In 1923, the Speaker of the House election took 9 rounds and in 1856, Congress was shut for 2 months

It didn’t go according to plan, at least for GOP leader Kevin McCarthy who became the first majority nominee for speaker in 100 years to fail to win an initial vote for the gavel after not getting 218 votes but rather losing 19 GOP hardliners. He also lost the second and third rounds of voting with no exit (or winning) strategy in sight.

Needing 218 votes in the full House, McCarthy got just 203 in two rounds — less even than Democrat Hakeem Jeffries in the GOP-controlled chamber. A third ballot was underway as night fell on the new House GOP majority, tensions rising as all other business came to a halt.

McCarthy had pledged a “battle on the floor” for as long as it took to overcome right-flank fellow Republicans who were refusing to give him their votes. After three failed votes, the House adjourned without a leader until Wednesday at 12 noon.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) walks to the House Chambers of the U.S. Capitol Building on December 23, 2022 in Washington, DC.

McCarthy continues to face diehard opposition from a small but vocal number of conservative lawmakers who calls themselves ‘the Never Kevin Caucus’ in a 222-213 majority could well tank his nomination, and that they did. The final vote for McCarthy in the first election was 203 – 15 votes shy of being declared a winner. 

The NKs are led by Biggs, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bob Good of Virginia, Matt Rosendale of Montana and Ralph Norman of South Carolina – amongst others. 

The last speaker election to go beyond the first ballot was in 1923, when members took nine tries to name Frederick Gillett (R-Mass.) to the position. The all-time record for duration of a speaker vote was in the mid-1850s — when lawmakers took almost two months and 133 ballots before picking Nathaniel Banks, also of Massachusetts.

In the House’s 234-year history, 14 speaker votes have required multiple ballots according to the Washington Post. With the rise of the two-party system, only two have come after 1856.

The House can change the election rules allowing a simple majority of votes to become the speaker, but this could backfire for the Republicans since Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) could win a majority vote meaning the House and the Senate would both be under Democratic control – a highly unlikely scenario.

Frederick H Gillett of Massachusetts, was re-elected Speaker of the House of Representatives on 5th December, when the Republican insurgents voted for him for the first time after a deadlock two days previously on December 14, 1923

The last speaker election to go beyond the first ballot was in 1923, when members took nine tries to name Frederick Gillett (R-Mass.)

Since the House leadership election outcome is not a done deal, a speaker could be elected today after multiple attempts, delayed for day or weeks, or Congress could change the rules in order to get a simple majority.

Until a speaker is elected, Cheryl Lynn Johnson, the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives and Pelosi appointee, will preside over the lower chamber. 

The outgoing speaker will usually join the successor at the speaker’s chair, where they will pass the gavel as a nod to the peaceful transition of power from one party leader to another. This time around, that will be Pelosi, the California Democrat who held the gavel for the last four years.