House adjourns without electing speaker after McCarthy fails to win in three rounds of voting

Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters Tuesday night that there’s no circumstance that will drive him out of the race for speaker, although it sounded as though he’s willing to make further concessions to the Freedom Caucus, if necessary.  

That contradicts his message to the Republican conference Tuesday morning that he was done negotiating. 

“You want to get to 218, you’re gonna have to keep talking,” he said this evening, after he fell short in his bid to be speaker in three successive rounds of voting. McCarthy added, “I feel actually very good,” though he admitted that “today — is it the day I wanted to have? No.”

“I think we’ll find our way to get there,” he said. “And this is a healthy debate. It might not happen on the day we want it, but it’s gonna happen.” 

McCarthy is continuing to have discussions with the GOP holdouts, though he didn’t provide any further details.

He also said he spoke with former President Donald Trump Tuesday evening, and said Trump’s view is that “he thinks it’s better that all the Republicans get together and solve this. It doesn’t look good for Republicans, but we want to be able to solve it where we’re stronger in the long run.” 

Asked if Trump told McCarthy he wants him to stay in the race, McCarthy replied, “Oh, yeah, I mean, he’s talked to a lot of people on all sides.” Reporters also questioned him on whether he believes that he needs Trump to reiterate his support.

“Trump has already reiterated support,” McCarthy responded.

He is also arguing that he needs a range between 213 and 218 votes to win since Democrats have 212 votes. But a number below 218 would only constitute an absolute majority if some members are absent or vote “present.” McCarthy stated that he is not trying to change the rules of the speaker election to require winning by a plurality, rather than a majority. He indicated that if some of the 19 holdouts vote “present,” he could win the race.

He told reporters, “Democrats have 212 votes; you get 213 votes, and the others don’t say another name. That’s how you can win.”