{"id":36474,"date":"2023-01-03T18:00:05","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T01:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/boebert-plays-key-role-in-blocking-mccarthy-from-becoming-house-speaker\/"},"modified":"2023-01-04T01:00:05","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T01:00:05","slug":"boebert-plays-key-role-in-blocking-mccarthy-from-becoming-house-speaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/boebert-plays-key-role-in-blocking-mccarthy-from-becoming-house-speaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Boebert plays key role in blocking McCarthy from becoming House speaker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=e03053f8-2d92-5730-949b-d4c3c1d42da9&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" alt=\"Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., speaks as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., listens, after a closed-door meeting with the GOP Conference at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (J. Scott Applewhite\/The Associated Press)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., speaks as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., listens, after a closed-door meeting with the GOP Conference at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (J. Scott Applewhite\/The Associated Press)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">J. Scott Applewhite<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>WASHINGTON \u2013 Failing to elect party leader Kevin McCarthy as the new speaker of the House, Republicans adjourned in disarray Tuesday night, ending a raucous first day of the new Congress but hoping to somehow regroup on Wednesday from his historic defeat.<\/p>\n<p>The abrupt end to a long, messy Day One showed there is no easy way ahead for McCarthy who promised to fight to the finish to claim the gavel despite opposition from the chamber\u2019s most conservative members. Needing 218 votes in the full House, McCarthy got just 203 in two rounds \u2013 less even than Democrat Hakeem Jeffries in the GOP-controlled chamber \u2013 and fared even worse with 202 in round three.<\/p>\n<p>Tensions rose as night fell on the new House majority, and all other business came to a halt. The House agreed to return at noon Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKevin McCarthy is not going to be a speaker,\u201d declared Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., among the holdouts.<\/p>\n<p>Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Garfield County, played a key role Tuesday in blocking McCarthy from securing the speaker\u2019s gavel by repeatedly casting votes for conservative Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>McCarthy had pledged a \u201cbattle on the floor\u201d for as long as it took to overcome right-flank fellow Republicans who were refusing to give him their votes. But it was not at all clear how the embattled GOP leader could rebound after becoming the first House speaker nominee in 100 years to fail to win the gavel with his party in the majority.<\/p>\n<p>Without a speaker, the House cannot fully form \u2013 swearing in its members, naming its committee chairmen, engaging in floor proceedings and launching investigations of the Biden administration.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=750fffa4-8164-5d8a-97a4-55721d93a0cd&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., listens during the second round of voting for the next Speaker of the House on the opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington. (Alex Brandon\/The Associated Press)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., listens during the second round of voting for the next Speaker of the House on the opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington. (Alex Brandon\/The Associated Press)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Alex Brandon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>\u201cWe all came here to get things done,\u201d said the second-ranking Republican, Rep. Steve Scalise, in a rousing speech urging his colleagues to drop their protest.<\/p>\n<p>Railing against Democratic President Joe Biden\u2019s agenda, Scalise, himself a possible GOP compromise choice, said, \u201cWe can\u2019t start fixing those problems until we elect Kevin McCarthy our next speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was a chaotic start to the new Congress and pointed to a difficult road ahead with Republicans now in control of the House. Lawmakers\u2019 families waited around, as what\u2019s normally a festive day descended into chaos, kids playing in the aisles or squirming in parents\u2019 arms. A new generation of conservative Republicans, many aligned with Donald Trump\u2019s MAGA agenda, want to upend business as usual in Washington, and were committed to stop McCarthy\u2019s rise without concessions to their priorities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe American people are watching, and it\u2019s a good thing,\u201d said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who nominated fellow conservative Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as an alternative for speaker.<\/p>\n<p>It was the second time conservatives pushed forward a reluctant Jordan, the McCarthy rival-turned-ally, who earlier had risen to urge his colleagues, even those who backed him, to drop vote for McCarthy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to rally around him, come together\u201d Jordan said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video wp-block-embed-youtube naviga-video-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_Yhu7pbTodk\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In all, a core group of 19 Republicans \u2013 and then 20 \u2013 were voting for Jordan, denying McCarthy the majority he needs.<\/p>\n<p>Smiling through it all, McCarthy appeared intent on simply trying to wear down his colleagues. Earlier, he strode into the chamber, posed for photos, and received a standing ovation from many on his side of the aisle. He was nominated by the third-ranking Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who said the Californian from gritty Bakersfield \u201chas what it takes\u201d to lead the House.<\/p>\n<p>But a challenge was quickly raised by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a conservative former leader of the Freedom Caucus, who was nominated by a fellow conservative as speaker.<\/p>\n<p>The mood was tense, at least on the Republican side, as lawmakers rose from their seats, in lengthy in-person voting. Democrats were upbeat as they cast their own historic votes for their leader, Rep. Jeffries of New York.<\/p>\n<p>In the first-round tally, McCarthy won 203 votes, with 10 for Biggs and nine for other Republicans. In the second, it was 203 for McCarthy and 19 for Jordan. On the third vote, McCarthy had 202 to Jordan\u2019s 20. Democrat Jeffries had the most, 212 votes, but no nominee won a majority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe one thing that\u2019s clear is he doesn\u2019t have the votes,\u201d Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told CNN before joining with those voting McCarthy. \u201cAt some point, as a conference, we\u2019re gonna have to figure out who does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The standoff over McCarthy has been building since Republicans appeared on track to win the House majority in the midterm elections. in November A new generation of Trump-aligned Republicans led the opposition to McCarthy, believing he\u2019s neither conservative enough nor tough enough to battle Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>While the Senate remains in Democratic hands, barely, House Republicans are eager to confront Biden after two years of the Democrats controlling both houses of Congress.<\/p>\n<p>After a private GOP morning meeting, a core group of conservatives led by the Freedom Caucus and aligned with Trump were furious, calling the meeting a \u201cbeat down\u201d by McCarthy allies and remaining steadfast in their opposition to the GOP leader.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s one person who could have changed all this,\u201d said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., the chairman of the Freedom Caucus and a leader of Trump\u2019s effort to challenge the 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>The group said McCarthy had refused the group\u2019s last-ditch demand for rules changes in a meeting late Monday at the Capitol.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want to drain the swamp you can\u2019t put the biggest alligator in control of the exercise,\u201d said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe eagerly dismissed us,\u201d said Boebert.<\/p>\n<p>Boebert said Tuesday that she wouldn\u2019t vote for McCarthy unless he agreed to her conditions, including taking up a vote on term limits for members of Congress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs it stands,\u201d Boebert tweeted Tuesday morning, \u201cI will not be voting for Kevin McCarthy to be Speaker of the House.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=6fbe5d62-3b26-568b-b2f3-1e9bdfa52d4d&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., walks on the House floor during opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik\/The Associated Press)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., walks on the House floor during opening day of the 118th Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik\/The Associated Press)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Andrew Harnik<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>McCarthy\u2019s backers grew angry as well. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., a leader of a more pragmatic conservative group, said \u201cfrustration was rising\u201d with the minority faction opposing McCarthy.<\/p>\n<p>As the day began, outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gaveled closed the last session, moving aside for new House leadership in her Democratic Party, to a standing ovation from colleagues on her side of the aisle.<\/p>\n<p>The chaplain opened with a prayer seeking to bring the 118th Congress to life.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats enthusiastically nominated Jeffries, D-N. Y., who is taking over as party leader, as their choice for speaker \u2013 a typically symbolic gesture for the minority but one that took on new importance with Republicans at odds with each other.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA Latino is nominating in this chamber a Black man for our leader for the first time in American history,\u201d said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the third-ranking Democrat, in nominating his colleague.<\/p>\n<p>But there was only negative history for the Republicans. as McCarthy fell short, even with an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Next steps are uncertain. The second-ranking House Republican, Scalise of Louisiana, could be a next choice, a conservative widely liked by his colleagues and seen by some as a hero after surviving a gunshot wound suffered during a congressional baseball game practice in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>A speaker\u2019s contest last went multiple rounds in 1923.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s Republican deadlock was in stark contrast to the other side of the Capitol, where Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell will officially become the chamber\u2019s longest-serving party leader in history. Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York will remain majority leader.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being in the minority in the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority, McConnell could prove to be a viable partner as Biden seeks bipartisan victories in the new era of divided government. The two men are expected to appear together later in the week in the GOP leader\u2019s home state of Kentucky to celebrate federal infrastructure investment in a vital bridge that connects Kentucky and Ohio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Republican congresswoman for Colorado said she wouldn\u2019t vote for McCarthy unless he agreed to her terms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-36474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36474"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=36474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}