Top House Republican Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday was on course to come up short in an initial vote as he pushes to become his chamber’s next speaker. He can handle no more than four defections given his party’s 222-212 majority, but more than 10 Republicans had voted for other candidates in the first 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 would need multiple votes. McCarthy on Tuesday morning suggested that he may try to wear down his opponents, saying he doesn’t have a problem with “getting a record for the most votes for speaker.”
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