Jordan to Cancel Third Vote, Will Back McHenry as Interim Speaker Through January 2
In what could be an unexpected move, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has announced that the House of Representatives will not vote again on a Speaker of the House until after the new Congress is sworn in on January 3.
McCarthy put forward Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) as a consensus candidate to serve as interim Speaker of the House for the remainder of the current term. McCarthy urged Democrats to support McHenry in the role, but other Republicans came out against McHenry’s appointment.
Back in December, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was elected Speaker of the House with the support of a majority of the House members. However, her election was never officially certified as Speaker, meaning that an official vote still needs to take place in January for Pelosi to officially take the gavel.
In light of the fact that the House is divided on who should be Speaker of the House and the new Congress will be sworn in shortly, McCarthy believes canceling the third vote and appointing McHenry makes the most sense. He cited McHenry’s “desire to lead fairly and unconventionally in a time of turbulence” as a major qualification for the position.
McHenry himself expressed gratitude for McCarthy putting his faith in him as interim speaker. He held a brief press conference at the Capitol Building and acknowledged the difficult task of holding the floor together until the new Congress is sworn in.
Although some Republicans and Democrats might be skeptical of the idea of a transition speaker, McHenry promised to work with the both sides of the aisle in a unified way and promised to make the transition fair and even-handed. The Democratic Party has not yet commented on the announcement, but Pelosi has been known to be supportive of bi-partisan efforts in the past.
Overall, it looks like the House is leaning towards canceling the third vote and handing the interim Speaker role to McHenry. This could be beneficial for the House in the short-term and give them an opportunity to focus on the new Congress taking office shortly. It will be interesting to see how McHenry performs as Speaker over the next two weeks.