Kevin McCarthy becomes the first person to lose three rounds of House speaker voting in a century

The infighting in the Republican camp has stalled the coronation of Kevin McCarthy as the speaker of the House of Representatives. McCarthy on Tuesday became the only political leader ina century - the first since the Civil War to lose the opening three rounds of the ballot to become the House speaker.

After far-right Republican rebel colleagues pulled their vote, a chaotic House was forced to adjourn without electing a speaker.

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McCarthy needed to win 218 votes of the full House to become the speaker and replaceformer Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi.

However, with Republicans gaining a razor-thin222-212 majority in the House after the November midterm elections, the refusal of the Republican leaders to vote for McCarthy has caused the logjam. The situation is unlikely to resolve unless Democrats vote for him which appears to be a foregone conclusion.

Read more:Explained: Will the US House of Representatives have a speaker when it convenes?

After the first round of voting, McCarthy only had 203 votes whileDemocrat Hakim Jeffries amassed 212 votes. Meanwhile, Andy Biggs managed to secure 10 votes and nine lawmakers did not support any of the three candidates. The trend continued in the next two ballots where McCarthy received as many as 20 no-votes from his own side.

The likes ofAndy Biggs,Paul Gosar, andMatt Gaetz have been the loud voices objecting to McCarthy's endorsement as the Republican nominee since November.

“It’s true we struggle with trust with Mr. McCarthy because time and again his viewpoints, his positions, they shift like sands underneath you. If you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge of the exercise," Gaetz had remarked ahead of the voting.

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The party's conservative wing has made itclear that it will not vote for McCarthy and that the second ballot will show support for the 'true' leader.

“I think you’ll see on the second ballot an increasing number of members vote for a true candidate who can represent the conservative center of the conference, can motivate the base,"Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, one of McCarthy's fiercest rivals was quoted as saying by Fox.

McCarthy had previously stood for the position in 2015 but had to withdraw following some confusion. He became House minority leader after the 2018 midterms after Republicans lost control of the House.

Read more:Kevin McCarthy is Republican nominee for House speaker

(With inputs from agencies)

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