Kevin McCarthy's Republican allies worked frantically behind closed doors to save his bid to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, as he suffered defeat after defeat from 20 hardline conservatives from his own party
McCarthy fell short in six consecutive ballots in two days, as Republican holdouts deemed him ideologically unreliable and defied a call for unity from former President. It was unclear whether he could overcome hardline opposition that could force the party to pick another candidate.
The leadership fight has provided a dismaying start for the new Republican majority in the House after the party managed to secure a slim 222-212 majority in November's elections. McCarthy maintained an optimistic persona. "We'll get to 218 when we solve our problems and we all get together," the California Republican told reporters.
Democratic Representative Marcy Kaptur tweeted that she wished she "could be part of some kind of unity caucus that would yield the votes." House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that Republicans had not approached Democrats about that option. Trump remains an influential figure among Republicans and is so far the only announced presidential candidate for 2024. Some in the party have blamed Trump for the failure of Republicans to win more congressional seats in the midterms.
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