Congressional Record, Volume 169 Issue 4 (Thursday, January 5, 2023)

[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 4 (Thursday, January 5, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H19-H32]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE CLERK

The CLERK. Before proceeding further, the Chair would like to clarify
that as part of the Clerk's role during the organization of the House,
under clause 2(a) of rule II, as incorporated into the general
parliamentary law, the Clerk has the responsibility to preserve order
and decorum in the Chamber prior to the election of a Speaker.
To that end, the Chair would like to remind Members-elect of the
following: Members-elect should address any remarks through the Chair
and not to other Members-elect in the second person. Members-elect
should refrain from engaging in personalities toward other Members-
elect.
The Chair appreciates the cooperation of Members-elect in respecting
and upholding order and decorum in the House.
The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
James).
Mr. JAMES. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Kevin McCarthy for Speaker
of the House.
Madam Clerk, there has been a lot of talk about history over the last
few days. 1856 was the last time it took longer than 9 votes to find a
Speaker of the House. It took 133 votes over 2 months.
Without question, the issues that divide us today are much less
severe than they were in 1856. In fact, there is far more that unites
us than divides us, regardless of our political party or ideology.
The issues today are over a few rules and personalities, while the
issues at that time were about slavery and whether the value of a man
who looks like me was 60 percent or 100 percent of a human being.
It was a long, drawn-out, painful process, but it needed to happen.
In the end, Nathaniel Banks won by the slimmest of margins. But the
margins don't matter when your policies are on the right side of
history. On that day, long ago, the good guys won. On that day, long
ago, the abolitionists won. On that day, the people who believed in

[[Page H20]]

freedom and self-determination won. The leading Republican nominee won
then, and the leading Republican nominee will win again today.
Since then, our Nation has made a lot of progress. That includes
families like mine. My family has gone from slave to the floor of the
United States House of Representatives, being the first Member of his
freshman class to speak.
In a series of five generations, my family has gone from slave to
right here since 1856. My father and mother were born in the 1940s and
1950s in the Jim Crow South, and my dad lived directly across the
street from a school he couldn't go to because he was Black. He started
a business with one truck, one trailer, no excuses, with the help of
his wife, and now his son stands here on the precipice of taking back
the majority for the American people and taking this Nation in the
right direction.
I am a freshman. I have only been here a couple of days, but I have
heard a lot of D.C. politicians tell me about how broken D.C. is. I
don't need D.C. politicians to tell me how broken D.C. is. The American
people have already told us how broken D.C. is by giving the
Republicans the majority so we can fix this mess.

{time} 1215

We will counter the socialist movement of envy and confiscation with
a conservative movement of access and opportunity. We will stand on the
right side of history again. We will end the growth of government, and
we will stop 87,000 new IRS agents from picking through your
pocketbooks. We will secure our energy independence. We will ban the
sale of petroleum from our strategic reserves to China. We will
establish a bipartisan select committee specifically to keep our eye on
the ball in China. We will address the crisis at the border that is
killing Americans by the day and improve both our safety in our Nation
and our dignity for those who come here in search of a better life.
But not yet. We are still stuck at the starting block. The American
people have told us, by putting a Republican majority here, that they
want Republicans to lead, and they want a government that works and
doesn't embarrass them. We are failing on both missions, and that must
change today.
Benjamin Franklin said: We must hang together, or we will, most
assuredly, hang separately.
We are stuck in a malaise, at an impasse, and we will stay here and
not be able to fight the real conservative fight until we find a way to
come together and fight that mission together.
Yesterday, we experienced, very briefly, our first win. It was a
small victory. It was a small victory, but didn't it feel good? We have
been working hard for that victory, and there are much more to come.
As a cadet at West Point, I learned the phrase that has always been
my motto throughout my life: ``Mission first, people always.''
Right now, the people are left out. Right now, they don't have a
Congress to speak for them at the highest level of government. Right
now, every individual in this room can concede that the rounds that we
have taken are not what we told our constituents we would do. We told
them that we would fight the opioid crisis.
For perspective, there is a hallowed monument that my father took me
to. My father is a Vietnam veteran. This monument has a total length of
500 feet, nearly 2 football fields. It is 10 feet high, and the letters
are only a half inch, with 58,000 names, for a war that lasted years.
According to the CDC, in 2021, we lost almost twice as many people as
we lost in Vietnam to overdoses. We lost 600 Americans to overdoses
since Tuesday.
We are talking about the debt rising. You can't count how many
dollars we have spent of our great-grandchildren's money since Tuesday.
The work we promised the American people we would do, we are welching
on that promise. But I have hope. I have hope that we will be able to
come together unified and put the right person in leadership. From
many, one, e pluribus unum.
I am standing here today because I am the seventh Member to stand up
in support of Kevin McCarthy for Speaker. He has earned my trust. The
first time we met was in his office under the watchful gaze of a
Frederick Douglass painting. He told me in that office, on the eve of
the 2019 State of the Union address, that there is nothing that could
be said or done during that address that embarrassed him more than the
fact that when the Democrat side stood up, they would look more like
the United States of America than we do.
He set out not to compromise our values, not to compromise our
ideology, but to work harder to make sure that more people with diverse
perspectives and different lived experiences could be here. In the very
next election, he won 14 seats up from 199. All the seats he won were
with minorities, women, and veterans. The very next cycle, this next
cycle, he helped me and my good buddy and classmate, the Congressman
from Texas, Wes Hunt, double the number of Black Republicans in the
Republican Conference.

We have a long way to go, but we have come so far. We have come so
far. We can't quit. We can't quit. You don't fire a guy who is winning.
Look at the Governor's mansions and legislatures we lost across the
country just this past cycle and look at the gains that Kevin McCarthy
has made uphill, getting the gavel as minority leader in half the time.
The mainstream media likes to laud the leadership of Nancy Pelosi.
Kevin McCarthy won the gavel back as minority leader in half the time
going uphill.
We want to talk about people who can win. I am a Lions' fan, and I am
well acquainted with snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. We need
to learn how to win. We need to learn how to take victory.
With Kevin McCarthy's leadership, he has given us victories on rules.
He has given us victories on keeping costs down. He has given us
victories with winning the majority back. I am so proud to be a part of
the majority-making class. He has earned my trust, and, hopefully, he
will earn your trust.
He has got 90 percent of us in the Conference. When is the last time
any of us had 90 percent approval ratings?
Kevin McCarthy, you will see up there, has over 90 percent approval
ratings. If you really want to start making history, let's do it the
right way.
We need a conservative fighter to help this country get back on the
right track, but the first thing we need to do is elect Leader McCarthy
as Speaker of the House.
I am ready to make history, and I know you are. I am excited to work
with each and every single one of you because we have a job to do.
At the direction of the Republican Conference, I advance the name of
Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House for the 118th Congress.
The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr.
Aguilar).
Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Hakeem Jeffries of New
York for Speaker of this House.
Madam Clerk, I speak on behalf of the Democratic Caucus when I say
that there is no victory in adjourning without doing the business of
the people.
Madam Clerk, House Democrats are united behind a champion of
expanding and protecting the right to vote. Since the beginning of
2021, 21 State legislatures have passed 42 restrictive voting laws.
Hakeem has stood up against voter suppression in the new Jim Crow era
every step of the way.
As we begin a new Congress, we need a leader who believes in
strengthening democracy, who understands that to cast a vote is a
sacred responsibility that should be afforded to the many, not the
privileged or the select few. Hakeem understands that in order for us
to be a more perfect Union, we can't deny the voices of individuals in
the democratic process.
Madam Clerk, today, we affirm our support of the John Lewis Voting
Rights Advancement Act. Madam Clerk, that is why I am directed by the
Democratic Caucus to advance the name of Hakeem Jeffries from New York
as Speaker.
The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina
(Mr. Bishop).
Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Madam Clerk, I rise to place in
nomination the name of Byron Donalds of Florida.
I will begin by saying how much I have anticipated the arrival of the
gentleman from Michigan, Congressman James, in this House; not in the
Senate, not in the old, staid, unchanging

[[Page H21]]

Senate, but in the House where we make change. Yesterday, we could have
elected the first Black Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives. Hear me clearly. Had the cascade of votes begun, it
would have extended to every Member of this body. It could begin today.
Last night, I sat within feet of Mr. Donalds as the tweet of another
Member-elect appeared on the screen. That Member-elect wrote and sent
out to America that Byron Donalds is a prop. I have spent a good bit of
time with Mr. Donalds, especially lately. He ain't no prop. If he were
a prop, he wouldn't be sitting where he is sitting. This is the tired,
old, grotesquely racist rhetoric that we have seen far too long.
Today, a Member-elect quote tweeted a FOX News story that incorrectly
reported that I said that if I don't prevail on the question before the
House, I will resign. That Member-elect quote tweeted that incorrect
story for his own political purposes after the story had been corrected
and the actual statement contradicting that report had been provided.
This is the old trafficking in lies from Washington that the American
people know far too well.
And, by the way, I am not leaving.
Kevin McCarthy released to the public on New Year's Eve a document
entitled: ``Restoring the People's House and Ending Business as
Usual.'' To his great credit, Mr. McCarthy made a statement of huge
significance to the country. The nominal leader of a major party
acknowledged publicly that this institution is broken, and he committed
to make changes to fix it.
So let me help my colleagues in the majority understand. We are doing
the people's business. That is what these 3 days have been about. We
are committed to make changes to this institution that has lost its
way. It is epitomized in the $1.7 trillion omnibus rammed through this
institution just 2 weeks ago.
I say to my colleagues that I came to fix this broken system.

{time} 1230

America has seen that problem for a very long time, too. The
commitment to change it is new. The genesis of the prospect of changing
it emerges from this moment and those, since June, that led, at long
last, to the New Year's Eve statement of Mr. McCarthy and to these 3
days on the floor.
America needs men and women of courage to do something new in
Congress so that Congress can serve the American people. The Lord said,
Behold, I do a new thing.
We need more Byron Donalds. I know Byron. He is not a prop. He is a
man of personal conviction. He arrived at his convictions through
authentic and genuine life experience.
People ask me, what is the endgame? How does this end?
The answer to this question is that this is a dynamic process. All of
the decisions on this floor result from the coming together of minds,
one way or another.
This is the people's business. We will resolve the people's business,
and when we do, we will go to the mat for the American people because
we will be led by people of conviction, like the gentleman from
Florida, Byron Donalds.
The CLERK. 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. 9]

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--201

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
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
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

DONALDS--19

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

DONALD J. TRUMP--1

Gaetz

ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1

Spartz

NOT VOTING--0

{time} 1340

[[Page H22]]

Donald J. Trump of the State of Florida has received 1, with 1 recorded
as present.
No Member-elect having received the majority of the votes cast, a
Speaker has not been elected.
The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast).
Mr. MAST. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Kevin McCarthy for Speaker
of the House.
I think at this point we have all heard about Kevin McCarthy at
length. He is my friend, my colleague. I am very proud to say that. I
know our remarks are directed toward the Clerk and the Chair, but I
don't mind saying that I am directing my remarks to another part of my
team. And make no mistake, we are a team. We are together.
I would say this to some of my friends in Texas. I have the same
fear, truly, that some of you have, that we squander this opportunity
to right the wrongs that have gone on here for the last 2 and 4 years,
and there are very real wrongs. I have that fear just like you do.
I would say to my friend from Montana that I have the same fear you
do, that America gives us this chance to change our course and that we
fail. I have that fear.
I would say to my friend from Arizona, I have the same fears that you
do, that we don't recover from the indifference that has been shown to
the honor we have to serve here, to the responsibility we have to
safeguard our Constitution and the freedoms of Americans. I have that
fear that it can't be recovered from.
I would say to my friend, the general from Pennsylvania, that I have
the same fears that he has, that we squander what our brothers and
sisters in arms have sacrificed for. I stand differently because of
sacrifice.
My friend from Texas, Mr. Crenshaw, when he looks out at the world,
he sees the world differently because of what he sacrificed for.
My friend Jim Baird, when he extends a hand, he extends it
differently because of what he sacrificed for during his service in
Vietnam.
We have so many in this body that gave so much, sacrificed so much to
support and defend the Constitution of our United States. I fear that
we don't live up to what some of our friends and brothers and sisters
in arms have very literally given their lives for. I don't mind saying
that, on occasion, that absolutely brings a tear to my eye, because it
does.
It is not for that.
My friend from Texas, my colleague, Mr. Roy, he and I have stood on
this floor together, arguing on the same team about life and death
issues for the United States of America, with so few people in here
that you could hear an echo. That is sad. That is not living up to our
friends.
I have sat in classified briefings with the general from
Pennsylvania, minimally attended on both sides, with issues that
absolutely matter to the safeguarding of every person within our
borders and our servicemembers abroad. We can do better than that, and
we will.
I would say to my friends, those issues that we deal with like that,
that you have spoken passionately about, I have heard your speeches. I
have sat and listened to them.

{time} 1345

They can't be fixed by our friend Andy, and they can't be fixed by
our friend Kevin, or our friend Jim, or our friend Byron. That comes
from inside each and every one of us to change what we prioritize, to
change how we choose to spend our time given this opportunity, this
honor, to serve in this place.
My friend, Mr. Roy, has been very proud of the number of individuals
that are in here, saying that this is how the process should play out,
and I totally agree with him on that.
But we don't control whether individuals in here are sitting on their
cell phones, scrolling through whatever social media, or whether they
are actually paying attention to the issues.
The Speaker can't change that. That is up to the individual. That is
something that we have to look at each other and sharpen each other and
make each other better.
When we started this process months ago behind closed doors--as
leadership for the minority was being chosen behind closed doors,
leadership for the majority was being talked about and debated and
chosen behind closed doors--I said to my friend, Mr. McCarthy: Please
don't look at us and see me as your friend or all of us as your
friends. Don't look at us and see us as your colleagues. Don't look at
us and see us as individuals that are votes for Speaker of the House.
Look at us as individuals that are looking out to our communities, our
neighborhoods, our friends, our neighbors, and our country and telling
them that we vouch for you because that is what we are doing. We are
vouching for you, and I couldn't be more proud to stand here today and
vouch for you, my friend.
I vouch to my community that Kevin will do as he has promised. He
will give us the opportunity to right the course. He will give us the
opportunity to vote.
He won't control how every individual votes, but he will give us the
opportunity to make sure that we have smart energy policy between the
Atlantic and the Pacific that makes sense for Americans; to make sure
that he protects our border, protects Americans; to make sure that we
don't spend what we don't have on a credit card, that we don't spend
wastefully.
I am vouching for my friend that he will give us that opportunity to
make sure that we don't have endless terms here in the House of
Representatives. I vouch that he will deliver that opportunity to us.
I am proud to stand before my country and say that Kevin McCarthy is
different. He is different. That is why, for those that I was speaking
to earlier, the process is where it is today.
He is different. He is not Paul Ryan. He is not going to tell you
that you will get a term limits bill, and then you won't.
He is not Mitch McConnell. He fought against the $1.7 trillion
wasteful spending package that was sent to us on Christmas Eve eve.
That is not him. He is different.
He is not John Boehner. He didn't throw you all that disagreed with
him out on your cans and say: I don't want to hear from you. I don't
want to listen to you.
He welcomes everybody in because he is different. If we give him the
chance to be our Speaker, we will all be different. He will be
different; this Congress will be different; and our country will be
different.
I stand before you today and say, at the direction of the Republican
Conference, I advance the name of Kevin McCarthy, very proudly, as the
next Speaker of the House.
The CLERK. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from Massachusetts
rise?
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Hakeem
Jeffries as Speaker of the House.
Madam Clerk, 212, 212, 212, 212, 212, 212, and, today, 212--212 House
Democrats stand united behind our leader because Hakeem Jeffries stands
united for the American people.
The historic dysfunction that we are seeing, this intraparty fight
that the American people have been drawn into, is imperiling our
national security. It will imperil the ability of this government to
deliver basic services. It is imperiling our jobs and our
responsibility to serve our constituents, but it is also entirely
predictable.
They are failing to convene Congress today, but for years, they have
failed to deliver the votes for the American people.
When schools and small businesses needed to reopen, and the American
people wanted vaccines, they said no.
When we capped insulin costs for seniors at $35 a month, they said
no.
When we lowered healthcare costs and premiums for working families,
they said no.
When we defended the civil rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, they said no.
When we protected lives from senseless gun violence, especially in
the wake of the horrors of Buffalo and Uvalde, they said no.
When we stood up for women and reproductive freedom, they said no.
When we brought manufacturing back to America, they said no.
When we answered the urgent call to protect our planet and invest in
clean energy and create tens of millions of good-paying jobs, they said
no.
When we said women deserve equal pay for equal work, they said no.

[[Page H23]]

When we said that childcare and paid family leave should be available
to every worker in this country, to every family, they said no.
When we secured the fundamental right to vote for every single
American, they said no.
When we stood by our veterans and expanded their access to
healthcare, they said no.
When we defended our democracy 2 years ago tomorrow from a tyrannical
President following the January 6 insurrection, they said no.
House Democrats will stand together. We will stand for the American
people. It is our job and our responsibility to elect a Speaker who
stands with them, and with great pride, I nominate Hakeem Jeffries.

The CLERK. The gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) is recognized.
Mr. BIGGS. Madam Clerk, I rise to place into nomination the name of
my friend from Florida, Byron Donalds, for Speaker of the House.
You know, we are coming off an election just 2 months ago, a little
less than 2 months ago, actually. What did that election tell us?
Well, there were 5 million more Republicans who cast their ballots
and told us that the American public wanted a change. They wanted a
change from the policies of the left that has taken over the Democratic
Party.
It said they wanted a change, a change from this administration, this
administration that has inflicted so much pain economically.
We have seen crime explode. We have an administration that won't even
acknowledge that there is a crisis on the border.
I tell you to go on down to the border. I have invited this
administration to come with me to the border. Let's see it firsthand.
The American public said they want a change. They want something new.
They want something different, and we are on a path that just
continues.
Where were we just 12 years ago? An $11 trillion national debt. Do
you know where we are today? Almost three times that. Both parties
share blame in that.
We have to bring that under control. You bring that under control not
just by changing the rules of an institution but by changing the
leadership.
I am told this process is painful. It is embarrassing, I am told. Do
you know what it is? It is not dysfunction, and it is not imperiling.
What it is, is the exchange of ideas and expression of support for
people you want to be your leader in the next Congress.
I think it is incredibly healthy, actually, for the American people
to see that we are on the floor, something that my colleagues across
the aisle so rarely like to be. They enjoy the proxy voting, I guess.
They have sat there--I will give it to you. They have laughed, and
they have chuckled, and they have pointed fingers at us and said, oh,
see here.
But do you know what? As my friend from Florida just said, we are
together. We are having an internal fight. It is being displayed. I
wish it wasn't necessarily being displayed, but the American people can
see it.
But I can tell you this: When this is over and done with, I know
which side of the aisle is going to be laughing, and it is going to be
the side that is unified in taking on the issues that Americans care
about, the issues that the other side has not only ignored but has put
upon the American people.
We used to be energy independent. It seems so long ago. It was 2
years ago, actually. We are going to restore American energy
independence.
Do you know how you reduce inflation? You stop devaluing your
currency. You stop blowing out the waters by spending $1.7 trillion on
an omnibus bill that has many thousands of earmarks in it.
You start taking on crime. You start fighting violence.
You start fighting the overgrowth of our budget and restore our
economy. You start incentivizing jobs.
You recognize that the American middle class is being squeezed, and
that those who are in more difficult economic circumstances are being
squeezed by an economy that has this inflation that attacks energy.
You bring your border back under control, and this side is going to
bring that border security under control. We recognize it is a crisis.
It is a crisis when, in 2020, the Yuma sector had 9,000 encounters,
not for a 5-day period, but for an entire fiscal year. Under this
administration, with these policies, 9,000 encounters is about a 5-day
period in the Yuma sector today.
You don't know what it is like unless you see that happening.

{time} 1400

We are on a suboptimal path. It has to change. To make a change, it
can be difficult. It can be short-term uncomfortable. But when you move
to the correct path, all of a sudden, things ease up and you can start
having success.
The direction here, in my opinion, is to someone like Byron Donalds,
a man who is living the American Dream and is an example and a mentor
for millions who need hope.
Here is a man who has worked his way up. He is not a novice. He has
the experience. He has the chops to be the Speaker. He is a man who has
a lovely family, and they are politically engaged. They know what is
going on. He has worked in Florida politics. He has worked in the
legislature. He has respect. He has the quiet confidence that a leader
needs.
I look around this body today. I know it is hard for you to believe--
and it is hard for me to believe sometimes when I am here, as I have
the great honor and privilege of serving with you--but you represent
the cross-section of America, the great American experiment. The
experience that you bring and the knowledge that you bring is unique.
The road to recovery is through this body.
I believe if you want to make changes, you have to make changes.
Maintaining the status quo is not an option today. I believe we have
reached an existential crisis in this country. I look across the aisle,
and I see the left has captured virtually every institution. It is time
that we reassert ourselves and put America back on the road to
recovery. The person who I think is most capable and will do the most
credible job to lead us back that way is my friend from Florida, the
Honorable Byron Donalds, who I am pleased and proud to nominate as the
next Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The CLERK. 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. 10]

JEFFRIES--212

[[Page H24]]

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--201

DONALDS--17

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

HERN--2

Boebert
Brecheen

DONALD J. TRUMP--1

Gaetz

ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1

Spartz

NOT VOTING--0

{time} 1516

The CLERK. The tellers agree in their tallies that the total number
of votes cast is 433, 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 201, the Honorable Byron Donalds of
the State of Florida has received 17, the Honorable Kevin Hern of the
State of Oklahoma has received 2, the Honorable Donald J. Trump of the
State of Florida has received 1, with 1 recorded as present.
No Member-elect having received a majority of the votes cast, a
Speaker has not been elected.
The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Nehls).
Mr. NEHLS. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Kevin McCarthy as Speaker
of the House.
Kevin McCarthy has been our leader for the past 4 years and has
overwhelming support within this Conference. My intent today is to
address the American people who have been watching these proceedings
and are concerned about what they have seen in this Chamber over the
past 2 days.
I am a Member of the House Freedom Caucus, and I am proud to say so.
I believe the 20 Members that have nominated an alternate candidate
have expressed their concerns with leadership, and many of those
concerns have been addressed and accepted by Leader McCarthy and this
Conference.
I believe this battle we are waging must end. Kevin McCarthy fully
understands that being Speaker of the House will not be easy. Kevin is
aware that any legislation he would like to pass out of this House will
require support and enforcement from the Freedom Caucus. This is where
I believe we can hold the Speaker accountable.
Kevin has made changes to the House rules at the request of all
Members. One of those rule changes was the motion to vacate the chair,
which Nancy Pelosi removed 4 years ago to avoid the scrutiny and the
accountability.
The motion to vacate the chair, which has not been offered for a
floor vote in over 100 years, calls for the removal of the Speaker of
the House. Kevin has reinstated the motion to vacate the chair, which I
believe was the right thing to do. This motion allows us, the
Republican Conference, to hold the Speaker accountable. The American
people gave us, my friends, us, the Republicans, the majority, and
their vote of confidence to change the direction of our country. The
American people are begging for leadership because the Biden
administration certainly has not placed the American people first.
Kevin McCarthy understands. He understands he must protect that
Speaker's gavel and abide by the will of the American people. The
decisions we make in the 118th Congress are critical to the future of
our country. The decisions we make, the legislation we pass as a
Republican majority must have the support of the American people. We
have a crisis on every corner in America, and the American people are
expecting Republicans to bring this much-needed change. We must come
together today and implement that change.
To those of you outside of Washington that are watching, Kevin
McCarthy and this Republican majority understand your pain. We
understand your pain. We feel it.
We understand we must secure our southern border. We must unleash our
energy sector and become energy independent. We must curb inflation by
reducing spending, and we must support our law enforcement officers. We
have to get crime under control. We must place America and its people
first.
I say to my friends on the Republican side that we can do all this
while holding the Biden administration accountable and the Washington
bureaucrats who have infringed and abused the rights of the American
people and their families long enough. Under Speaker McCarthy they will
be held accountable. They will be held accountable.
Today, let's do what is in the best interests of the American people.
Let's get to work. Let's elect Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.
Madam Clerk, at the direction of the Republican Conference, I advance
the name of Kevin McCarthy as the next Speaker of the House for the
118th Congress.
The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lieu).
Mr. LIEU. Madam Clerk, I rise today to nominate Hakeem Jeffries for
Speaker of the House.
Vote after vote, Democrats stand united and ready to work on behalf
of the American people under the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries.
Vote after vote, nomination after nomination, Democrats are united,
just like we were united when we passed the American Rescue Plan to get
our economy back on track; united when we passed the infrastructure law
to rebuild America; united when we capped insulin at $35, passed
historic gun safety legislation, and passed the PACT Act to help our
Nation's veterans; united when Democrats passed the CHIPS and Science
Act to bring manufacturing back to America; united when Democrats
passed the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce our deficit and protect
our environment. Democrats are unified to tackle the climate crisis
while Republicans are mired in their own leadership crisis.
Madam Clerk, House Democrats are ready, willing, and able to get to
work for the American people. We will do so under the leadership of
Hakeem Jeffries, who has a plan for the American people. Therefore, as
vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, I am directed by the vote of our
Caucus to present

[[Page H25]]

for election to the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives
for the 118th Congress, Representative-elect from the State of New
York, Hakeem Jeffries.
The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Montana (Mr.
Rosendale).
Mr. ROSENDALE. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate the name of Byron
Donalds as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Let me begin by stating that it is an absolute privilege to be here,
standing and serving with each and every one of you. I know we have
differences of opinions, and I know we have differences of agendas that
we would like to pursue, but I will tell you that we are all
representing the United States of America in the best fashion that I
know that we truly believe in. So thank you, and it is a privilege.

When I walk out every evening from the Longworth Office Building, I
will tell you that as I look back on the Capitol with the lights
gleaming upon it, that I recognize the honor, the privilege, and the
responsibility that each one of us has taken on to be in this place
that we are right now and the obligations that we have to the districts
that we represent back home.
It is an incredible privilege, but it is also an incredible
responsibility. I do not take it lightly, and I know that no one in
this room does.
We are participating in a system that has endured 247 years, through
drought and through flood, through world wars and through a civil war.
In some way, we return to this place year after year to serve the
people of the United States of America. Unfortunately, over the past 15
years, the process that we use has been dramatically broken.
The voices that were sent here to equally--equally--represent each of
the 435 districts across this Nation have become diminished. This
through the consolidation of power into the hands of the Speaker and a
fortunate few who happen to serve on the Committee on Rules which
controls every aspect of legislation that travels through this body.
The debate and the discussion have been all but eliminated, and the
balance of us are left to vote ``yes'' or ``no.'' Those are our
options. That is what has led to the disintegration of the
relationships that we see across this floor. That is not equal
representation which is guaranteed by our Constitution and expected by
our constituents.
We have had more discussion and debate over the last 3 days than I
have participated in on this floor for the last 2 years. It is healthy.
It absolutely promotes the collegiality that everyone is striving to
obtain. We are having discussions not just within our own party, but
amongst each other as we walk around and start planning for the
legislation that we will need to address over the next 2 years in the
118th Congress that sooner or later--yes, sooner or later--we will
begin to function as.
Those are the good days. And guess what? Our constituents think, as
they watch us on C-SPAN today, that this is how every day functions.
They think that this is how every bill gets addressed in this body.
They will be shocked to learn, the ones that you have not disclosed
this little nasty secret to, that unfortunately, that is not how it
works around this place. That under the current rules and under the
current leadership construction, that on fly-in days, typically Monday,
at the beginning of the week, the leadership on both sides of the aisle
negotiate a number of bills, 15 to 20 pieces of legislation, that one
Democrat and one Republican stand on this floor, they discuss
momentarily, and then they say the magic words, Without objection, we
will pass this by unanimous consent.

{time} 1530

There are two people standing on the floor passing pieces of
legislation that oftentimes are the naming of buildings that don't
really bother anybody or affect one's life but, in many circumstances,
spend millions and tens of millions of dollars that the taxpayers are
obligated to cover, and their Representative was not even here to vote
upon it.
That, my friends, is wrong. It is wrong. So, yes, we need to have
change. We need to fix this broken system.
Several of us have taken it upon ourselves to fly in and object to
those very bills, not because we are objecting to the bill, but just to
force them to be brought out into the daylight so that everyone can
hear about those bills, to force people to come out and vote up or down
for those bills as their constituents believe that they are doing right
now.
That is just one of the little secrets, and it demonstrates again how
broken this system is.
Last summer, we began to negotiate, a group of us, in good faith, a
list of changes, amendments to the rules of this body, not to empower
ourselves, not to bring personal benefit to ourselves, but to empower
you and you and you, Maxine, and you and you and everyone sitting in
this Chamber equally.
There are no rules. I did not use anyone's name. Everyone should be--
excuse me. Maxine.
The CLERK. Members direct your remarks to the Chair, please.
Mr. ROSENDALE. I will, Madam Clerk. Thank you.
So that everyone will have equal representation, equal representation
for the districts that elected them. These are not radical deviations
from the norm. These are a restoration of the rules so that this place
can function properly.
Things like single-subject legislation that most statehouses utilize
right now so that we don't have 4,000-page documents that we are given
a matter of hours to review that are filled with many subject matters
that are trillions of dollars in cost; rules like germaneness so that
you can actually bring an amendment forward on the floor as long as it
pertains to the bill that was originally being addressed; an open rule
process, again, so that each individual here can participate in the
thing that we were sent here to do, to help collaborate and craft
legislation and work together, that is what we were sent here to do.
These are commonsense amendments that would restore the process and
give each of us an equal voice.
This is how we are going to secure the border that everyone now, I do
believe, has recognized that there is a problem with.
This is how we are going to regain energy dominance again, which is
not just an economic issue. It is a national security issue.
This is how we are going to reduce the inflation rate, by working
together, but we cannot call it working together if you cede all of
that power to the hands of a few.
Hoping for this change will not create this change. Change is
uncomfortable. We understand that. It is not unachievable, and we must
make change in this broken system. We must.
The current leadership that is in place will continue and support the
use of earmarks in this body, and that is the golden trail to
corruption. It is a way to buy votes and spread money around this body
from places outside of this city that leads to bad legislation and bad
decisions.
The current leadership, I was told, I should not be so concerned with
these suspension bills that get passed every week because now they have
made an amendment. We keep hearing about these amendments and the
concessions that were made. The concession was that they will not ask
for anything to be suspended that costs more than $100 million.
Now, I don't know about the neighborhoods that you live in, but in
the neighborhood that I live in, $100 million is a lot of money.
My constituents expect me to vote upon $100 million bills and $80
million bills and $10 million bills so that they know what in the world
is in them and what is going on, and they do not expect them to be
passed by unanimous consent with no one on the floor.
I made a living developing property, and as many of you probably
know, it takes a while to take a piece of ground from bare earth to a
community.
My mother, God rest her soul, came out to one of my projects. I had
just opened it up, and it had been 2 years since the time I had bought
the property. By the time we went out, I had a nice entrance built. The
streets were built, and the streetlights were there. They were just
starting to build homes.
She said: My goodness, Matthew. You must really be pleased to finally
see

[[Page H26]]

your project coming up out of the ground.
I said: No, Mom. Actually, I am pleased that everyone else can see it
because I saw it 2 years ago when I first walked out there.
Well, I have a vision for this place, that we can restore regular
order so that each of us may have the ability to represent our
districts and our constituents equally as we move through this process.
Then, at that time, we will be able to call it truly the people's House
again.
I have been here just 2 years, and I have watched Byron Donalds
during that time and previously as he proudly served in the Florida
Legislature. I can tell you this: He is a man of intellect; he is a man
of integrity; and he is a man that I am proud to nominate as the next
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The CLERK. The gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Boebert) is
recognized.
Mrs. BOEBERT. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate the gentleman from
Oklahoma (Mr. Hern) as Speaker of the House.
Madam Clerk, we have been accused of not having a plan. Well, we have
presented many plans and are even presenting two plans simultaneously
right now for Speaker of the people's House.

I sat in my chair anticipating to vote for Byron Donalds, whom I
respect, whom I see as a leader, and there was a gut check that said we
need someone that is going to convince my colleagues on this side of
the aisle that it is time to get going. It is time to build momentum.
Many of you have said it. You see that Kevin McCarthy does not have
the votes. You are understanding that he is not going to get there.
We had the votes for him. I cannot produce those anymore. The
colleagues that I brought with me to offer those 218 votes on the first
ballot aren't there anymore. It is not happening.
As it has been said, we need to get to a point where we start
evaluating what life after Kevin McCarthy looks like.
America doesn't want more talk, and I am going to keep my speech a
little short. They want action. I will take that. I want to get to
work, too.
America is tired of rhetoric, and they want results. This isn't
chaos. This is a constitutional republic at work.
I am a mom of four boys. I know what chaos and dysfunction look like.
This is actually a really beautiful thing, to be here with all of my
colleagues debating.
Just as the gentleman from Montana said, we have not experienced this
in the 2 years that we have served here in Washington, D.C. This is the
most debate that has taken place, and I love it. I love the
conversations that are going on, on the floor, in the Cloakroom, and in
the Halls. There is nothing extreme. There is nothing unreasonable. We
are trying to get this right.
As my conservative colleagues and I have stated time and time again,
Congress is broken and fundamentally needs change. I am here to get
this right.
We need a leader that is not of the broken system, someone who is not
beholden to the lobbyists but to the people who sent us here, someone
who can unite our party, and, most importantly, someone who can deliver
on the promises that we have all made to the American people.
I believe that there are many people on the floor today that can do
just that. I voted for my friend Jim Jordan. I voted for my friend
Byron Donalds. I am voting for Kevin Hern, the gentleman from Oklahoma.
Mr. Hern went from rags to riches. Like myself and many other
Members, he is a small business owner. He has lived the American Dream.
He is a father, a family man, and as Kevin likes to say, he is a
conservative, but he is not mad about it. We can have a happy warrior
leading us.
I understand that threats have been made about committee assignments,
that you won't receive committee assignments if you do not vote for
Kevin McCarthy. That is true; it happened in Conference. That is
exactly what we were told, but we don't govern in fear. We govern for
the people on principle. Don't be afraid to do the right thing.
I believe that Kevin Hern is a unifier. He just received the
chairmanship of the Republican Study Committee by unanimous consent.
This is the largest caucus in our Conference. Look how many people have
already put their trust in Kevin Hern to lead them.
I get asked by my constituents: Where does this go? Who can unify the
party? Who can deliver results?
Representative Kevin Hern can do just that, and I am proud to enter
his name into nomination, and I hope that some of you join me.
The CLERK. 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. 11]

JEFFRIES--212

McCARTHY--200

Aderholt
Alford
Allen
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Barr
Bean (FL)
Bentz
Bergman
Bice
Bilirakis
Bost
Buchanan
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
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

[[Page H27]]

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
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

DONALDS--17

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

HERN--3

Boebert
Brecheen
Gaetz

ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1

Spartz

NOT VOTING--1

Buck

{time} 1648

The CLERK. The tellers agree in their tallies that the total number
of votes cast is 432, 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 200 votes, the Honorable Byron
Donalds of the State of Florida has received 17 votes, the Honorable
Kevin Hern of the State of Oklahoma has received 3 votes, with 1
recorded as present.
No Member-elect having received a majority of the votes cast, a
Speaker has not been elected.
The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Ciscomani).
Mr. CISCOMANI. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Kevin McCarthy as
Speaker of the House.
The American Dream is a dream worth fighting for, and I know in my
heart of hearts that Kevin McCarthy is the man to lead us as we work to
fulfill that dream for everyone in every State and in every district.
Everyone in this Chamber understands the need to serve our
constituents. It is who elected us, and it is our responsibility. Kevin
understands this as well as anyone. He has dedicated his life to
spreading opportunity for all through the private sector and the public
sector.
This place is a special place for me. My first time on the Hill was
back when I was an intern in 2003. My mom visited, and I remember
walking her around the Halls of Congress as if I owned the place.
Well, just a few days ago, I got to walk my mom around this special
place one more time, but now as a Member-elect of the United States
House of Representatives.
The American Dream is alive. I believe it.
I have gotten to know Kevin McCarthy well. He secured a Republican
majority in the United States House and laid out a plan to deliver for
the American people.
There is one thing I know about Kevin McCarthy: He cares about the
American people. He cares about our country, and he is here not to be
somebody but to do something.
That has been laid out in his Commitment to America, to fight for: an
economy that is strong; a nation that is safe; a future that is built
on freedom; and a government that is accountable.
This I can strongly get behind.
This country gave me and my family an opportunity, an opportunity to
achieve the American Dream.
Madam Clerk, I was born in Mexico. The best way that I can tell you
who I am is through a short conversation I had with my dad when I told
him I was going to run for office. This conversation, of course, was in
Espanol, in Spanish.
My dad asked me, ``Juan, where else could we have our story? We come
to this country, we immerse in the culture, we learn English, we go
through the long journey and become U.S. citizens.'' He said, ``I drive
a bus my whole life, and now my son has a shot at becoming a Member of
the United States Congress. Where else in the world could we have our
story?''
But where else in the world could any of us have our story?
Regardless of our background, regardless of where we come from, what
side of the aisle we sit on, we have the privilege and opportunity to
sit here today as part of a historic moment, fighting for what we
believe.
The answer of where else is nowhere else. Only here.
I trust Kevin to fight for that American Dream because he is a
product of it. We are all a product of it. He gets it and understands
that a government accountable to the people is the best tool to ensure
that our future generations continue to have a real shot at the
American Dream.
So let's be proud of our stories. Let's be grateful to God for it
all, and let's get to work to ensure that everyone has the same
opportunity to write their own story.
Being a Representative isn't a job title. It is a job description.
The eyes of the world are on us as we are airing our grievances. That
is the cost of leadership, the leadership that comes from this body. So
let's act like it. Let's step up to that calling that our country
needs, and our districts expect from us.
I am confident we will resolve this issue and will stand united to
fight for the values that matter to the American people, the American
people who sent us here to tackle inflation, to protect our border, to
hold the executive branch accountable. It is time to do the job we were
entrusted to do, to get results for the American people who sent us
here.
The best person to lead us in this journey and in this fight to
defend the American Dream for all is Kevin McCarthy.
I am proud to stand here before you today as the first naturalized
citizen in the history of Arizona to win a congressional seat, proud of
the work of my parents: my dad who drove a bus for most of his life; my
mom, a homemaker. We grew up in a two-bedroom apartment. They didn't
own a home until I was in college. My story is not unique. I washed
cars with my dad in the same neighborhood that our office sits today.
We are not here celebrating one particular story. We are here
celebrating the American opportunity, only found here, being born from
this body as well, as the opportunities of our country have gone. All
of you in this room have that story. I strongly believe that we all
have a car wash story, the story where we began, and in spite of all
the challenges, in spite of all the obstacles, we are here, and each
one of us are a testament to the opportunity and the greatness of this
country. That is why we are here.
I strongly believe that Kevin McCarthy is the person to lead this
body in this new fight, this next 118th Congress.
At the direction of the Republican Conference, I advance the name of
Kevin McCarthy as the next Speaker of the House of the 118th Congress.
The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr.
Aguilar).
Mr. AGUILAR. Madam Clerk, I rise again to nominate Hakeem Jeffries
for Speaker of the House.
Madam Clerk, I thank my colleague on the other side of the aisle for
sharing his American Dream story and to his family for being with him
at his side.
It is our hope that this Chamber gets down to the business so he and
all the new Members in this Chamber can be sworn in to do the work of
the people.
That is why House Democrats stand united, again, on this ballot to
make sure that Hakeem Jeffries is the lead vote-getter in this Chamber.
It is also why it is important, just as I relayed a few days ago, Madam
Clerk, the importance of the character of Hakeem Jeffries, who he is,
his story, and why he should be given an opportunity to lead this
Chamber.
In New York, after the fifth grade, you can't get on a bus to go to
school anymore. You have to take alternate means. You can walk or you
can take a train. In sixth grade, Hakeem and his brother would walk to
the train station, take the train, get off the train, and walk to
school.
Now, there is a little disagreement in the Jeffries' household as to
how many days his father took him on that route before he let him
navigate that route with his younger brother.
The character it takes for an older brother in sixth grade and his
fourth-grade little brother to go to school each and every day in New
York, to be

[[Page H28]]

on their own, to handle themselves and to handle each other, that is
the character of this man.

{time} 1700

That is the character of a leader you want in this Chamber. He is
going to be the one who walks with you, who sees you through the day,
who makes sure your priorities are his priorities. And at the end of
the day, when it is just you and he, he is going to make sure we all do
the business of this body, and we all get home for our families.
There is nothing more important than the work that we do in this
Chamber for the American people: safeguarding priorities like Social
Security and Medicare; making sure that our families are taken care of;
making sure that the families in our communities are taken care of.
What we have seen in this Chamber is tough. It is tough to watch. It
is tough to imagine what would happen in this Chamber today if we were
debating Social Security and Medicare.
What would happen?
What would the votes be?
Where would people stand?
That is why it is important that Hakeem Jeffries leads this body.
On behalf of the Democratic Caucus, I am nominating the leader of the
governing party in this Chamber, Hakeem Jeffries from New York.
The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs.
Luna).
Mrs. LUNA. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Byron Donalds as Speaker
of the House.
Madam Clerk, I have known Byron for roughly about 4 years now and
being that he is from the State of Florida, I can tell you that I have
come to know him on both the campaign trail and personally.
But I want to clarify something real quick to my colleagues across
the aisle. What you are seeing with this discussion does not mean that
we are dysfunctional. And in no way, shape, or form will a Democrat
ever hold the gavel to a Republican-controlled House.
These discussions and dialogue have actually been good for the
American people. And although the media tries to pit us against each
other, I can tell you that it has been something that we need as a
country. There are people that are frustrated with this process.
Byron, through this entire time, has done something that leaders
should do more of, and that is listen; respect people when they are
talking; understand the needs of the American people; be willing to
negotiate but also realize when it is proper to stand your ground on
certain things.
I ask my colleagues today to support him. I think he is an incredible
representation of what this country is, and that is exactly why he has
my vote for Speaker of the House.
The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs.
Boebert).
Mrs. BOEBERT. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Kevin Hern for Speaker
of the House.
It is as simple as that. Let's start getting somewhere with this;
realize the fact that Kevin McCarthy does not have the votes.
Let's elect a Republican who can unify our Conference, who is a true
leader. I am casting my vote for Kevin Hern, and I hope you will, as
well.
The CLERK. 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. 12]

JEFFRIES--212

McCARTHY--200

DONALDS--13

Bishop (NC)
Cloud
Clyde
Donalds
Good (VA)
Gosar
Luna
Miller (IL)
Norman
Ogles
Perry
Roy
Self

HERN--7

Biggs
Boebert
Brecheen
Crane
Gaetz
Harris
Rosendale

ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1

Spartz

NOT VOTING--1

Buck

{time} 1814

[[Page H29]]

the State of Florida has received 13 votes, the Honorable Kevin Hern of
the State of Oklahoma has received 7 votes, with 1 voting present.
No Member-elect having received a majority of the votes cast, a
Speaker has not been elected.

{time} 1815

The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill).
Mr. HILL. Madam Clerk, I rise tonight in the spirit of 1923 to
address the House.
Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the
House.
Madam Clerk, first let me express my deep appreciation and the
appreciation of everybody in this room for the work you are doing.
Our Clerk has stepped up and reflects our House's best tradition of
preparation and dedication to this institution, and we are grateful.
From the first Speaker of the House, the Honorable Frederick
Muhlenberg, to the one who will be elected next, Kevin McCarthy, the
role of Speaker of the House is one of the most beloved in American
history.
The Speaker's mission is to carry out the principled goals and
objectives of his or her party while at the same time protecting this
institution and the traditions of the people's House all the while
remaining faithful to that imperative in our preamble of the
Constitution to ``promote the general welfare.''
It is a difficult job that takes a special personality with deep
affection for the House, robust courage, a sense of humor, and great
amounts of humility and patience.
I have watched Kevin McCarthy for longer than my 8 years serving in
this Chamber, and I can say without hesitation that Kevin has brought
these foundational traits of leadership to bear for the good of this
institution and for the good of the American people.
It is said that a nation not in control of her finances cannot
control her destiny, and I agree. From our many conversations over many
years, I have no doubt that our next Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, agrees.
In the Republican Commitment to America, Leader McCarthy charged our
Republican Conference with taking on his two biggest concerns facing
this world and this Nation: China and our domestic national debt and
deficit.
Over the past 2 years, we have lost our way on spending--printing too
much money at our central bank and spending here in Congress like
drunken sailors.
This bad policy palooza went into overdrive in the past 2 years with
some $5 trillion in new spending demanded by President Biden and now
delivered by the House minority--whose own budget chair famously said
that there is effectively no limit to what America can print, borrow,
and spend.
Of course, this is madness, and it is not anchored in any economic
tenet, and there is not a single one of us here who isn't demanding a
return to fiscal discipline.
And who can deliver fiscal discipline?
Kevin McCarthy.
On the point of spending, let me show you, Madam Clerk, a list of
everyone who has written me in the Second Congressional District who
has asked me to cut spending. I am holding up a blank piece of paper.
No one has asked me to cut spending in writing, and there are not
many people who get a lot of mail in this House to cut spending and to
set spending priorities. In contrast, we get hundreds of letters asking
us to increase spending.
But we are at a critical point in this Nation's fiscal health, and
there is one person to help see us through it: Kevin McCarthy.
How do I know?
Because he has said it himself, and he has identified how to do it.
In 2018 then-Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy brought a balanced budget
amendment to the floor of this House. Mr. McCarthy said, by our actions
we have shown Washington's spending problem can't be boiled down to a
lack of will. It is a problem of structure and process, and everyone
knows the process of government funding in Washington is broken.
He went on to say that when you change structure, you change
behavior, and that no matter what, we know that if the structure set up
by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 has only worked to its
successful completion four times in 44 years, then we have nothing to
lose by making big changes.
That is your next Speaker on the floor of this House in 2018.
Kevin McCarthy is committed to making big changes. We have heard it
in our conference meetings. We have heard it in our rules debates. We
know this includes reforming the budget process, fighting to bring all
12 appropriations bills to the floor under regular order and on time,
and crafting changes to structurally rein in spending in this House.
These changes will bring sanity back to our fiscal process. I am
committed to bringing sanity back to the fiscal process, and I hope
every Member on this floor will be and follow Mr. McCarthy's lead.
Much has been said by my friends on the other side of the aisle--my
good friends, the so-called popcorn caucus this week, if you will--over
the past few days about 1923, and we are having a robust discussion
here among House Republicans as to who will be the next Speaker of the
House.
Back in 1923 the insurgency among Republicans then was from the
center left of the Republican Party. Today, it is from the center
right. But there is more to the story in that fight 100 years ago, and
I want to remind my friends of that history.
When Fred Gillett was elected Speaker on the ninth ballot in 1923,
the outcome was a more robust, more unified Republican Conference, one
that would go to work with President Calvin Coolidge, cut government
spending, balance the budget, and cut taxes while paying down the debt.
House Republicans 100 years ago unleashed a pro-growth agenda. House
Republicans under Speaker Kevin McCarthy will unleash a pro-growth
agenda to get this economy moving. That pro-growth agenda benefited
families in the 1920s. The McCarthy pro-growth agenda will benefit
families across this country today.
A century later, under the next Speaker Kevin McCarthy, mark my
words, this party will come together to unleash American energy, make
the Trump tax cuts permanent, rein in runaway government spending, and
fight for a balanced budget.

So I stand today with unqualified support to nominate my friend, the
next Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy.
The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Colorado (Mr.
Neguse).
Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Clerk, I rise to nominate Hakeem Jeffries for
Speaker of the House.
Madam Clerk, we have heard a lot today, yesterday, and the day before
about the potential history that may be made in this Chamber. But it is
worth repeating to the American people watching the history that has
already been made by the elevation of the dedicated, talented,
passionate, and committed public servant and leader from the State of
New York, the first African American and the first person of color to
lead any political party in the House of Representatives in the history
of our country, and that is Hakeem Jeffries.
Madam Clerk, it is with great pride that I rise to nominate the
gentleman from New York, the man who has been the lead vote-getter 10
times and counting to be the Speaker of the House.
Madam Clerk, the last several days have been difficult for the
country and for the American people as they have watched what has
unfolded in this Chamber and as they have seen the dysfunction laid
bare on the other side of the aisle.
I suspect that some Americans watching will recall the dysfunction of
years past. My colleague on the other side of the aisle talked about
history, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, and the like.
Madam Clerk, I would like to take you through a more recent history
because I can tell my friends that as a Member-elect from the great
State of Colorado, this is not their first rodeo as far as dysfunction
is concerned.
Four years ago today, I was sworn in with my colleagues from the
class of 2018 during what became the most difficult and the longest
government shutdown in the history of our country.
Why?
Because of the dysfunction and the chaos on the other side of the
aisle.

[[Page H30]]

The country then did what it has so often done: it looked to House
Democrats to govern and to lead, and under the leadership of one of the
greatest Speakers in the history of the country, Nancy D'Alesandro
Pelosi, that is exactly what we did.
If we want to talk about history, then let's talk about recent
history. Two years ago tomorrow I stood here with so many of my friends
in this Chamber as our democracy was attacked as our colleagues on the
other side of the aisle tried to overturn an election.
And the country, yet again, did what it has done before: it looked to
House Democrats to lead and to govern. That is exactly what we did when
we certified the election, and we safeguarded the transfer of power.
So here we find ourselves again in unprecedented times in the early
days of the 118th Congress. The first time in over 100 years in which
the House of Representatives is unable to organize because the House
Republican Conference cannot select a Speaker.
It is a sad day for this institution, but the country will do what it
has done before: It will look to House Democrats to govern and to lead,
and under the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries, that is exactly what we
will do.
Now, we have heard from so many over the course of last 3 days about
the wisdom, the leadership, and the talents of this extraordinary
leader from Brooklyn. But let me say why I believe that he is the
person for this moment.
Centuries ago, our Nation's second President, John Adams, laid bare
his fear that Members of this body would gain influence by meanness,
not greatness; by ignorance, not learning.
Hakeem Jeffries' leadership is rooted in greatness and not meanness.
It is rooted in learning and not ignorance. His approach is rooted in
common sense, and not the empty and jaded cynicism and noise that we
see so often in our political sphere. He is a leader for our times,
which is why I believe he is the leader for this time.
The bottom line, I say to my colleagues, is this: it is 6:30 p.m.
here in Washington, D.C. The House of Representatives, this sacred
institution, needs a leader. It needs a Speaker. It needs a leader who
will inspire us, a leader who knows that our best days are yet ahead,
and a leader committed to our communities, our Constitution, and our
country.
I am here to say that leader is Hakeem Jeffries of the great State of
New York.
Madam Clerk, it gives me great honor as the chairman of the House
Democratic Policy and Communications Committee to nominate Hakeem
Jeffries for Speaker of the House.

{time} 1830

The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Gaetz).
Mr. GAETZ. My friends, when Donald Trump was President, taxes were
cut, regulations were slashed, energy was abundant, wages were rising,
capital was returning from overseas to fund the dreams and ambitions of
our fellow Americans, and the economy was roaring. What a contrast to
what we have seen from this administration now.
I rise to nominate Donald Trump for the position of Speaker of the
House.
For all of the vitriol that we hear from the media and at times the
left, there were great moments of bipartisanship under the Trump
Presidency. The Democrat nominee for Speaker knows that well because he
led valiantly on the efforts for criminal justice reform, and I was
honored to join him.
I know no matter who is sitting in that Speaker chair, we have got a
lot of work to do on that very issue. We took a first step, but there
is a second step and a third step to take. I am glad that we were able
to work with President Trump, with Republicans, and with Democrats to
provide real outcomes for Americans to create greater prosperity and
more opportunity.
I also care deeply about President Trump's focus on our Nation's
veterans. It seems for far too long on the campaign trail, veterans
were disregarded, forgotten about. When we would get elected to office,
their issues would not always rise and get center stage, but we were
able to pass veterans' accountability measures. We were able to
actually get people fired at the VA who weren't doing their job. What a
great thing that would be to extend, to continue, and to continue to
nourish.
President Trump oriented our views on trade so that we actually put
the American people first, not foreign interests abroad or special
interests here at home.
President Trump knew that we had to confront China, that China had
already engaged in a trade war against us, but it was a war that we
were surrendering, and so we started to fight back.
He stood with our farmers.
On foreign policy, we stopped trying to find a new Jeffersonian
democracy to build out of sand and blood and Arab militias in the
Middle East. As a matter of fact, President Trump, I believe, is the
first President in my lifetime who didn't start any new wars. This is
an issue that I know unites some elements of the right and left for the
benefit of our communities.
This government for far too long has been deeply corrupt. This town
has been deeply corrupt. The way people get leadership positions and
chairmanships and opportunities to be able to morally preen has been by
accepting lobbyist and special interest money and redistributing that
money as currency for favors. That is not a criticism of either
political party. It is a criticism of what we have allowed to happen in
this place.
If we just go next man up on our side of the aisle, we will reify
that corrupt system, and we will abandon the people who are expecting
us to fight for them.
I have heard from my colleagues about all the important work we have
to do, and it is my sincere fear that if we were to allow Mr. McCarthy
to assume the Speakership, that would not get done, that it would be
business as usual, and the very same things that have paralyzed
progress for both parties would continue to shackle us to never-ending
failure. We can be better than that. We can raise our gaze, indeed.
We also have to restore to the Speaker's office an actual person that
ought to be in the Speaker's office, not the squatter who is currently
there. If the Architect of the Capitol is listening, I have sent a
letter. I would like to know what the basis is to allow somebody to
occupy the Speaker's office who comes in second place 10 straight
times. Is there some basis in law or rule or precedent for that?
I nominate President Trump because we must make our country great
again, and he can start by making the House of Representatives great
again.
The CLERK. The Clerk recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Good).
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Madam Chair, I rise for the purpose of placing
a name in nomination.
What a privilege we all are enjoying tonight, we are all enjoying as
elected Members of this great body; the people's House, as it has been
said. What a great representation of the constitutional Republic in
which we enjoy living, the greatest country in the history of the
world, as we play out as the people's Representatives in selecting the
all-important position of the Speaker of the people's House.
I was out on the southeast balcony here just a few moments ago
looking out at the Supreme Court, looking at the flag flying above this
Capitol Building, looking at the Jefferson and Madison--both
Virginians, by the way--Library of Congress buildings, and pausing to
do what probably most of us recognize we fail too often to do, to take
it in, this high privilege, this distinct honor that we have to be the
people's Representatives from our respective districts in this House
here in this Congress.
This is the greatest Nation in the history of the world. With all of
our imperfections as people and as a Nation, no nation in the history
of the world has freed more people, has rescued more people, has
ministered to more people, has evangelized to more people than the
United States of America. And that would be a good time to respond with
some applause.
There is a reason why people from all over the world are trying to
get into this country, many of them illegally, due to the policies of
the current administration. People from all over the world are
literally taking on a treacherous journey, risking life and limb,

[[Page H31]]

subjecting themselves to abuse to try to sneak their way into our
country because they know this is the greatest country in the history
of the world.
No country in the history of the world has provided more upward
mobility, more advancement opportunity to people of all races, all
nationalities, all ethnicities like the United States of America.
However, we as a Nation, we are teetering on the brink, aren't we?
Isn't there just a window of opportunity to save the Republic? Crisis
after crisis. $32 trillion in national debt, which equates to over
$90,000 per citizen, almost $100,000 now per citizen, some $300,000 per
household. When I said that on this very floor a few months ago in a
budget debate, the then-chairman of the Budget Committee said, ``Stop
saying that; we are not asking anybody to pay it back,'' as if it is
not real, as if it is Monopoly. As I heard someone say, don't tell the
other side what happens after trillion, what comes after trillion.
We just spent $1.7 trillion, both parties--Republicans joining in the
Senate, a few in the House--to pass a $1.7 trillion omnibus spending
bill.
Sadly and unfortunately, part of the reason why I stand here today,
that was the kind of bill that has been supported by our former
minority leader every time it has come up in the House, no matter who
was in control in the 12 years that he has been in leadership,
contributing to the $32 trillion in national debt. Yes, the other side
is better at raising the debt than we are, but we have been
participants.
We are in crisis. We are in crisis with 5 million illegals having
invaded the border in the last 2 years. When is it too much?
We are in crisis with the state of our education system, K-12,
college campuses, indoctrination of our kids.
We are in crisis with the weakening of our military, with these NDAA
bills.
We are in crisis with trampling on our most basic and essential
freedoms over the last 2 years in ways we couldn't have imagined pre-
2020: Whether we can assemble, whether we can worship, whether we can
earn a living, whether we can travel, what we have to put on our face,
what we have to take into our body, whether or not we have to disclose
what we have taken in; trampled in ways we couldn't have imagined just
a few years ago.
The greatest reflection of where the people in the country are is the
House of Representatives, and the people spoke back on November 8 and
gave the majority by some 3 or 4 million votes to the Republican Party.
It is not the White House, it is not the Senate, it is the people's
House that reflects where the American people are, and they have
trusted us on this side of the aisle with the leadership of this House.
We have a window of opportunity to validate that trust, to do whatever
we can to save the Republic, to earn them giving us the Senate and the
White House and this House back in 2024.
We have got to have a leader who not only has true conservative
convictions that reflect the majority of Republicans who sent us here,
but yet a courageous leader. It doesn't matter what you believe, by the
way, unless you are willing to take risk to yourself personally to
fight for it. We need a leader who has proven to do that very thing.
We have an opportunity to make history. We will live with the
decision on this side of the aisle for the next 2 years. We will answer
for how we voted.
I know how people in all the respective districts, like mine, Madam
Chair, how they are telling us to vote. They have been telling me how
to vote for 3 years, to vote for transformational change in the
leadership of this Republican Party. They have told me not to vote for
the status quo, not to vote for the next in line establishment creature
of the swamp cartel, but to vote for transformational change.
And they are watching us. They are wondering if we will hang in there
or will we cave or will we give in or will we let them down one more
time.
I say, we are not going to do that. They are looking to us.
You look and see what a great job a recent businessman did in the
White House, did things no one else has ever done in the White House,
did things that no one else has ever done to try to change the country,
showed courage, common sense, and judgment we have not seen before.
We need a businessman as the Speaker of the House. We need a
businessman like Kevin Hern as Speaker of the House. We need a
businessman like Kevin Hern who has led the Republican Study
Committee's Budget & Spending Task Force that I have served on for 2
years and put forth the only balanced budget that I have seen--heck,
the only budget that I have seen--in the 2 years that I have been here,
who fought alongside us to say why don't we adopt the Republican Study
Committee's budget for the Republican Party? And we didn't get
agreement to do that.
We need someone who will do that. We need someone who is the head of
the largest caucus in the Republican Conference, someone like Kevin
Hern.
It is my privilege to put into official nomination Kevin Hern for
Speaker of the House.
The CLERK. 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. 13]

JEFFRIES--212

McCARTHY--200

[[Page H32]]

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
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

DONALDS--12

Bishop (NC)
Cloud
Clyde
Donalds
Gosar
Luna
Miller (IL)
Norman
Ogles
Perry
Roy
Self

HERN--7

Biggs
Boebert
Brecheen
Crane
Good (VA)
Harris
Rosendale

DONALD J. TRUMP--1

Gaetz

ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1

Spartz

NOT VOTING--1

Buck

{time} 1948

The CLERK. The tellers agree in their tallies that the total number
of votes cast is 432, 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 200, the Honorable Byron Donalds of
the State of Florida has received 12, the Honorable Kevin Hern of the
State of Oklahoma has received 7, the Honorable Donald J. Trump of the
State of Florida has received 1, with 1 Member-elect recorded as
present.
No Member-elect having received the majority of the votes cast, a
Speaker has not been elected.

____________________