speaker is elected with a majority of votes for a specific candidate, not counting “present” votes or absences.

The US media reported that Mr McCarthy and his allies are also trying to get the House adjourned until Thursday, but they require 218 votes to do so, which they do not have.

Earlier on Wednesday, the House reconvened after three failed votes on Tuesday. The media reported that the voting will continue on Wednesday until a candidate gets 218 votes.

Mr McCarthy, the leading contender to replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker, has failed to convince 20 conservative Republicans to back him. Congressional business cannot begin until a speaker is chosen as the House needs a speaker for the members to take oath.

President Joe Biden is facing a Republican majority in the House for the first time, but the White House said it will not intervene. The Democrats, however, control the Senate.

The rebellion against Mr McCarthy is led by a small but vocal group of ultraconservative Republicans. The rebels also include a larger group of lawmakers who have long agitated for changes in the way the House operates, and a set of newcomers.

With a razor-thin majority and Democrats opposing him unanimously, Mr McCarthy must secure near-total support among Republicans to win the top post.

Mr McCarthy has indicated that he is willing to accept some of the changes the detractors demand, such as a snap vote at any time to oust the speaker. But the rebels want more, and prodding from former President Donald J. Trump, who appealed to them on Wednesday to vote for Mr McCarthy, failed to move them.

The rebels complain that the House’s power structures give leaders too much influence and want deeper changes that would increase the influence of smaller groups in the legislative process.

Mr McCarthy proposed allowing any five House Republicans to call for the speaker’s removal.

But ultraconservatives want any single Republican to be able to call to oust the speaker. They’re also asking for specific members to be placed on prime committees, and a greater say in the budget allocation process.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2023