Inside the Final Hours of Kevin McCarthy’s Speaker Fight

WASHINGTON — Confident that he was about to win the speaker’s gavel after a torturous four-day stretch of defeats, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California smiled late Friday night as he sat in his chair. the The house floor. His face fell.

As the His 14th attempt to be a speaker slowed down. He knew that winning was impossible. the Support of Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, the Republican leader’s chief antagonist — and Mr. Gaetz had just voted “present.”

For days as the Historic floor fight was played, Mr. McCarthy remained at his seat and dispatched his allies to the buttonhole. the Privately remaining holdouts. McCarthy now strode through the streets, with his bright smile now replaced by a straight jaw. the Floor to confront Mr. Gaetz who leaning back on his chair, exuding disdain, exuded defiance.

Mr. McCarthy was stern with Mr. Gaetz. He appealed to him finally to relent. the End of the speakership crisis the Florida Republican slapped his finger in refusal After two minutes, Mr. McCarthy, seething and head down — the First flash of frustration he had showed all week — returned to his seat. He didn’t have the votes.

It was an amazing spectacle. the Early hours of Saturday morning was unlike any other the A house floor that has been in use for more than 100 years was the fitting end to an exposed week. the deep divisions roiling the Republican Party the power of An unyielding and ungoverned hard-right flank, which revels in disrupting normal operations of A leader who repeatedly surrenders to the government the He was right in his search for power.

Last hours of Mr. McCarthy’s Finally, victory in the struggle the Speakership with back-room negotiations the Hard right and arm-twisting to the in the Donald J. Trump will answer your phone open to all calls the Former president twice impeached, trying to win over the holdouts. the House would be in the Coming in two years, and even an insider narrowly avoided physical altercation the chamber.

“Preferably, you do this in private,” Patrick T. McHenry of North Carolina’s Mr. McCarthy’s Chief emissary for negotiations the rebels. “The preference in politics is to always suffer your indignities in private, not in public. That was the goal. And the last weekend, it was evident that we would have to suffer this in public.”

They suffered.

“That was easy, huh?” After finally taking his medication, Mr. McCarthy stated that he was happy. the gavel just after 1 a.m. “I never thought we’d get up here.”

It’s Over the last century, the Negotiating and deal-cutting has made it possible. the For more information, please visit: the ascendance of House speaker designs have been developed in a closed environment. of the Actual election. Since 1923, no candidate for speaker had required more than one vote to win. On Friday, however, there was much of the All round of Negotiations that went on into the 11th hour the Edge of All of the disasters were broadcast live on television.

What dysfunction left the Ironically, a house without speakers for one week is also allowed the Indignities become even more visible Photographers are free to do what they want. the Because there wasn’t a speaker, the spectators were allowed to observe their behavior. the Live viewing of rare films the Floor of the house.

Like Mr. McCarthy’s Allies fought furiously the Marjorie Taylor Greene, a hard-right holdout of Georgia, who recently supported Mr. McCarthy, and was actively lobbying hard to him, was arrested trying put Mr. Trump in his place, whom he had previously endorsed. the Republican leader the Call Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana, a crucial defector.

He scolded Ms. Greene furiously, telling her not to make such an unfortunate situation. the Legislators who saw it said that they were able to remove the handset.

In the neighborhood of the At the same time, Mike Rogers of Alabama: Alabama could soon be the next nation the next chairman of the Armed Services Committee, had to be physically restrained by another lawmaker who clapped his hand over Mr. Rogers’s open mouth after the irate congressman approached Mr. Gaetz.

“We haven’t seen this in a century,” said Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, referencing the Last time, a speaker’s election was dragged past nine ballots. “We’re in an emotional climate to begin with, absent this, before we got here. It’s emotions running high.”

Rogers vented frustration to the defectors over the Past week, they threatened to lose their positions on the committees because of their disloyalty during closed-door discussion. He has shown special disdain for Mr. Gaetz. the Trump associate and fourth-term Florida Republican who is known for being a fervent attention seeker on Capitol Hill.

McCarthy and his friends had heard from Mr. Gaetz, that he wanted to lead an influential panel. the Armed Services Committee where Rogers has been serving since his arrival in Congress in 2017. Rogers said he was not having any. of it.

Now, Mr. Gaetz and Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado, two of the Most stubborn holdouts were those who refused to compromise and demanded that they be paid. the The House was adjourned until Monday, before further voting could take place.

Ms. Greene. of Mr. McCarthy’s One of the most vocal backers was seen with her head down while talking to Ms. Boebert. of the Freedom Caucus, and I tapped her the shoulder.

“You need to stop,” Ms. Greene looked at her and said. Ms. Boebert retorted slowly and stared straight ahead.

“They said that they had agreed to both vote present and they voted present, so that’s as far as they were going to move,” Republican Ken Buck said of Colorado.

Crestfallen, McCarthy marched to his place, while McHenry called. the Adjourn to the chamber

But there were still many things to do. After the According to two sources, Trump called Gaetz after a failed 14th election, as per two persons familiar with it. the conversation. CNN reported also that Andy Biggs had been contacted by him. of Arizona and another of the Even though they were a significant group, dissidents remained an ardent supporter of the revolution. of In the past, defectors had supported Mr. McCarthy. the day.

As the As the vote to adjourn progressed there was an underlying shift the Energy on the The House Floor and an apparent commotion that was changing the mood. Both Mr. Gaetz, and Ms. Boebert marched without warning. the It is possible to do so. of the Chamber and raised red flags to indicate that they had switched their votes in the adjournment to “no” after all.

“Everyone take your seats,” McCarthy appeared relieved, Mr. McCarthy stated. “Let’s do it one more time.”

Continue reading the next ballot — the 15th and final — Mr. Gaetz and Ms. Boebert cast the Same “present” Votes, the last of the The holdouts gave in and changed their vote, too. “present,” Allowing Mr. McCarthy win.

“Matt really wanted to get everybody there,” McCarthy spoke of Mr. Gaetz during an informal news conference later in the night. “Through all of this people’s emotions go up and down, and at the end of the night, Matt got everybody there.”

Both Mr. McCarthy’s Allies the Rebels are reticent to reveal the exact cause of their rebellion. the Last group of Defectionors can change their vote between the 14th and 15th ballots for paving the His ascent is on the way the Speakership is a powerful dynamic. the the extent that McCarthy and his associates favored key concessions which would lead to change the Without much notice, or fanfare.

Others, such as Mr. McCarthy’s You can offer to return to the rule that would allow ranks-and-file politicians to force a vote for ousting the public discussion for many days. While others such as the promise to arm a subcommittee with investigation responsibilities, have been discussed openly for many days. the “weaponization of government” With the Same resources the The Jan. 6 Select Committee, where were just starting to trickle.

On Saturday, Mr. Trump attributed the blame. the Success to his interventions in the statement entitled “President Trump Finalizes Speaker Deal.”

After moving through the rattling, the A half-dozen lawmakers helped find a way out of the impasse. McCarthy raised a point of At a news conference in which Mr. Trump received praise, the Statuary Hall shortly after his election.

He stood there for two years before the moment struck. the After rioters attack, the house floor was swept clean the Capitol in January 2021. Mr. Trump was there. “responsibility” For the assault, “should have immediately denounced the mob,” And that “these facts require immediate action by President Trump.”

He was on a pilgrimage at Mar-a-Lago within weeks to repair fences with Mr. Trump and deep engaged in an attempt to stop an investigation of the Jan. 6 riot. Friday morning saw Mr. McCarthy suggest that he owed to his position the Ex-president

“I do want to specially thank President Trump,” He stated. “I don’t think anybody should doubt his influence.”

He began to tick off the items on his list. of He listed agenda items that Mr. Trump wants Republicans to support, such as improving the economy. the M. McCarthy concluded that economy and security were important aspects of the United States’ economic system. “He was a great influence to make that all happen. So thank you, President Trump.”

Emily Cochrane Luke Broadwater Maggie Haberman Contributed reporting