Kevin McCarthy continues to fall short after 11th speaker vote

Three days into Republican rule in the US House of Representatives and still no speaker has been elected.

In the absence of a speaker the House remains essentially paralysed. No members can be sworn in to take up office officially and no legislative business can be carried out.

The House will reconvene on Friday after what is already the most protracted effort to elect a speaker since the late 1850s.

Amid reports on Thursday night that a deal may be close with a group of rebel Republicans, the party’s leader in the House, Kevin McCarthy, continued to fall short of the votes required to secure the speaker’s post.

Donald Trump’s claim to immunity from prosecution to be heard by US supreme court today

---

Inside US House speaker Mike Johnson’s conversion on aid for Ukraine

---

Trapped and starving, two families in Gaza Strip try to keep their children alive

---

Last hurrah in Strasbourg for MEPs retiring after elections

---

McCarthy is still publicly confident that he can ultimately become speaker. However, he has failed to get over the line after 11 separate votes over the past three days.

On Thursday the Republican leader in the House reportedly offered more concessions to his opponents in a bid to get them to drop their opposition to his bid to take the speaker’s gavel.

[ US Congress gridlock continues as Kevin McCarthy loses tenth speaker vote ]

This may involve McCarthy abandoning previous objections and allowing just one member to force a vote on whether the speaker should continue in the role. Some of McCarthy’s supporters had maintained in the past that such a move would essentially leave the speaker as a hostage to more extreme elements of the party in the House.

McCarthy, according to some reports, is prepared also to facilitate a vote on term limits – the amount of time politicians would be permitted to serve in Congress – as well as more seats for members of the right-wing freedom caucus of the Republican Party on the powerful House Rules Committee, which determines what legislation gets to the floor of the chamber and in what form.

But despite talk of a tentative deal as the House adjourned on Thursday night, McCarthy seemed as far away than ever from the speaker’s post with about 20 right-wing Republicans voting against him in most of the 11 votes taken to date.

McCarthy in trying to reach a deal with the Republican rebels will also have to be careful that he does not concede so much – particularly in the area of coveted important House committee appointments – that he alienates his existing supporters.

The strategy of McCarthy and his allies would appear to revolve around reaching a deal with some of the rebels to support him and then try to put pressure on at least a portion of his remaining opponents even to abstain to allow him to get over the line and become speaker.

[ ‘The rest of the world is looking’: Deadlock over House of Representatives speaker continues ]

However, some of the so-called “Never Kevin” opponents of McCarthy have said they will not vote for him in any circumstances.

McCarthy’s main problem stems from the disappointing results achieved by his Republican Party in the recent US midterm elections.

While Republicans won back control of the House, the party’s majority is very slim.

McCarthy can only afford to lose four votes on his Republican side if he is to become speaker.

The other key question remains over how, even if McCarthy is finally elected speaker, he can govern effectively in the House with such a fractious Republican Party behind him.