Incoming House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has already started to fundraise off the first unsuccessful set of votes for speaker of the House, where Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to fight off the conservative flank of his party to be elected to the top spot.
“I can hardly believe my eyes – I just watched House Republicans plunge into utter chaos on the House floor… Minutes ago, extreme MAGA Republicans failed to vote for a Speaker of the House for the first time in decades,” Jefferies wrote in his first fundraising email after the first set of votes for speaker.
The speaker’s race is the first order of business in a new Congress before the lawmakers can continue their business. McCarthy failed to win a majority of votes needed (218) to be elected to the top spot on the first ballot. Jeffries received 212 votes, with every Democrat voting for him, while McCarthy only received 203 voters. Some defectors also voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), and former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY).
“Let me repeat that: Kevin McCarthy’s own Republicans just rejected him – proving House Republicans are fighting themselves instead of fighting for the people,” Jefferies’s email continued. “This changes everything for Democrats. We now have a huge opportunity to step in and show what we can do – but only if we move quickly to prove our numbers.”
“Extreme MAGA Republicans are bringing chaos, crisis, confusion, and craziness to the People’s House,” the email added. “This is our chance to show that while the party of “no” is totally out of control, Democrats are set to get big things done and deliver for the American people.”
Earlier in the day, when a reporter asked McCarthy what he would do if the vote to elect a speaker took numerous ballots, he said, “I have the record for the longest speech ever on the floor. I don’t have a problem getting a record for the most votes for Speaker too.”
“I don’t see how a few people, maybe it’s five, maybe it’s 20, sit because they want a gavel that they can’t earn by the Conference of themselves. That would be interesting to me. That’s not what the constituents voted for,” the Republican Leader added.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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