Amid late-night chaos in chamber, McCarthy begs for Gaetz’s vote
WASHINGTON — It was the extraordinary moment that brought House Republicans to the brink — and the moment they found their way back.
Just one vote short of becoming speaker of the House, California Republican Kevin McCarthy walked down the center aisle to the back of the chamber. He had already lost 13 votes for speaker over four long days. The room fell almost silent as it became apparent that the GOP leader was now asking — begging, really — defiant Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to change his vote from “present” to “McCarthy.”
Gaetz, who had hurled personal insults at McCarthy hours earlier on the House floor, said no.
McCarthy slowly walked back down the aisle, alone, head tilted. But he turned back around when he heard a scuffle. Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, an ally of McCarthy, had angrily confronted
Gaetz, telling him he would regret his decision. Lawmakers on the floor yelled in disbelief as Rogers was held back by a colleague.
McCarthy then lost the 14th vote and allies moved to adjourn the House.
Then tempers cooled. And within the hour, McCarthy and his allies had persuaded his other remaining opponents to vote “present” as well, lowering the vote total necessary for McCarthy to win.
“I hope one thing is clear,” McCarthy said early Saturday. “I never give up.”
The chaos on the House floor came exactly two years after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. In the days afterward, McCarthy blamed then-President Donald Trump for encouraging his supporters who attacked the building and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden. But a few weeks later, McCarthy traveled to see Trump in Florida and made amends.
Friday’s scene was a different kind of chaos — a full-circle moment for Republicans, who had ceded both chambers of Congress and the presidency to Democrats after the riot. While many of them denounced Trump at the time, McCarthy’s Florida visit brought him back into the fold, and the former president was working the phones Friday evening, calling Gaetz and the other holdouts.
“He was with me from the beginning,” McCarthy said after the final vote, noting Trump’s phone calls as well.
McCarthy said afterward that Gaetz eventually “got everybody there to the point that nobody voted against me,” persuading some of his colleagues to vote “present.” In the end, no Republican voted against McCarthy.