McCarthy moved into the formerly Pelosi’s office yesterday. He has not been elected yet (10:10 AM January 3). The steps to winning the election:
(1) McCarthy needs more votes; he is missing as many as 18 to win.
(2) At a point, the Clerk of the House calls the roll and holds the election. She is a Black woman elected by the previous Congress. By law, the one remaining hold-over from the last Congress
(3) If McCarthy loses the election for Speaker and no one else wins the 218 votes immediately, Expect confusion. Expect lots of Republicans going around in circles as they try to count votes for themselves or others.
(4) The Speaker is the leader who swears in all the other Members of Congress — Democrats and Republicans alike. No Speaker. No Swearing-In.
John Wagner and Mariana Alfaro report for The Washington Post: McCarthy foes dig in ahead of contentious House speaker vote
Once the election of a Speaker is completed, MY RURAL AMERICA will continue with its regular news. New Op-Ed writers from Nebraska and Missouri are joining our regular opinion writers, and we’ll be connecting this website to Facebook. We will also continue to look for more opinion writers. Let us know if you’re interested.