California Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy lost Friday his 13th vote to lead the U.S. House of Representatives despite gaining new support from the previous vote held just hours earlier, leaving him with 15 new endorsements that bring him closer to the coveted 218 votes needed to take office.
McCarthy has obtained 214 votes thanks to these new endorsements against the 212 of Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, since Congressmen Jim Jordan and Kevin Hern –who have run in previous ballots– have not been elected this time as candidates, according to information from the CNN television network.
The favorite to win the leadership of the Lower House still needs to gain more support among the Republican ranks to finally win the qualified majority.
However, shortly after the vote and with the prospect of the process continuing to drag on, McCarthy has expressed confidence that he will finally be elected tonight. «I have the votes,» he said when asked about the possibility of getting Republican Congressmen Matt Rosendale and Eli Crane to finally endorse him.
In this sense, he has stressed that when the plenary resumes at 22.00, «I will have enough votes to end this once and for all». «That it has taken so long has taught us how to govern. So now we know how to do the job,» he has said despite the fact that six Republican deputies have again voted against him.
Sources close to the matter assure that the Republican congressman still needs the vote of one of the six Republicans who continue to oppose his election to obtain a qualified majority, although the number will vary depending on how many congressmen vote.
The four days of voting have paralyzed the activity of the House of Representatives and generated a legislative crisis unprecedented in more than 150 years.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
