Southern California representatives take to Twitter during House speaker vote

© Provided by Orange County Register House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, of Calif., talks to reporters, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

All eyes were on Washington, D.C. Tuesday, wondering if the House of Representatives would elect a new speaker of the House now that it has a Republican majority.

Democratic U.S. Representatives from Southern California were ready for the drama.

Republican Kevin McCarthy failed to get the necessary 218 votes to lead the body after three rounds of votes.

RELATED STORY: McCarthy fails in marathon votes for speaker, House adjourns

Usually, representatives-elect are sworn in after a speaker is elected. They bring their children and grandchildren to the House chamber to witness their historic swearing in. But, on Tuesday, the chamber was filled with kids just waiting for anything to happen.

McCarthy got just 203 votes in two rounds — less even than Democrat Hakeem Jeffries in the GOP-controlled chamber — and fared even worse with 202 in round three.

Tensions rose as night fell on the new House majority, and all other business came to a halt. House members agreed to return at noon EST Wednesday, which inspired at least one Groundhog Day reference.

A speaker’s contest last went multiple rounds in 1923.

The Associated Press and SCNG staffers Jerry Berrios, Dorothy Elder and Jerry Rice contributed to this report.