Hours after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was finally crowned Speaker of the House following four days of voting chaos and a near-punch up in Congress, former President Donald Trump was quick to take credit for the success.
McCarthy had earlier paid tribute to Trump for his support during the voting process while speaking to reporters.
He said: ‘He was with me from the beginning — somebody wrote the doubt of whether he was there — and he was all in. He would call me and he would call others. And he really was — I was just talking to him tonight — helping get those final votes.’
Trump responded by posting a video of McCarthy thanking the former president on his Truth Social platform and wrote: ‘Thank you Kevin. It was my great honor!’
He added: ‘The “Speaker” selection process, as crazy as it may seem, has made it all much bigger and more important than if done the more conventional way.’ He also said: ‘Congratulations to Kevin McCarthy and our GREAT Republican Party!’
After the longest vote for the gavel since the Civil War, McCarthy’s victory was confirmed on the final ballot at 12.30am on Saturday morning when four Republican hardliners caved in by voting ‘present’
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: ‘The “Speaker” selection process, as crazy as it may seem, has made it all much bigger and more important than if done the more conventional way’
The tally was 216-212 with Democrats voting for leader Hakeem Jeffries, and six Republican holdouts to McCarthy simply voting present.
McCarthy ran afoul of hardliners when he publicly acknowledged that Trump bore responsibility for the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, days after the violence. He later walked back those comments and repeatedly voiced allegiance to the former president.
The California congressman had been a long time supporter of Trump, going to back to when the former host of The Apprentice first announced his candidacy for the presidency.
During the chaos on Friday night, Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama lunged at Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and had to be held back by Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina after McCarthy was left just one vote short of victory.
Later, when discussing Gaetz, a loyal Trump follower, McCarthy told CNN: ‘At the end of the night, Matt got everybody there from the point that nobody voted against the other way, so it actually helped unite people.’
Gaetz, who voted present during the final vote that sent McCarthy over the line, earlier said: ‘We do not trust Mr. McCarthy with power, because we know who he will use it for. And we are concerned that it will not be for the American people.’
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia pulls out all the stops: the initials ‘DT’ for Donald Trump are seen on her phone
In the CNN interview, McCarthy also said that he attempted to put a positive spin on the voting chaos this week, saying that by getting the disruption out of the way early, the GOP has ‘learned to work together’ after having ‘built trust.’
During the voting Friday, Trump acolyte Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene could be seen on the phone to someone with the initials ‘DT.’
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a McCarthy ally and Trump acolyte, reportedly went up to Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana and told him that was Trump on the phone and that Rosendale needed to speak with him. ‘Don’t you ever do me like that,’ Rosendale reportedly told her.
Trump reportedly also spoke with Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Rep. Gaetz of Florida.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy reportedly offered the 20 rogue Republicans a list of concessions he would make in exchange for their votes in the speakership race
McCarthy said that the issues he will face head on include the national debt and the ‘Chinese Communist Party’
McCarthy agreed to major concessions to get a role that is second in line to the Oval Office behind Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, including a rule that means that any of the 435 members of the House could force a vote for his removal at any time.
Republicans’ weaker-than-expected performance in the November elections left them with a narrow 222-212 majority and gives outsized power to a small group of right-wing hardliners.
They railed against McCarthy, who served as minority leader since 2019, accusing him of being soft and too open to compromise with President Joe Biden and his Democrats, who also control the U.S. Senate.
On the final vote, even Gaetz stood to clap with the most of the rest of the caucus when McCarthy cast his vote for himself. It had been reported that Gaetz would vote ‘yes’ for McCarthy on this final round, but he did not do so after it became clear McCarthy would win even if he continued to vote present.
Moments earlier absolute mayhem broke out on the House floor as the 14th Speaker’s ballot left McCarthy one vote short.
The California Republican immediately walked up to Gaetz and Boebert, presumably with the intent of persuading them to change their ‘present’ votes to ‘yes.’
Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama then lunged at Gaetz and had to be held back by Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina before an all-out fist fight could break out on the House floor.
‘Stay civil!’ someone shouted.
Republicans quickly moved to adjourn, but then McCarthy rushed forward to switch his vote to remain in session as colleagues chanted ‘One more time!’
