WASHINGTON, D.C. (SNN TV) – The battle for Speaker of the House drags into a third day as the GOP remains deadlocked on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers haven’t been sworn in yet, and the Biden administration is operating without House oversight.
Ahead of a third day of votes for House Speaker, California representative and candidate for House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, says, “Look, we’re all working together to find a solution.”
McCarthy arrived on Capitol Hill Thursday with cautious optimism despite failing to secure enough votes to secure the top job six times in a row. Chaos surrounds the speakership as some begin to lose patience with the drawn out process.
“Let’s get this over with. Let’s choose our speaker, get Kevin McCarthy and let’s start doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” says Rep. Carol Miller of West Virginia.
McCarthy’s team started Thursday by negotiating with some of the initial 20 republicans who voted against him. Some are steadfast in their opposition
“I will never vote for Kevin McCarthy,” Rep. Bob Good of Virginia says.
Members must be sworn-in before they can pass bills, perform oversight, or even set up services for constituents.
Some can’t even access sensitive and classified information as part of their committee assignments because they don’t have clearance.
“We have a third, one of our three branches of government offline right now. This is a very dangerous thing for our country, and it cannot continue much longer,” says Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and member of the House Intelligence Committee.
The speaker fight is putting America’s business on hold.
“We, as Democrats, are ready, willing and able to partner with them to find common ground whenever and wherever possible, not as Democrats, not as Republicans, [but] as Americans,” says Representative and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
Local representatives Vern Buchanan and Greg Stuebe support McCarthy for House Speaker.
Three of the House reps opposing McCarthy are from Florida: those are Matt Gaetz from the Panhandle, Anna Paulina Luna from the Tampa area, and Byron Donalds from Naples.