In a historic move, GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas nominated a surprise candidate to stand for the speaker of the House post against Kevin McCarthy.
Roy, along with 19 of the other conservative holdouts, threw their support behind Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, a relatively new face to the People’s House.
According to Fox News, this nomination added quite a twist to the speakership saga, given Donalds’ public endorsement of McCarthy in the run-up to the first round of voting on Tuesday.
Since then, Donalds has joined the dissenters in demanding new blood for GOP leadership.
This was a historic nomination on the House floor.
Roy acknowledged this fact in his nominating speech, Fox noted, calling it the “the first time in history, there have been two black Americans placed into the nomination for speaker of the House.”
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is the Democratic nominee and is a new face in Democratic House leadership; he is poised to serve as minority leader.
But Roy went beyond Donalds’s skin color, explaining that there is a more important reason for the Florida man’s nomination.
“We do not seek to judge people by the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character,” Roy said. “But there’s an important reason for nominating Byron, and that is this country needs a change. This country needs leadership that does not reflect this city, this town, that is badly broken.”
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Originally, the conservative rebels had nominated Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, though he has stated that he is not interested and has publicly supported McCarthy.
As reported by the Washington Post, Donalds served in the Florida legislature where he gained a reputation as a solid conservative voice, a reputation that he has continued during his rather brief time in Congress.
After three votes on the speakership on Tuesday and two on Wednesday, McCarthy has yet to claim the gavel he so covets.
With the 20 holdouts standing their ground, McCarthy’s support may continue to chip away as the process is dragged out, as evidenced on the sixth ballot where Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana voted present instead of for McCarthy.
As reported by USA Today, the House passed a motion to adjourn until 8 p.m.
In the meantime, McCarthy and his core supporters seem determined to keep up the fight as they try to weaken the resolve of the rebels.
When the House reconvenes, another round of voting is expected.
Between now and then, there are sure to be closed-door negotiations and attempts to break the deadlock.
