[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H2-H8]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ELECTION OF SPEAKER

  The CLERK. Pursuant to law and precedent, the next order of business 
is the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 
118th Congress.
  Nominations are now in order.
  The Clerk recognizes the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik).
  Ms. STEFANIK. Madam Clerk, on behalf of the House Republican 
Conference, I rise today to nominate the gentleman from California, 
Kevin McCarthy, as Speaker of the House to lead America's new 
Republican majority.

[[Page H3]]

  In just 2 years of failed one-party Democrat rule, the American 
people have suffered from a historic border crisis, rampant crime, 
crippling inflation, rising energy costs, runaway debt, 
unconstitutional attacks on our fundamental freedoms, and weakness at 
home and abroad.
  The people across this great Nation spoke loudly and clearly that 
they wanted a new direction. They wanted a new direction to stop this 
radical, far-left agenda, to hold Joe Biden accountable, and to save 
the United States of America.
  Under Kevin McCarthy's leadership, House Republicans drafted a bold 
vision to put our Nation back on track. Our commitment to America is a 
promise to the American people that this new Republican majority will 
stand up for an economy that is strong, a Nation that is safe, a future 
that is built upon freedom, and a government that is accountable to the 
people.
  Kevin McCarthy is the proud son of a firefighter, and a fourth-
generation Californian from Kern County. Home to wildcatters, 
frontiersmen, and the right stuff, Bakersfield embodies the American 
spirit to work hard and dream big. This spirit that built our great 
Nation is what we need in our next Speaker.

  Kevin McCarthy is a strong conservative. He is proudly pro-life, a 
supporter of our Second Amendment rights, and he is committed to 
stopping wasteful government spending and shrinking the size of 
government.
  When Republicans last held the majority, Kevin helped to reduce 
domestic spending and lower the tax burden on hardworking American 
families.
  As our Republican leader over the past several years, Kevin has taken 
the fight to one-party Democrat rule on behalf of the American people. 
He helped bring this historic border crisis to the national 
consciousness, a crisis Kevin made sure Democrats could no longer 
ignore.
  He fought for and succeeded in repealing the ill-advised military 
COVID vaccine mandate, and he stood on this very floor and spoke for a 
record 8 hours and 35 minutes to not only delay the vote in the House, 
but to make the case that ultimately defeated Joe Biden and House 
Democrats' dangerous build back broke legislation.
  No one, no one in this body has worked harder for this Republican 
majority than Kevin McCarthy. Since the day Kevin was elected as our 
leader, House Republicans have only gained seats and won. While 
Republicans in the Senate and State legislatures lost seats, House 
Republicans are the only ones who have consistently won because Kevin 
knows what we stand for; he knows when we should engage in the fight; 
and he knows how to build consensus.
  Importantly, Kevin has done the work of listening to all Americans, 
traveling to nearly every district in this country, fighting for 
conservative values, and fighting for the people that are committed to 
upholding them. Kevin has shown up in the communities of every Member 
in our Conference, and I can guarantee he has shown up in the districts 
of many of our colleagues across the aisle, as well.
  His relentless effort has yielded an extraordinary new House 
Republican majority that represents our country's greatness from all 
walks of life. When the last Congress gaveled in 2 years ago, every new 
Republican welcomed to our Conference was a woman, veteran, or 
minority. Today's House Republican Conference is the most diverse 
Republican Conference in our Nation's history.
  A seasoned legislator, an experienced leader, a friend to so many of 
us, a proud conservative with a tireless work ethic, Kevin McCarthy has 
earned this Speakership of the people's House.
  Madam Clerk, as the chair of the Republican Conference, it is my high 
honor to present our Conference's nominee for election to the office of 
the Speaker of the people's House, the Honorable Kevin McCarthy from 
the State of California.
  The CLERK. The Clerk now recognizes the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Aguilar).
  Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Clerk, I rise today at the direction of the House 
Democratic Caucus to place into nomination for election to the position 
of Speaker of the House of Representatives, the pride of Brooklyn, 
Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
  Today, Madam Clerk, House Democrats are united, united by a Speaker 
who will put people over politics. Hakeem Jeffries has worked his 
entire life to improve economic opportunity for all people. He is 
committed to strengthening the American Dream by lowering costs for 
working families, building safer communities by taking weapons of war 
off streets, and by creating good-paying jobs in industries of the 
future.
  As we work to implement our historic legislative accomplishments of 
the last 2 years, House Democrats are united behind a Speaker who wants 
to make things in America and bring home jobs that have been shipped 
overseas; to write a tax code that rewards hard work, not wealth; to 
invest in clean energy that reduces our country's dependence on fossil 
fuels.
  From voting rights to reproductive rights, we are united, Madam 
Clerk. We are unified behind a Speaker who is an unapologetic advocate 
for protecting and expanding our freedoms. He does not traffic in 
extremism. He does not grovel to or make excuses for a twice-impeached, 
so-called former President.

  Madam Clerk, he does not bend a knee to anyone who would seek to 
undermine our democracy because, Madam Clerk, that is not what leaders 
do; because he understands what great leaders of this House understand, 
that this body and this institution are best equipped to serve the 
needs of this democracy and the beautiful mosaic of the Members it 
sends; that our responsibility, as Members of this body, is to protect 
the American Dream and honor the sacrifice of the generations before 
us, like the sacrifice of a mother and a social worker who borrowed 
against her pension to put her children through school.
  Mom and Dad were determined that their children would graduate 
without any debt so that they could pursue their dreams to the best of 
their ability, no matter the hardship or the sacrifice.
  Today, Hakeem's leadership style is quite simple: Spread love; it's 
the Brooklyn way.
  It is born of this working-class upbringing in that same borough, 
Hakeem and his brother were raised in the first home that their parents 
ever bought, thanks to their collectively bargained salary, and it is 
where they live today.
  It was in this House where his younger brother saw a future leader; 
where his mother saw a thoughtful, passionate young man; and where his 
father saw a competitor whose GPA went up when his younger brother 
started high school.
  His family always at his side, some here with us today, and some 
watching from home, his mom and dad, Kenny, J.J., Joshua, and his 
younger brother, Dr. Hasan Jeffries.
  Mrs. Jeffries and her husband told their sons, it doesn't matter what 
you do, but it has to be done in the service of people. That is how 
Hakeem will lead. He is going to serve all of us so that we can best 
serve the American public. That selflessness, that commitment to 
success of those around you is what shaped his career and what will 
shape our joint future together.
  He knows success isn't about personal achievement. He is a leader who 
will be with you in the beginning, whether it is your bill and an 
important priority in your district, he will ride alongside you as you 
do the work, and he will be there at the end to see it through because 
he knows that our success means that we can raise the quality of life 
for our constituents, creating better jobs, and building safer 
communities.

                              {time}  1245

  He is guided every step of the way by the faith that his mom 
instilled in him. Sunday mornings weren't always easy in the Jeffries 
house. The young man who knew he wanted to be a lawyer would argue with 
his mom about going to church that day, but failure is a good teacher. 
He lost those arguments.
  Now Hakeem goes to church every weekend, sometimes that one where his 
church family is at Cornerstone Baptist or somewhere else in the 
district where he can meet his constituents where they are. He 
remembers that after church on Sundays he would go to Nano's house, 
where there was an open door at his grandmother's house for the

[[Page H4]]

entire neighborhood and their elders to come with food and 
conversation, a young Hakeem listening to everything but usually just 
trying to catch the score of the Jets game. This is where wisdom gets 
passed down.
  Now, guided by the faith and wisdom of leaders like  Jim Clyburn,  
Greg Meeks, John Lewis, Steny Hoyer, and Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi--it 
is shaped by that guidance that we are prepared to nominate a leader 
who will open the door to the new generation of leadership.
  Madam Clerk, a Latino is nominating for leader of this Chamber a 
Black man for the first time in our history.
  Madam Clerk, that is progress, and it is progress that the country 
wants to continue for this Congress and for our country.
  Therefore, as chair of the Democratic Caucus, I am directed by the 
vote of that Caucus to present for election to the Office of Speaker of 
the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress the name of the 
Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, a Representative-elect from the State of New 
York.
  The CLERK. The names of the Honorable Kevin McCarthy, a 
Representative-elect from the State of California, and the Honorable 
Hakeem Jeffries, a Representative-elect from the State of New York, 
have been placed in nomination.
  Are there further nominations?
  The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar).
  Mr. GOSAR. Madam Clerk, America knows that Washington is broken. The 
power doesn't reside in the Speaker. It doesn't reside in the majority 
or the minority leaders, nor the whip. The power resides in we the 
people, the people putting trust in us here--each individual Member--to 
represent their districts, their State, and the Federal Government.
  Washington is broken. We are the last ones to know. A wise person 
once told me that good process builds good policy builds good politics. 
We have to return to that.
  Madam Clerk, with that, I place the name of my friend and colleague 
from Arizona,   Andy Biggs, for Speaker of the House.
  The CLERK. Are there further nominations?
  There being no further nominations, the Clerk appoints the following 
tellers:
  The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk);
  The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee);
  The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil); and
  The gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle).
  The tellers will come forward and take their seats at the desk in 
front of the Speaker's rostrum.
  The names of the Honorable Kevin McCarthy, a Representative-elect 
from the State of California; the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, a 
Representative-elect from the State of New York; and the Honorable   
Andy Biggs, a Representative-elect from the State of Arizona, have been 
placed in nomination.
  The roll now will be called, and those responding to their names will 
indicate by surname the nominee of their choosing.
  The Reading Clerk will now call the roll.
  The tellers having taken their places, the House proceeded to vote 
for the Speaker.
  The following is the result of the vote:

                              [Roll No. 2]

                             JEFFRIES--212

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Auchincloss
     Balint
     Barragan
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Bowman
     Boyle (PA)
     Brown
     Brownley
     Budzinski
     Bush
     Caraveo
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson
     Carter (LA)
     Cartwright
     Casar
     Case
     Casten
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Cherfilus-McCormick
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Craig
     Crockett
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (NC)
     Dean (PA)
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Deluzio
     DeSaulnier
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Evans
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Foushee
     Frankel, Lois
     Frost
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Garcia, Robert
     Golden (ME)
     Goldman (NY)
     Gomez
     Gonzalez, Vicente
     Gottheimer
     Green (TX)
     Grijalva
     Harder (CA)
     Hayes
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Hoyle (OR)
     Huffman
     Ivey
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson (NC)
     Jackson Lee
     Jacobs
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Kamlager-Dove
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim (NJ)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster
     Landsman
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Lee (PA)
     Leger Fernandez
     Levin
     Lieu
     Lofgren
     Lynch
     Magaziner
     Manning
     Matsui
     McBath
     McCollum
     McGarvey
     McGovern
     Meeks
     Menendez
     Meng
     Mfume
     Moore (WI)
     Morelle
     Moskowitz
     Moulton
     Mrvan
     Mullin
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Nickel
     Norcross
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Peltola
     Perez
     Peters
     Pettersen
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Porter
     Pressley
     Quigley
     Ramirez
     Raskin
     Ross
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Ryan
     Salinas
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Scholten
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Slotkin
     Smith (WA)
     Sorensen
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Stansbury
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Strickland
     Swalwell
     Sykes
     Takano
     Thanedar
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tokuda
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres (NY)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Underwood
     Vargas
     Vasquez
     Veasey
     Velazquez
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Wexton
     Wild
     Williams (GA)
     Wilson (FL)

                             McCARTHY--203

     Aderholt
     Alford
     Allen
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bean (FL)
     Bentz
     Bergman
     Bice
     Bilirakis
     Bost
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Burlison
     Calvert
     Cammack
     Carey
     Carl
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chavez-DeRemer
     Ciscomani
     Cline
     Cole
     Collins
     Comer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     D'Esposito
     Davidson
     De La Cruz
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donalds
     Duarte
     Duncan
     Dunn (FL)
     Edwards
     Ellzey
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ezell
     Fallon
     Feenstra
     Ferguson
     Finstad
     Fischbach
     Fitzgerald
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flood
     Foxx
     Franklin, C. Scott
     Fry
     Fulcher
     Gallagher
     Garbarino
     Garcia, Mike
     Gimenez
     Gonzales, Tony
     Gooden (TX)
     Granger
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Greene (GA)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hageman
     Harshbarger
     Hern
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Hinson
     Houchin
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hunt
     Issa
     Jackson (TX)
     James
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Kean (NJ)
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     Kiggans (VA)
     Kiley
     Kim (CA)
     Kustoff
     LaHood
     LaLota
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Langworthy
     Latta
     LaTurner
     Lawler
     Lee (FL)
     Lesko
     Letlow
     Loudermilk
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Luttrell
     Mace
     Malliotakis
     Mann
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClain
     McClintock
     McCormick
     McHenry
     Meuser
     Miller (OH)
     Miller (WV)
     Miller-Meeks
     Mills
     Molinaro
     Moolenaar
     Mooney
     Moore (AL)
     Moore (UT)
     Moran
     Murphy
     Nehls
     Newhouse
     Nunn (IA)
     Obernolte
     Owens
     Palmer
     Pence
     Pfluger
     Posey
     Reschenthaler
     Rodgers (WA)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose
     Rouzer
     Rutherford
     Salazar
     Santos
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sessions
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smucker
     Spartz
     Stauber
     Steel
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Strong
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Tiffany
     Timmons
     Turner
     Valadao
     Van Drew
     Van Duyne
     Van Orden
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Waltz
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams (NY)
     Williams (TX)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Yakym
     Zinke

                               BIGGS--10

     Biggs
     Bishop (NC)
     Clyde
     Crane
     Gaetz
     Good (VA)
     Gosar
     Norman
     Perry
     Rosendale

                               JORDAN--6

     Boebert
     Cloud
     Luna
     Miller (IL)
     Ogles
     Self

                                BANKS--1

       
     Brecheen
       

                               ZELDIN--1

       
     Harris
       

                               DONALDS--1

       
     Roy
       

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--0

                             NOT VOTING--0

                              {time}  1415

  The CLERK. The tellers agree in their tallies that the total number 
of votes cast is 434, of which the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries of the 
State of New York has received 212, the Honorable Kevin McCarthy of the 
State of

[[Page H5]]

California has received 203, the Honorable   Andy Biggs of the State of 
Arizona has received 10, the Honorable   Jim Jordan of the State of 
Ohio has received 6, the Honorable   Jim Banks of the State of Indiana 
has received 1, the Honorable Lee Zeldin of the State of New York has 
received 1, the Honorable Byron Donalds of the State of Florida has 
received 1.
  No persons having received a majority of the whole number of votes 
cast by surname, a Speaker has not been elected. Following the 
procedure used by the House in 1923 and recorded in Cannon's 
Precedents, volume 6, section 24, the Clerk is prepared to direct the 
Reading Clerk to call the roll anew.
  The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan).
  Mr. JORDAN. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Kevin McCarthy for 
Speaker of the House.
  Madam Clerk, I think we have three objectives this Congress, three 
fundamental things we have to get done in the 118th Congress.
  First, pass the bills that fix the problems. In 2 years' time, we 
have a border that is no longer a border. We have a military that can't 
meet its recruitment goals. We have bad energy policy, bad education 
policy, record spending, record inflation, record debt, and a 
government that has been weaponized against we, the people, against the 
very people we represent.
  So we need to pass legislation that address all that. And I hope my 
Democratic colleagues will join me, I really do. But I have my doubts; 
and if they don't, and if Chuck Schumer says no, we are not going to 
take up that legislation that we pass, and if Joe Biden won't sign it, 
so be it. They will have to answer to the people in 2024.
  Second, we can never, ever, let a bill like the one that passed 12 
days ago, $1.7 trillion spent, we can never, ever let that kind of 
legislation pass again. We have to pass a budget that makes sense, that 
is good common sense, then do the 12 appropriation bills that recognize 
it is the people's money--not ours--and send it to the Senate and then 
stand firm on that legislation.
  Again, if they won't take it up, and Joe Biden won't sign it, we can 
stand firm on a CR or something. We can have that fight. But we are not 
going to have what took place a week and a half ago ever happen again.
  Then finally, third, and this is important, we have got to do the 
oversight and the investigations that need to be done. This idea that 
bureaucrats who never put their name on a ballot, but they think run 
the country, who have assaulted our constituents' First Amendment 
liberties, they need to be held accountable. That has to happen.
  We need to do it, and we need to do it in a way that is consistent 
with the Constitution, but we need to do it vigorously and 
aggressively. That is part of our duty as Members of this body.
  To my friends here on this side of the aisle, I would just say this: 
The differences we may have, the differences between Joyce and Jordan 
or Biggs and Bacon, they pale in comparison to the differences between 
us and the left which now, unfortunately, controls the other party.
  So we had better come together and fight for these key things, these 
three things. That is what the people want us to do.
  I think Kevin McCarthy is the right guy to lead us, I really do, or I 
wouldn't be standing up here giving this speech. I came in with Kevin. 
We came in the same time, 16 years ago. We haven't always agreed on 
everything, but I like his fight, I like his tenacity.
  I remember Kevin told me; they actually wrote about this in a book. I 
can remember Kevin told me, the toughest times in life are when you get 
knocked down. The question is can you come back, and I have always seen 
him do that.
  We need to rally around him, come together, and deal with these three 
things because this is what the people sent us here to do.
  My favorite scripture verse is 2 Timothy 4:7. Paul is the old guy 
giving advice to the young guy, and he says, fight the good fight. 
Finish the course. Keep the faith. I like the verse because it is a 
verse of action: Fight, finish, keep; not wimpy words, words that I 
think fit America. That is what the American people want us to do. They 
want us to fight for the things they care about and they elected us to 
do.
  We should all remember, only about 12,000 people have ever had the 
opportunity to do what we are doing today, sit in this body, serve in 
this Congress. It is a privilege; it is an opportunity.
  We owe it to them, the American people, the good people of this great 
country, to step forward to come together, get a Speaker elected so we 
can address these three things.
  I hope you will vote for Kevin McCarthy, and that is why I am proud 
to nominate him for Speaker of the House.
  The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Aguilar).
  Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Clerk, we are witnessing history here today. For 
half of that, I wasn't quite sure who the gentleman from Ohio was 
nominating. He was nominating himself.
  The CLERK. Is the gentleman rising to place a name in nomination?
  Mr. AGUILAR. I am, Madam Clerk. I would just like to be afforded the 
same opportunity that the gentleman from Ohio took, Madam Clerk.
  Consider all that has happened. The last time an election for Speaker 
went to a second ballot, Leader Jeffries' beloved New York Yankees had 
not yet won a World Series.
  Consider all that has happened since then; the work that the body has 
entertained; the work that we have done for the people over that time.

  We are unified behind a Speaker who will continue that progress, 
despite the chaos on the other side, Madam Clerk. We are going to stay 
here to get this done. We are unified, and we are going to support 
Hakeem Jeffries for Speaker, the lead vote-getter, in the last ballot.
  Madam Clerk, as chair of the Democratic Caucus, I am directed by the 
vote of the Caucus to present for election to the Office of Speaker of 
the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress the name of the 
Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, the Representative-elect for the State of 
New York, once again, and we will be unified once again in our support 
for him.
  The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Gaetz).
  Mr. GAETZ. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate a candidate for Speaker of 
the House.
  Well, sometimes we have to do jobs that we don't really want to do, 
and sometimes we have to do jobs that we are called to do. So, my 
colleagues, I rise to nominate the most talented, hardest working 
member of the Republican Conference, who just gave a speech with more 
vision than we have ever heard from the alternative.
  I am nominating   Jim Jordan.   Jim Jordan is humble, perhaps today, 
humble to a fault.
  Maybe the right person for the job of Speaker of the House isn't 
someone who wants it so bad. Maybe the right person for the job of 
Speaker of the House isn't someone who has sold shares of himself for 
more than a decade to get it.
  Maybe   Jim Jordan is the right person for Speaker of the House 
because he is not beholden to the lobbyists and special interests who 
have corrupted this place and corrupted this Nation under the 
leadership of both Republicans and Democrats.
  Maybe   Jim Jordan would be the right person for Speaker of the House 
because he wouldn't fight us when we try to get a term limits bill on 
the floor. Maybe   Jim Jordan would be the right person because he 
wouldn't fight us when we try to put a balanced budget on the floor and 
vote for it.
  Maybe   Jim Jordan is the right person because he would endorse the 
plan that was built by the Texas delegation to finally secure our 
border.
  Mr. Jordan said in his nomination that there are certain bills that 
we have to pass to fix the problem. The challenge is the alternative 
has been someone voting for the very bills that have caused these 
problems.
  Mr. Jordan says that we cannot accept legislation like the omnibus, 
and I fully agree; and if   Jim Jordan were Speaker of the House, if he 
were the leader of the Republican team, we wouldn't have that 
circumstance choking the economy of our country, increasing inflation, 
and diminishing the prospects of a better life for our fellow 
Americans.
  Finally, Mr. Jordan said we must engage in rigorous oversight. Every 
one

[[Page H6]]

of my Republican colleagues knows that the person who can lead that 
oversight effort, who works on it every day, who has the skill and the 
talent and the will is   Jim Jordan. I am nominating him, and I am 
voting for him.
  The CLERK. The Reading Clerk will now call the roll.
  The tellers having taken their places, the House proceeded to vote for 
the Speaker.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  January 3, 2023, on page H6, in the first column, the following 
appeared: The tellers having take their places, the House 
proceeded to vote for the Speaker.
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: The tellers 
having taken their places, the House proceeded to vote for the 
Speaker.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


  The following is the result of the vote:

                              [Roll No. 3]

                             JEFFRIES--212

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Auchincloss
     Balint
     Barragan
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Bowman
     Boyle (PA)
     Brown
     Brownley
     Budzinski
     Bush
     Caraveo
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson
     Carter (LA)
     Cartwright
     Casar
     Case
     Casten
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Cherfilus-McCormick
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Craig
     Crockett
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (NC)
     Dean (PA)
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Deluzio
     DeSaulnier
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Evans
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Foushee
     Frankel, Lois
     Frost
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Garcia, Robert
     Golden (ME)
     Goldman (NY)
     Gomez
     Gonzalez, Vicente
     Gottheimer
     Green (TX)
     Grijalva
     Harder (CA)
     Hayes
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Hoyle (OR)
     Huffman
     Ivey
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson (NC)
     Jackson Lee
     Jacobs
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Kamlager-Dove
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim (NJ)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster
     Landsman
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Lee (PA)
     Leger Fernandez
     Levin
     Lieu
     Lofgren
     Lynch
     Magaziner
     Manning
     Matsui
     McBath
     McCollum
     McGarvey
     McGovern
     Meeks
     Menendez
     Meng
     Mfume
     Moore (WI)
     Morelle
     Moskowitz
     Moulton
     Mrvan
     Mullin
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Nickel
     Norcross
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Peltola
     Perez
     Peters
     Pettersen
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Porter
     Pressley
     Quigley
     Ramirez
     Raskin
     Ross
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Ryan
     Salinas
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Scholten
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Slotkin
     Smith (WA)
     Sorensen
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Stansbury
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Strickland
     Swalwell
     Sykes
     Takano
     Thanedar
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tokuda
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres (NY)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Underwood
     Vargas
     Vasquez
     Veasey
     Velazquez
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Wexton
     Wild
     Williams (GA)
     Wilson (FL)

                             McCARTHY--203

     Aderholt
     Alford
     Allen
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bean (FL)
     Bentz
     Bergman
     Bice
     Bilirakis
     Bost
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Burlison
     Calvert
     Cammack
     Carey
     Carl
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chavez-DeRemer
     Ciscomani
     Cline
     Cole
     Collins
     Comer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     D'Esposito
     Davidson
     De La Cruz
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donalds
     Duarte
     Duncan
     Dunn (FL)
     Edwards
     Ellzey
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ezell
     Fallon
     Feenstra
     Ferguson
     Finstad
     Fischbach
     Fitzgerald
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flood
     Foxx
     Franklin, C. Scott
     Fry
     Fulcher
     Gallagher
     Garbarino
     Garcia, Mike
     Gimenez
     Gonzales, Tony
     Gooden (TX)
     Granger
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Greene (GA)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hageman
     Harshbarger
     Hern
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Hinson
     Houchin
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hunt
     Issa
     Jackson (TX)
     James
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Kean (NJ)
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     Kiggans (VA)
     Kiley
     Kim (CA)
     Kustoff
     LaHood
     LaLota
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Langworthy
     Latta
     LaTurner
     Lawler
     Lee (FL)
     Lesko
     Letlow
     Loudermilk
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Luttrell
     Mace
     Malliotakis
     Mann
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClain
     McClintock
     McCormick
     McHenry
     Meuser
     Miller (OH)
     Miller (WV)
     Miller-Meeks
     Mills
     Molinaro
     Moolenaar
     Mooney
     Moore (AL)
     Moore (UT)
     Moran
     Murphy
     Nehls
     Newhouse
     Nunn (IA)
     Obernolte
     Owens
     Palmer
     Pence
     Pfluger
     Posey
     Reschenthaler
     Rodgers (WA)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose
     Rouzer
     Rutherford
     Salazar
     Santos
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sessions
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smucker
     Spartz
     Stauber
     Steel
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Strong
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Tiffany
     Timmons
     Turner
     Valadao
     Van Drew
     Van Duyne
     Van Orden
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Waltz
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams (NY)
     Williams (TX)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Yakym
     Zinke

                               JORDAN--19

     Biggs
     Bishop (NC)
     Boebert
     Brecheen
     Cloud
     Clyde
     Crane
     Gaetz
     Good (VA)
     Gosar
     Harris
     Luna
     Miller (IL)
     Norman
     Ogles
     Perry
     Rosendale
     Roy
     Self

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--0

                             NOT VOTING--0

                              {time}  1600

  The CLERK. The tellers agree in their tallies that the total number 
of votes cast is 434, of which the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries of the 
State of New York has received 212, the Honorable Kevin McCarthy of the 
State of California has received 203, the Honorable   Jim Jordan of the 
State of Ohio has received 19.
  No person having received a majority of the whole number of votes 
cast by surname, a Speaker has not been elected.
  The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Lousiana (Mr. Scalise).
  Mr. SCALISE. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Kevin McCarthy for the 
position of Speaker of the House.
  Madam Clerk, we all came here to get things done; to get big things 
done; to solve the problems. I hope when we get through today that all 
of the Members on both sides of the aisle will join together with us to 
solve the problems; to address inflation that is crushing middle-class 
families; to get control over spending that is driving the inflation.
  We all know what those problems are. We have been talking about them 
for a long time. We have been proposing legislation for a long time. In 
fact, it was Kevin McCarthy who put together task forces over a year 
ago to get Members engaged in the process of not just talking about 
what we don't like, not just talking about what the problems are. We 
know what those problems are. But how do you fix those problems?
  So we started rolling those bills out. We have attempted to bring 
bills to this floor to address inflation; to lower the cost of goods 
when families go to the grocery store and they can't even buy all the 
food they need for their families, if they can find that food on the 
shelf. But those bills were rejected.
  If a family has trouble putting gas in the tank to make it to the 
grocery store, because we have got such horrible energy policies under 
what President Biden has done to shut down American energy that 
families can't even afford to put gas in their tanks.
  So we brought legislation to the floor to lower the cost of gasoline, 
and you know what? Those bills were rejected by the previous majority; 
and I use that term for a reason, previous majority, because we won a 
majority talking about fixing those problems. But we can't start fixing 
those problems until we elect Kevin McCarthy as our next Speaker.
  So what have we laid out? We have got bills just this week to start 
addressing some of those problems, to start addressing our energy 
insecurity that has been created when President Biden shut down 
American energy.
  There is absolutely no reason that we need to rely on foreign 
countries to produce our energy. We can produce it all here, cleaner, 
better, more efficient, and create American jobs in the process. Let's 
get those bills to this floor.
  How long have we been highlighting this open southern border that has 
not just brought millions of people across our border? Kevin McCarthy 
has led delegations down to the border to show what the problem is. We 
know what the problem is.
  This President refuses to even admit the problem. It is kind of hard 
for the President to solve a problem when he doesn't even admit it is a 
problem.
  Yet, let's talk about the numbers. Over 2 million people have come 
across our border illegally just last year--that is more than the 
entire State of New Mexico--have come into our country illegally, and 
this President won't even admit it is a problem.
  Last year alone, we lost over 100,000 young people to deaths from 
drugs like

[[Page H7]]

fentanyl because we have an open southern border. Everybody should be 
appalled by that stat; the fact that more than 100 of our youngest, 
best, and brightest kids are dead in America because of the fentanyl 
coming across our open southern border.
  These are drugs made in China coming across our southern border and 
brought into every community in America, and it should stop. It has to 
stop. But it won't stop until either the President takes action, which 
he won't, or we pass legislation on the floor to fix those problems. 
But that doesn't start until we elect Kevin McCarthy as our Speaker.
  We know what the challenges are. We have laid out solutions to these 
problems. It is sad to say, these aren't problems that are very hard to 
fix because we weren't in this situation just a few years ago.
  But if the administration doesn't want to fix these problems, people 
call on us to do that, and it starts here in the people's House.
  Let's rise to this challenge. Let's meet the challenges that the 
American people sent all of us, not just the Republicans, not just the 
Democrats, but all 434, soon to be 435 of us. We can meet those 
challenges, but let's start by electing Kevin McCarthy as our next 
Speaker.
  The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Aguilar).
  Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Hakeem Jeffries.
  For unity in Congress and progress in our country, Democrats are 
united behind Hakeem Jeffries. I recommend Hakeem Jeffries as our 
Speaker.
  The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).
  Mr. ROY. Madam Clerk, I seek to place a name into nomination.
  So this is what the Chamber looks like when we are actually debating, 
and the bodies are in chairs.
  How many times have we been down here giving speeches and there is 
not a soul in the Chamber?
  Yet, this is what it takes to get 435 people in the Chamber have an 
actual debate.
  The American people are watching, and that is a good thing. What we 
are doing is exercising our rights to vote and have a debate and have a 
discussion about the future of this country through the decision of 
choosing a Speaker.
  This is not personal. It is not. This is about the future of the 
country. This is about the direction of the country.
  The American people are looking at this body and wondering why we can 
pass $1.7 trillion bills that are unpaid for. They can just slide in 
$45 billion for Ukraine but not pay for it; $40 billion for emergency 
spending and not pay for it; 10 percent increase in defense spending; 6 
percent increase in nondefense spending and not pay for it; and not do 
a thing, except put language in a bill that prohibits our ability to 
use the money to secure the border.
  That bill gets rammed through, and we know exactly how it gets rammed 
through because the defense world and the nondefense world come 
together and say, you know what? We are going to cut a deal, and we 
will all go to the mikes, and we are all going to give speeches, and 
the American people are the big losers. That is what happens. We know 
that is what happens.
  The Rules Committee sits up there and passes a bill, sends it to the 
floor, and we have no debate on the floor of this body. We haven't been 
able to offer an amendment on the floor of this body since May of 2016. 
The former leader and I have discussed this right here. That is true.
  But the fact is, this place has to change. It has to change, and the 
change comes by either adopting rules and procedures that will make us 
actually do our job, or it comes from leadership.
  People ask me, what do you want? I want the tools, or I want the 
leadership to stop the swamp from running over the average American 
every single day. We can't keep doing this.
  I am going to sit here until we figure out how to stop spending money 
we don't have. I don't want any more empty promises. I don't want any 
more oh, don't worry, trust us; we will do it.
  I want to know that we are going to be able to exercise our rights as 
Members of this body to stand up for the American people and actually 
fix this country; and it is not going to happen when we use our men and 
women in uniform and defense and wrap ourselves around that, and then 
spend more money that we don't have, weakening that defense, weakening 
our country in the process. But that is what we just did.
  Madam Clerk, I am asking for us to come together and figure out how 
to solve these problems; and to do that, I am going to do what I did my 
very first act as a Member of Congress, or a Congressman-elect, and 
nominate   Jim Jordan for Speaker.
  Now, Jim has said he doesn't want that nomination, and Jim has been 
down here nominating Kevin, and I respect that. Again, I have no 
personal animus toward Kevin, and I have worked for the last 2 months 
to try to figure out how to get the rules to make this place better, 
and we have made progress.
  But we do not have the tools or the leadership yet to stop the swamp 
from rolling over the American people. Jim has been doing it. He has a 
track record of doing it and, for those reasons, I am nominating   Jim 
Jordan of Ohio for Speaker of the House of Representatives.
  The CLERK. The Reading Clerk will call the roll.
  The tellers having taken their places, the House proceeded to vote 
for the Speaker.
  The following is the result of the vote:

                              [Roll No. 4]

                             JEFFRIES--212

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Auchincloss
     Balint
     Barragan
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Bowman
     Boyle (PA)
     Brown
     Brownley
     Budzinski
     Bush
     Caraveo
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson
     Carter (LA)
     Cartwright
     Casar
     Case
     Casten
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Cherfilus-McCormick
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Craig
     Crockett
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (NC)
     Dean (PA)
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Deluzio
     DeSaulnier
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Evans
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Foushee
     Frankel, Lois
     Frost
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Garcia, Robert
     Golden (ME)
     Goldman (NY)
     Gomez
     Gonzalez, Vicente
     Gottheimer
     Green (TX)
     Grijalva
     Harder (CA)
     Hayes
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Hoyle (OR)
     Huffman
     Ivey
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson (NC)
     Jackson Lee
     Jacobs
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Kamlager-Dove
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim (NJ)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster
     Landsman
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Lee (PA)
     Leger Fernandez
     Levin
     Lieu
     Lofgren
     Lynch
     Magaziner
     Manning
     Matsui
     McBath
     McCollum
     McGarvey
     McGovern
     Meeks
     Menendez
     Meng
     Mfume
     Moore (WI)
     Morelle
     Moskowitz
     Moulton
     Mrvan
     Mullin
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Nickel
     Norcross
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Peltola
     Perez
     Peters
     Pettersen
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Porter
     Pressley
     Quigley
     Ramirez
     Raskin
     Ross
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Ryan
     Salinas
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Scholten
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Slotkin
     Smith (WA)
     Sorensen
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Stansbury
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Strickland
     Swalwell
     Sykes
     Takano
     Thanedar
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tokuda
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres (NY)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Underwood
     Vargas
     Vasquez
     Veasey
     Velazquez
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Wexton
     Wild
     Williams (GA)
     Wilson (FL)

                             McCARTHY--202

     Aderholt
     Alford
     Allen
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bean (FL)
     Bentz
     Bergman
     Bice
     Bilirakis
     Bost
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Burlison
     Calvert
     Cammack
     Carey
     Carl
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chavez-DeRemer
     Ciscomani
     Cline
     Cole
     Collins
     Comer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     D'Esposito
     Davidson
     De La Cruz
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Duarte
     Duncan
     Dunn (FL)
     Edwards
     Ellzey
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ezell
     Fallon
     Feenstra
     Ferguson
     Finstad
     Fischbach
     Fitzgerald
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flood
     Foxx
     Franklin, C. Scott
     Fry
     Fulcher

[[Page H8]]


     Gallagher
     Garbarino
     Garcia, Mike
     Gimenez
     Gonzales, Tony
     Gooden (TX)
     Granger
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Greene (GA)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hageman
     Harshbarger
     Hern
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Hinson
     Houchin
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hunt
     Issa
     Jackson (TX)
     James
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Kean (NJ)
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     Kiggans (VA)
     Kiley
     Kim (CA)
     Kustoff
     LaHood
     LaLota
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Langworthy
     Latta
     LaTurner
     Lawler
     Lee (FL)
     Lesko
     Letlow
     Loudermilk
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Luttrell
     Mace
     Malliotakis
     Mann
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClain
     McClintock
     McCormick
     McHenry
     Meuser
     Miller (OH)
     Miller (WV)
     Miller-Meeks
     Mills
     Molinaro
     Moolenaar
     Mooney
     Moore (AL)
     Moore (UT)
     Moran
     Murphy
     Nehls
     Newhouse
     Nunn (IA)
     Obernolte
     Owens
     Palmer
     Pence
     Pfluger
     Posey
     Reschenthaler
     Rodgers (WA)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose
     Rouzer
     Rutherford
     Salazar
     Santos
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sessions
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smucker
     Spartz
     Stauber
     Steel
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Strong
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Tiffany
     Timmons
     Turner
     Valadao
     Van Drew
     Van Duyne
     Van Orden
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Waltz
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams (NY)
     Williams (TX)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Yakym
     Zinke

                               JORDAN--20

     Biggs
     Bishop (NC)
     Boebert
     Brecheen
     Cloud
     Clyde
     Crane
     Donalds
     Gaetz
     Good (VA)
     Gosar
     Harris
     Luna
     Miller (IL)
     Norman
     Ogles
     Perry
     Rosendale
     Roy
     Self

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--0

                             NOT VOTING--0

                              {time}  1715

  The CLERK. The tellers agree in their tallies that the total number 
of votes cast is 434, of which the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries of the 
State of New York has received 212 votes, the Honorable Kevin McCarthy 
of the State of California has received 202 votes, the Honorable   Jim 
Jordan of the State of Ohio has received 20 votes.
  No persons having received a majority of the whole number of votes 
cast by surname, a Speaker has not been elected.

                          ____________________