BREAKING: Kevin McCarthy Loses 9th Bid for Speaker of the House

By: BZ Green 

An unprecedented drama is playing out in the United States House of Representatives, as a small group of hardliners refuses to vote for Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. McCarthy, who represents the 23rd district of California, has been the minority leader for the Republicans. 

The party narrowly won the majority, winning 222 seats. McCarthy needs 218 seats in order to win. 

For now, a number of hardline conservatives are giving their votes to Brian Donalds of Florida. 

The speaker decides the agenda of the house, and which initiatives of house committees will receive funding (for example, investigations into FBI misconduct). 

This is the first time that a vote for speakership has gone to multiple elections since 1923, and the longest speaker contest in 164 years.

photo credit: Flickr