During the 12th round of voting, Kevin McCarthy flipped 13 dissenting Republicans and gained additional votes for House Speaker.
The Republicans who switched votes on Friday were: Kieth Shelf (TX), Chip Roy (TX), Scott Perry (PA), Andy Ogles (TN), Ralsph Norman (SC), Mary Miller (IL), Anna Paulina Luna (FL), Paul Goasar (AZ), Byron Donalds (FL), Andrew Clyde (GA), Mike Cloud (TX), Josh Brecheen (OK), and Dan Bishop (NC).
While the additional votes does mark a significant step towards McCarthy becoming House Speaker, the number of total votes did not reach the 218 votes McCarthy needs.
Initially, there were about 20 Republican hold-outs who stood against McCarthy becoming Speaker. However, after a contentious week of inter-party fighting and negotiating, McCarthy had reached 214 votes.
The House Freedom Caucus has been front-and-center as this week’s drama unfolded. They publically aired the reasons for their dissent, providing a list of demands McCarthy must agree to to win their vote. One of the demands was to reinstate a rule allowing for a House vote to remove the Speaker if one member of congress motions for it.
According to House rules, no business can be conducted until a House Speaker is elected.
