been derailing attempts to elect him. republicans took control of the house in november s midterm elections, but the deadlock has left the chamber unable to swear in members or pass legislation. gary o donoghue reports. the total number of votes cast is 434. it hasn t taken this long to elect a speaker in more than 160 years, and that was before the american civil war. now into a third day, the deadlock remains. the republican leader still unable to get enough votes within his own party, but nor can anyone else. we are just going to keep working until we solve it. or maybe not. a speaker has not been elected. the speaker has not been elected. a speaker has not been elected. and while there s no speaker, the house can t do a thing no committees, no legislation, no rules. a chamber utterly paralysed and locked into a seemingly endless loop. well, it s groundhog day. democrats who have voted for their leader solidly on every ballot have been quietly enjoying the spectacle. som
during this process. every one of them weakening the position for whoever ends up as speaker. that means this wafer thin republican majority in the house will be hard to manage and the internal strife is set to continue for the next two years. eventually, pressure will go for some kind of compromise candidate among republicans, but no one has any idea how long that could take. gary o donoghue, bbc news, washington. we can now speak to republican strategistjp carroll. he joins us from washington. thank you for being with us. good evening to you there in dc. taking control of the house the first time in several years, the republicans could have been wielding this power using it wisely. instead, that has not happened. why? h0. using it wisely. instead, that has not happened. why? no, it is not. thank has not happened. why? no, it is not. thank you has not happened. why? no, it is not. thank you for has not happened. why? no, it is not. thank you for having - has not happened. why? no