Amidst Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) difficult path to garnering enough votes for the House speakership, his frustration appears to be boiling over as new video reveals him becoming increasingly angry with one Republican holdout.
CSPAN cameras caught McCarthy talking to Rep.-elect Andy Ogles (R-TN) on the House floor Thursday, as the speaker hopeful appears to be attempting to convince him to vote with the party. Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, has voted against McCarthy repeatedly and appears to have remained steadfast during the discussion.
As McCarthy and Ogles go back and forth, the conversation increases in intensity, and McCarthy appears to become more animated and frustrated. The specifics of what was said during the exchange remain unclear.
McCarthy’s irritation comes as he has repeatedly fallen short in multiple rounds of voting for House speaker this week. On Thursday, the speaker hopeful lost the ninth round after days of tense negotiations failed to bear fruit. McCarthy has been unsuccessful in securing the 218 votes required to become speaker in nine separate roll calls taking place since Tuesday.
Kevin-McCarthy-seen-lobbying-GOP-holdout-in-animated-discussion-on-House-floor
Initially, McCarthy faced opposition from nineteen Republicans. Since then, that number has grown to 21 after the House Freedom Caucus nominated Rep.-elect Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Rep.-elect Victoria Spartz (R-IN) switched her vote from McCarthy to “present.”
During the seventh and eighth ballots, which also took place on Thursday, Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz (R-FL) cast a vote for former President Donald Trump rather than a vote for Donalds.
In the eighth round, Reps.-elect Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Josh Brecheen (R-OK) both switched their votes from Donalds to Rep.-elect Kevin Hern, the Republican Study Committee chairman of Oklahoma who was not officially nominated.
House Democrats, meanwhile, have remained united behind House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and all Democratic votes have gone to him in all nine rounds.
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
