Two Black U.S. lawmakers have found themselves in the middle of a stalemate between House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and members of his own party in his bid for speaker of the House.
After six rounds of voting Tuesday and Wednesday, McCarthy was still short of the 218 votes needed to lead the House. The debacle had former President Donald Trump phoning in to Congress telling Republicans who voted for U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Black Republican from Florida, “they need to knock this off,” according to Rep. Lauren Boebert.
From the other side of the aisle, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, garnered 212 votes, also putting him in the running for the seat in the majority GOP House and ahead of McCathy’s 201 votes.
It was the first time in 100 years that the House speaker nominee could not take the gavel on the first vote. In McCarthy’s case, it was not the second nor third or, by Wednesday night, the sixth. It was also the first time two Black…
Read the full article here
