WASHINGTON — House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California on Thursday failed in his seventh and eighth attempts to be elected speaker, extending the saga over which Republican will succeed Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
The historic failure puts the 118th Congress on track to tie or pass the 68th Congress for the number of ballots required to elect a speaker, which required nine ballots in 1923. The all-time record is 133 ballots, set in 1855-56.
A continued stalemate also risks House Republicans struggling to elect their leader on the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Metal detectors outside the chamber were immediately removed once Republicans formally took control of the chamber this week.
