Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed to become House speaker in the first rounds of votes Tuesday, marking a historic defeat.
McCarthy, the first House speaker nominee in 100 years to fail in the first round, needed 218 votes to win the speakership position and secured just 203, with 19 Republicans voting against him. He failed again in the second and third rounds.
Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz from Florida has been one of the most vocal opponents of McCarthy, voting against him Tuesday.
"Those of us who will not be voting for Kevin McCarthy today take no joy in this discomfort that this moment has brought," Gaetz said Tuesday ahead of the votes. "If you want to drain the swamp you can’t put the biggest alligator in control of the exercise."
The House can’t swear in lawmakers, establish rules for the next two years, or pass new legislation, until a speaker is elected.
The last time a speaker election went to multiple ballots was in 1923. That year, it took nine rounds before a speaker was chosen.
McCarthy has vowed he would fight for the position as long as it takes.
"We may have a battle on the floor, but the battle is for the country and the conference and that’s fine with me," McCarthy told reporters Tuesday.
A medical rescue helicopter caught fire and broke apart shortly after takeoff Monday before crashing into an apartment complex near Fort Lauderdale, killing a paramedic captain on board and a resident on the ground, authorities said.
A report showed that 2022 saw a record number of requests to ban books at U.S. public schools.
A federal judge heard arguments on whether to move the case for Mark Meadows to federal court from state.
Former President Donald Trump and the 18 people indicted along with him in Georgia are scheduled to be arraigned next week on charges they participated in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Data gathered by The Associated Press show at least 14 of the 20 most populous U.S. cities are hosting or starting programs, sometimes called civilian, alternative or non-police response teams.
The original march in 1963 drew as many as 250,000 people and helped pave the way for the passage of federal civil rights and voting rights legislation in the next few years.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will observe Monday's 60th anniversary of the March on Washington by meeting with organizers of the 1963 gathering and relatives of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
A special session in the Tennessee Senate ended abruptly on Thursday without any action on gun control.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul asked President Joe Biden to help the state absorb a surge of migrants.
The Pentagon said it will train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets for its war against Russia.
