the u.s. house of representatives still without a speaker after ten votes. good evening, i m wolf blitzer in washington. we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. this is a special edition of the the situation room. good evening, wolf. i m erin burnett, tempers and frustration mounting, if you can say that, possibly at a peak. the last time the race for speaker has gone on this long was more than 160 years ago. here we are tonight, wolf. it s amazing what s going on. what s taking place is truly stunning. 21 republicans declining to vote for kevin mccarthy today, leaving the california congressman without the votes needed to finally grab the speaker s gavel. the humiliating losses comes despite him privately offering up even more concessions. and we re learning that the negotiators are pushing to strike a deal tonight, in an attempt to show progress. what will that progress look like? will it be enough to give mccarthy the supp
21 republicans declining to vote for kevin mccarthy today, leaving the california congressman without the votes needed to finally grab the speaker s gavel. the humiliating losses comes despite him privately offering up even more concessions. and we re learning that the negotiators are pushing to strike a deal tonight, in an attempt to show progress. what will that progress look like? will it be enough to give mccarthy the support he needs? manu raju is up on capitol hill. where do things stand here? reporter: this is a key moment. they re finishing up the tenth vote in which kevin mccarthy will have lost wurchs again in an effort to become speaker of the house. it s been since the mid 1800s we ve had this many ballots to elect a speaker. why is this a key moment? because negotiations have been
vote for him, who is next? as you re speaking, the speaker vote is supposed to be the easiest vote of the session, not the hardest. if these concessions are agreed to, what is the governing of this house of representatives going to look like? how is the pucking of the house going to look? when the debt ceiling comes up our other votes, they first may have to vacate the chair and go through a speaker s vote first because of the way the rules will be agreed to. many people may say the house of representatives wasn t so functional before this, but this to me begs the real question. if, indeed, all these rules go into place, what is the actual reality of how the house is going to conduct its bit as representative democracy. by the way, we re about to hear the gavel. we ll get the results, but go ahead. there also could be a tipping
to empower some of the members on the far right. one of the big chief demands is to give them more power over the speakership, allow for one member to call for a vote to oust a sitting speaker. he has given in for that. he s also agreed two members of the freedom caucus seats on the very powerful house rules committee. that committee says the parameters for floor debate, what legislation can come to the floor. those concessions, among other issues appear to be enough to win over some reps, assuming they sign off on all the details they ve been haggling about, but that is still not enough to get kevin mccarthy the 218 votes he needs. it could close the gap, but republican sources tell me that still mccarthy has to go member by member. there s some incoming freshmen, other members that still have concerns. to alleviate the concerns, and
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 we see so often in our political sphere. he is a leader for our times, which is why i believe he is leader for this time. the bottom line, 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, a leader committed to our communities, our constitution, and our country. i am here to tell you that that leader is hakeem jeffries of the