For the 14th time this week, Kevin McCarthy has come up short in his quest to clinch the House speakership.
He came closer than he had all week by earning 216 votes — he would have locked up a win if he had been able to reach 217.
Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Matt Gaetz of Florida, who had previously voted against McCarthy in the first 13 rounds, voted present during the 14th vote.
Andy Biggs of Arizona, Eli Crane of Arizona, Bob Good of Virginia, Matt Rosendale of Montana, who had all voted against McCarthy on the first 13 rounds, voted against him again in the 14th round.
A group of more than a dozen Republicans voted against McCarthy in 11 votes this week, including three votes on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, and five on Thursday. Nineteen Republicans opposed McCarthy in the first two votes, but that number increased to 20 when Byron Donalds of Florida, who had voted for McCarthy twice, switched and voted against McCarthy on the third vote. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, who had voted for McCarthy on the first three votes, switched and started voting present in the fourth through 11th rounds.
But on Friday, many of those Republicans voted to back McCarthy during the 12th vote, including 13 who had been voting against McCarthy plus Spartz, who had been voting present. Andy Harris of Maryland switched to vote for McCarthy on the 13th vote.
“We’re at a turning point. I’ve negotiated in good faith, with one purpose: to restore the People’s House back to its rightful owners. The framework for an agreement is in place, so in a good-faith effort, I voted to restore the People’s House by voting for @gopleader McCarthy,” Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, who has been voting for McCarthy since the 12th vote, tweeted on Friday.
Throughout the votes this week, Democrats consistently voted for Hakeem Jeffries of New York.