Top House Republican Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday afternoon was on course to come up short in a second round of voting as he pushes to become his chamber’s next speaker. He can handle no more than four GOP defections given his party’s 222-212 majority, but more than that number had backed other candidates in the latest round of voting, which was still underway. The House is required to keep voting until a speaker is elected, and this is the first time since 1923 that a speaker election is needing multiple votes. In the first round of voting, McCarthy had 203 Republicans support him.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.