Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was deposed over two weeks ago, and House Republicans still can’t elect a replacement.
Earlier today, the plan was to empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC), to work on giving him enough powers to make the House functional again — likely with Democratic help. That largely collapsed after a near-physical Republican conference meeting, when lots of them came out against the idea.
Now Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) — who, on net, lost votes from the first to second rounds of voting — is trying to sway the holdouts at the eleventh hour, and promising another vote tomorrow. His task is likely even more difficult now, after his mobilization of the right-wing media machine flooded the holdouts with threats.
TPM’s Kate Riga and Emine Yücel are both reporting from Capitol Hill. Follow our live coverage below: