Getty Mike Rogers confronts Matt Gaetz as Kevin McCarthy walks away.
Congressmen Kevin McCarthy and Mike Rogers confronted U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz as McCarthy’s efforts to be elected House Speaker went into late evening on Friday, January 6, 2023, video shared by C-Span shows.
You can watch video of the incident below. In it, McCarthy walks over and exchanges words with Gaetz. Then, Rogers walks forward and is restrained by someone as McCarthy walks back away.
C-Span shared the video, writing, “Kevin McCarthy confronts Matt Gaetz during 14th House Speaker vote. #118thCongress.”
Kevin McCarthy confronts Matt Gaetz during 14th House Speaker vote. #118thCongress
After initially adjourning, the House then went into a 15th vote, according to CBS News.
“The eyes of the world, the eyes of America are on this body right now,” McCarthy said, according to CBS. “What America needs, what this body needs is a lot less talk and a lot more action.”
McCarthy was elected speaker on vote 15:
I’ve seen enough: GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy wins the speaker’s gavel on the 15th ballot.
Person close to Trump says he placed a call to Gaetz and other members at a key time, right after they had voted to adjourn; a number of those members switched their votes after Trump began reaching out, the person says.
Here’s what you need to know:
Gaetz Joined a Group of Republicans to Keep McCarthy From Winning the House Speaker’s Position on the 14th Vote
BREAKING: Rep. @MattGaetz votes present, leaving Kevin McCarthy one vote short of being confirmed as Speaker.
McCarthy confronts him.
Late in the evening on January 6, 2023, Gaetz and other hold-out Republicans tanked McCarthy’s attempt to win the House speaker’s position on attempt number 14, CNBC reported.
According to CNBC, McCarthy walked over to Gaetz after Gaetz voted “present,” after waiting to announce his intentions.
Representative Lauren Boebert, who was sitting next to Gaetz in the video, also voted “present,” USA Today reported. Four other Republicans voted against McCarthy, costing him the victory on the 14th vote, USA Today reported.
According to CNBC, the evening started out with positive signs for McCarthy when Congressmen Ken Buck and Wesley Hunt arrived in Washington and voted for McCarthy. But a group of Republicans continued to block McCarthy.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, holds her smart phone with former US President Donald Trump on the line, as Rep. Matt Rosendale, a Republican from Montana, waves it off during a meeting of the 118th Congress in the House Chamber on Friday.
McCarthy represents California’s 20th Congressional district, according to his website. Mike Rogers represents Alabama’s 3rd Congressional district, his website says. Gaetz is a Congressman in Florida’s 1st Congressional district, his website says. All are Republicans.
The Most Speaker Votes in 100 Years Have Been Cast
GettyRep.-elect Matt Gaetz (R-FL) talks to fellow members-elect during the second day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 04, 2023 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is meeting to vote for the next Speaker after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to earn more than 218 votes on three separate Tuesday ballots, the first time in 100 years that the Speaker was not elected on the first ballot.
According to USA Today, Republicans initially adjourned until Monday after McCarthy lost the 14th vote, in day four of his attempt to gain the speaker position. However, then they reversed themselves and headed into the 15th vote, CBS News reported.
That makes the “most speaker votes in 100 years,” USA Today reported, adding that the dissent is being driven by a group “of Republican defectors led by the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus,” but McCarthy picked up some support by votes 12 and 13.
This has never been about me or Kevin McCarthy. It’s about the American people.
America wants to know that the rules of the House of Reps would never allow something like this horrendous omnibus bill to ever pass ever again.
That’s what @RepBoebert and I have been working on.
In order to be elected speaker, McCarthy needs two of the hold-out Republicans to vote for him, according to CBS News.
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