Is Kevin McCarthy On The Brink?

The NPR Politics Podcast

NPR

Politics, Daily News, News

4.5 • 24.9K Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2023

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The California Republican was able to win over some of his detractors today as balloting for the Speaker of the House entered a fourth day. However, neither he — nor any other candidate — has won enough votes to take the position, leaving the House in continued limbo.

This episode: political correspondent Susan Davis, congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, and senior political editor & correspondent Domenico Montanaro.

In the event a speaker is elected late Friday or overnight Saturday, we plan to be in your feeds Saturday morning with the latest.

This episode was produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell. It was edited by Casey Morell. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi. Research and fact-checking by Katherine Swartz. Thanks to Lexie Schapitl.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Amy from Dayton, Ohio. I'm here with my foster dog, Koki, who yesterday was the founding mother of a litter of seven puppies.
0:08.0	This episode was recorded at 5.57pm on Friday, January 6th.
0:14.0	Things may have changed by the time you hear it. Like maybe we'll have a little Nina Totenpup, an Irish power-o or a Mandelite Del Barco.
0:22.0	Okay, here's the show.
0:24.0	I don't know if she knows this, but our own Tamara Keith had a dog named Koki over the late great Koki Roberts as well.
0:34.0	Yep.
0:36.0	I am actually in the market for a puppy, so...
0:38.0	Well, you just had some name ideas thrown at you, a little inspiration.
0:42.0	Hey there, it's the MPR Politics Podcast, I'm Susan Davis, I cover politics.
0:46.0	I'm dear Dervolsh, I cover Congress.
0:48.0	And I'm Dominic Amantanera, Senior Political Editor and Correspondent.
0:50.0	And four days into the fight to elect a speaker of the house, there's been a breakthrough.
0:54.0	The house convened at noon today, and on the 12th ballot, California Republican Kevin McCarthy finally won over a block of his detractors.
1:04.0	14 of the 20 odd people holding out against him finally voted for him after agreeing to a number of concessions offered by McCarthy to win their support.
1:14.0	But it's not over yet.
1:16.0	No member elect, haven't received a majority of the votes cast.
1:20.0	The speaker has not been elected.
1:23.0	On the 13th ballot, McCarthy landed at 214 votes,
1:27.0	212 votes went to Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, and still six detractors voted for Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, a McCarthy ally who doesn't want the job.
1:38.0	The house then adjourned until 10 p.m. Eastern tonight, at which point McCarthy predicted he will get the votes he needs to.
1:45.0	The magic number of votes can shift depending on who shows up and if anyone votes present.
1:53.0	But roughly two to four more votes are probably needed for McCarthy.
	...

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