By Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Maureen Chowdhury and Elise Hammond, CNN
From CNN's Kit Maher
GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of the Rep. Kevin McCarthy holdouts, briefly spoke with reporters outside the House chamber, telling CNN that the vote for speakership can end in two ways.
"Either Kevin McCarthy withdraws from the race, or we construct a straitjacket that he is unable to evade," Gaetz said.
The comments come as McCarthy has failed a seventh bid for speaker. Gaetz cast his vote in the seventh round for former President Donald Trump.
From CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi and Kit Maher
Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls, a member of the House Freedom Caucus who backs Rep. Kevin McCarthy for speaker, said that "it's just gotta to be personal" for the 20 holdouts to still be against the Republican leader.
“But at some point in time, you have to ask yourself, OK, when can the 20 say to themselves, OK, I have a checkered flag now. I feel like I have won. Both sides have to win here," he said.
"How long are we going to do this? Every day we sit here and the American people gave us the gavel. They're saying you're wasting time," Nehls told reporters.
Despite making key concessions to get the top job, McCarthy has been unable to get a group of 20 Republicans to vote for him.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy is back on the ballot for House speaker for an eighth time. He was nominated by Rep. Brian Mast of Florida. Voting continues Thursday, the third day with no leader elected.
Mast said that when discussion began about who would be House speaker months ago behind closed doors, he urged McCarthy to see member's votes as a signal to their communities that they vouch for the Republican leader.
“Look at us as individuals that are looking out to our communities, our neighborhoods, our friends, our neighbors, and our country and telling them that we vouch for you, because that is what we are doing," Mast said.
“And I couldn’t be more proud to stand here today and vouch for you my friend," he added.
Republicans have been in a stalemate, even after closed-door negotiations Wednesday night into Thursday morning — talks in which McCarthy has reportedly given more concessions and said lawmakers are "making progress."
Still, in the last round of voting, McCarthy did not get enough votes to win the speakership.
From CNN's Annie Grayer, Kristin Wilson and Clare Foran
GOP leader Kevin McCarthy failed to clinch the votes for speaker on the seventh ballot.
He still had 20 total GOP lawmakers voting against him, except this time GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz voted for former President Donald Trump, while the other 19 voted for GOP Rep. Byron Donalds. GOP Rep. Victoria Spartz voted present again.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries had the unanimous support of his caucus.
The final tally was:
No member of the new Congress can be sworn in to office without a Speaker of the House voted in.
Here's a look how this round of House speaker ballots compares to those of the past:
From CNN's Melanie Zanona
While Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s allies are willing to swallow most of the concessions being made in the Republican leader's quest for speaker, they are drawing a line in the sand over one issue: committee gavels for the holdouts.
Committee and subcommittee gavels have been part of the ongoing negotiations, sources tell CNN.
But two Republicans, who both serve on the panel responsible for awarding committee assignments and gavels, predicted that the conference would reject that sort of deal — not only because there’s so much resentment toward these holdouts, but also because it would be unfair to jump someone else in line for a coveted gavel.
The GOP Steering Committee, which includes members of the leadership, elects committee chairs and panel assignments. The speaker’s vote in those decisions counts for more weight than others on the panel.
After steering makes its selection, the full conference must approve it. Traditionally, the conference accepts whatever steering decides. But these two Republicans predicted there would be rare push back if McCarthy advocated for one of the critics to get a chairmanship.
As CNN previously reported, Rep. Matt Gaetz demanded a subcommittee gavel on the House Armed Services Committee. McCarthy rejected that — Gaetz is “Never Kevin” anyway — but there are other gavels in the mix.
From CNN's Manu Raju, Melanie Zanona and Andrew Millman
While leaving a pivotal meeting in GOP Rep. Tom Emmer’s office, Rep. Chip Roy refused to say if he’s willing to back Kevin McCarthy — as did Rep. Byron Donalds and others.
Donalds would not say if he would eventually drop out.
Rep. Scott Perry said he needed more changes.
“But none of these changes would be on the table if the slim majority didnt exist so we have to take this opportunity to make the changes necessary to make Congress work for the American people,” Perry said.
The meeting is ongoing.
Perry also tweeted and told Fox News that there is still no deal.
“There is no agreement whatsoever and it’s disappointing that confidences are betrayed about the details of internal meetings, and it exemplifies Washington, DC, and the trust factor that is causing the impasse that is occurring right before your eyes,” Perry said.
“There’s a trust issue with the gentleman who wants to be speaker,” Perry said, adding “it is hard to restore trust in just a month or two” and “there is no agreement at this time.”
When asked about alternative candidates, Perry said, “whoever can get 218. If Kevin McCarthy will embrace these changes, I suspect he will get to 218 but if he will not, then he can’t.”
Perry said “it would be unfaithful of me” to discuss ongoing negotiations when asked about details of the dealmaking.
“We don’t want our speaker to be working with Democrats,” Perry replied when asked about Democratic Rep.-elect Brad Sherman’s claim that moderate Republicans would have to work with Democrats to govern, continuing “as long as our speaker is true to what we believe in as Republicans across the board, we’re going to be in fine shape.” He described a Republican speaker seeking Democratic votes on issues such as government funding would be an “act of combat.”
From CNN's Dana Bash
A moderate House GOP lawmaker told CNN about the "increasing frustration" among centrists at the number of concessions unfolding as the House speaker stalemate continues.
“Centrists growing increasingly frustrated at bending the knee to a handful who never wanted to be in the majority in the first place,” this lawmaker said.
Asked if the moderates/centrists can stomach this rules package if Kevin McCarthy gets his wish, the lawmaker said, “Depends what else is in it. I think as it is now, it’ll pass. But … if they get a single gavel as part of whatever deal is struck, it will all unravel.”
From CNN's Jack Forrest
Rep. Byron Donalds from Florida was once again nominated for House speaker as the floor fight over the gavel continues Thursday.
Donalds voted for McCarthy on the first two ballots, but broke from the majority of his colleagues to vote for Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on the third ballot with conservative hardliners.
“Right now, he doesn’t have a pathway to get there,” Donalds told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins after voting against McCarthy Tuesday. “If that reemerges, yeah, I can be there, that’s fine, but what’s necessary now is that Republicans come together and find a way to elect a speaker.”
Donalds is serving his second term, winning his first election in 2020 after GOP Rep. Francis Rooney vacated Florida’s 19th Congressional District seat, and his second in 2022 in a landslide victory.
During his first campaign, Donalds described himself in a political ad as a “Trump-supporting, gun-owning, liberty-loving, pro-life, politically incorrect Black man.”
In the same political ad, Donalds describes being arrested as a young man for drug possession and deciding to get his life together “through the grace of God.”
Donalds was raised in Brooklyn, New York, by a “single mom with three kids, two jobs and not much else,” he said. “Thanks to my mom and her influence, what could have been the end of my road was just the beginning.”
Both Reps. Chip Roy and Scott Perry, who nominated Donalds on the sixth ballot, referred to Donalds overcoming “adversity” and “humble beginnings” to get to the House floor, mentioning his upbringing.
The Florida State University graduate worked in the banking, finance and insurance industries before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016, according to his office.
Donalds, 44, lives in Naples, Florida, with his wife and three sons.
From CNN's Clare Foran
When GOP Rep. Dan Bishop rose to nominate Rep. Byron Donalds ahead of the seventh round, he called out Democratic Rep. Cori Bush, though he did not name her explicitly, for a tweet she sent yesterday saying that Donalds is a “prop.”
“I’ve spent a good bit of time with Mr. Donalds, especially lately — he ain’t no prop,” Bishop said.
Bush tweeted Wednesday: “FWIW, @ByronDonalds is not a historic candidate for Speaker. He is a prop. Despite being Black, he supports a policy agenda intent on upholding and perpetuating white supremacy. His name being in the mix is not progress—it’s pathetic.”
Donalds responded: “FWIW, nobody asked @CoriBush her opinion on the matter. Before you judge my agenda, let's have a debate over the policies and the outcomes. Until then, don't be a crab in a barrel!”
