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| Republicans in disarray as Kevin McCarthy drops out of House speaker race | Republicans in disarray as Kevin McCarthy drops out of House speaker race |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Chaos overtook the Republican party on Thursday, as the election for a new House speaker was postponed after current majority whip Kevin McCarthy backed out of the race. | Chaos overtook the Republican party on Thursday, as the election for a new House speaker was postponed after current majority whip Kevin McCarthy backed out of the race. |
| The current House speaker, John Boehner, told the conference that the election was postponed at a meeting that was supposed to see the House Republicans vote for their nominee for speaker. | The current House speaker, John Boehner, told the conference that the election was postponed at a meeting that was supposed to see the House Republicans vote for their nominee for speaker. |
| It is still unclear whether the vote on the House floor for speaker, which had been scheduled for 29 October, will be postponed. No new date has yet been set for the Republican party vote, which would have selected the GOP nominee today. | |
| In a statement, Boehner said: “After Leader McCarthy’s announcement, members of the House Republican Conference will not vote today for a new speaker. As I have said previously, I will serve as speaker until the House votes to elect a new speaker. We will announce the date for this election at a later date, and I’m confident we will elect a new speaker in the coming weeks.” | |
| “I think I shocked some of you, huh,” McCarthy said to reporters outside the meeting. He said that he had decided that he had to “put this conference first”. He said he would stay on as majority leader, but that the party needed “a new face” as speaker. “I feel good about the decision,” he said. | “I think I shocked some of you, huh,” McCarthy said to reporters outside the meeting. He said that he had decided that he had to “put this conference first”. He said he would stay on as majority leader, but that the party needed “a new face” as speaker. “I feel good about the decision,” he said. |
| The surprise move came just 24 hours after the so-called Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline rightwing Republicans, announced that they were backing Daniel Webster against McCarthy. | The surprise move came just 24 hours after the so-called Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline rightwing Republicans, announced that they were backing Daniel Webster against McCarthy. |
| “Two minutes ago I was in there listening to what I thought was going to be his nominating speech, only to learn that he’s not running,” said Ryan Costello of California. | “Two minutes ago I was in there listening to what I thought was going to be his nominating speech, only to learn that he’s not running,” said Ryan Costello of California. |
| “McCarthy backed out, said he was not going to run at this time, then Speaker Boehner got up, said the election was postponed, then the chairwoman banged the gavel and the meeting was over,” Costello said. “And then we all looked around at one another and I don’t think half of us knew what had happened.” | “McCarthy backed out, said he was not going to run at this time, then Speaker Boehner got up, said the election was postponed, then the chairwoman banged the gavel and the meeting was over,” Costello said. “And then we all looked around at one another and I don’t think half of us knew what had happened.” |
| Representative Jason Chaffetz, whose own campaign to be speaker was thought to have run aground before Thursday’s announcement by McCarthy turned the race on its head, told reporters that he was still running – though he hinted it was too early to say whether McCarthy’s exit made him the frontrunner. | Representative Jason Chaffetz, whose own campaign to be speaker was thought to have run aground before Thursday’s announcement by McCarthy turned the race on its head, told reporters that he was still running – though he hinted it was too early to say whether McCarthy’s exit made him the frontrunner. |
| Chaffetz said he was “surprised, stunned and shocked” by the announcement. | Chaffetz said he was “surprised, stunned and shocked” by the announcement. |
| “[I] didn’t see that coming. Kevin McCarthy is a very good man, and he has always been one that puts his country before everyone else.” He said that he and McCarthy “stand shoulder to shoulder with the same desire, and that is to unite this party”. | “[I] didn’t see that coming. Kevin McCarthy is a very good man, and he has always been one that puts his country before everyone else.” He said that he and McCarthy “stand shoulder to shoulder with the same desire, and that is to unite this party”. |
| “I really do believe it is time for a fresh start,” he continued. “That is the whole genesis of my campaign.” But, he said, the conference “is going to have to do some deep soul-searching”. | “I really do believe it is time for a fresh start,” he continued. “That is the whole genesis of my campaign.” But, he said, the conference “is going to have to do some deep soul-searching”. |
| Darrell Issa, an influential California Republican congressman and chair of the House oversight committee, said “I think it’s obvious that all members of the conference were shocked” by McCarthy’s sudden withdrawal. “Kevin McCarthy had the vast majority of the conference’s confidence and votes,” Issa said, “but he made the decision that he couldn’t get to [the requisite] 218 [votes on the House floor], and as a result he’s taken himself out of the race.” | |
| McCarthy was considered Boehner’s favoured candidate. | McCarthy was considered Boehner’s favoured candidate. |
| Thursday’s developments show the extreme state of disarray in which House Republicans now find themselves, with the balance of power in the hands of an extreme conservative minority who have the ability to topple the speaker at any time – a situation which may see Democrats becoming nostalgic for the Boehner era. | |
| It would have been unprecedented for a large bloc such as the Freedom Caucus to have voted against the party’s choice of nominee, as they had hinted they might do with Webster. | It would have been unprecedented for a large bloc such as the Freedom Caucus to have voted against the party’s choice of nominee, as they had hinted they might do with Webster. |
| On Thursday morning, about half the Republican conference gathered in a basement meeting room in the Capitol for a forum in which the candidates for speaker made their pitches. “All three did well,” Tom Cole, the deputy majority whip, told the Guardian, referring to McCarthy, Webster and Chaffetz, who had tried to position himself as a bridge between the ideological extremes of the party. | |
| Many rightwing House Republicans object to what they see as having been a period of autocratic, high-handed rule by Boehner. “The false, lazy narrative is we want a more conservative speaker,” Justin Amash told a meeting of conservatives on Wednesday. “What we want is a process speaker … who follows the House rules. | Many rightwing House Republicans object to what they see as having been a period of autocratic, high-handed rule by Boehner. “The false, lazy narrative is we want a more conservative speaker,” Justin Amash told a meeting of conservatives on Wednesday. “What we want is a process speaker … who follows the House rules. |
| “If the rules are followed, sometimes we’ll get our way, sometimes we won’t. People get too uptight in this place about who votes with us,” Amash added. | “If the rules are followed, sometimes we’ll get our way, sometimes we won’t. People get too uptight in this place about who votes with us,” Amash added. |
| But there has also been an ideological component to the Freedom Caucus’s objections to the Boehner-McCarthy approach. Steve King nominated Webster for speaker in January 2015, during a failed coup attempt against Boehner, and told the Guardian he was going to support him again in Thursday’s conference ballot. “He’s the strongest on immigration, he’s the most anti-amnesty of the three candidates, so that’s another piece for me,” King said. | But there has also been an ideological component to the Freedom Caucus’s objections to the Boehner-McCarthy approach. Steve King nominated Webster for speaker in January 2015, during a failed coup attempt against Boehner, and told the Guardian he was going to support him again in Thursday’s conference ballot. “He’s the strongest on immigration, he’s the most anti-amnesty of the three candidates, so that’s another piece for me,” King said. |
| “For me the only vote that matters is on 29 October,” Tom Massie told the Guardian. Massie, who is a hardline conservative but not a member of the Freedom Caucus, said at a meeting of conservatives on Wednesday that McCarthy was “absolutely not an option” because of his comments about the Benghazi committee. | “For me the only vote that matters is on 29 October,” Tom Massie told the Guardian. Massie, who is a hardline conservative but not a member of the Freedom Caucus, said at a meeting of conservatives on Wednesday that McCarthy was “absolutely not an option” because of his comments about the Benghazi committee. |
| Massie also downplayed the importance of Thursday’s vote. “Conference is fine for electing a majority leader and conference chair and whatever the heck positions you want to make up,” he added, “but there’s only one in the constitution and that’s the speaker, and he only becomes the speaker by getting a majority of the people, so it’s only about the floor vote. | Massie also downplayed the importance of Thursday’s vote. “Conference is fine for electing a majority leader and conference chair and whatever the heck positions you want to make up,” he added, “but there’s only one in the constitution and that’s the speaker, and he only becomes the speaker by getting a majority of the people, so it’s only about the floor vote. |
| “With Boehner’s departure, I think it’s unwise to advocate the beatings will continue until morale improves,” he said. “That seems to be the theme behind ‘we’re going to kick you out of the conference if you don’t vote for the person we pick’.” | “With Boehner’s departure, I think it’s unwise to advocate the beatings will continue until morale improves,” he said. “That seems to be the theme behind ‘we’re going to kick you out of the conference if you don’t vote for the person we pick’.” |
| In a statement, the Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, said: “The utter chaos of the Republican party must not threaten the full faith and credit of the United States and the American people. | |
| “Republican chaos is likely to get worse before it gets better but the economic livelihood of the American people should not be threatened as a result of Republicans’ inability to govern,” Reid continued. | |
| Asked by a reporter in a House corridor why nobody wanted to be speaker, the Democratic minority leader and former speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said: “You’ll just have to ask nobody.” | |
| Additional reporting by Ben Jacobs and Sabrina Siddiqui in Washington | Additional reporting by Ben Jacobs and Sabrina Siddiqui in Washington |