Inside the 28 minutes that saved Kevin McCarthy

By Rachael Bade

With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

Speaker Kevin McCarthy holds the gavel. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

For the first time all week, House Republicans were jubilant and KEVIN McCARTHY’s smile finally seemed genuine. It was 10 p.m. Friday night, and word had spread that after days of painful negotiations and 13 failed ballots, McCarthy finally had the votes to be speaker.

But as the clerk started to call the roll, there was a problem. Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.) approached McCarthy’s top floor lieutenant, JOHN LEGANSKI, and told him they needed to adjourn the House. The six McCarthy holdouts had discussed a plan to back the GOP leader by voting “present” in tandem so none of them could be fingered as the final vote giving McCarthy the gavel — but Gaetz didn’t have the entire group sold at that moment.

If they waited until Monday, Gaetz said, he could probably deliver.

That wasn’t an option, Leganski told him. There was no guarantee all 222 Republicans would be in attendance Monday, with several members dealing with family emergencies. The wife of Rep. ROGER WILLIAMS (R-Texas) was undergoing treatment for a newly discovered brain tumor, and Rep. WESLEY HUNT (R-Texas) had left his wife’s bedside to fly back for the expected final vote. She has struggled with medical issues, Hunt said Friday, after giving premature birth to a baby boy.

Gaetz went back to his seat, but he wasn’t about to deliver McCarthy the deciding vote for the gavel. Just days before, he had suggested he’d rather be waterboarded. So he voted “present” — leaving McCarthy just short of a majority on the 14th ballot.

McCarthy made a beeline for Gaetz. “Matt, come on,” he told him, according to a person present. “You’ve made your point. People have to go home.” Gaetz replied this wouldn’t be happening if they’d adjourned as he’d suggested.

So began a wild, 28-minute floor scramble that salvaged an unimaginably messy start to the new House Republican majority and finally fulfilled McCarthy’s long dream of wielding the speaker’s gavel.

At 11:03, after confronting Gaetz in the back benches, a defeated and dejected McCarthy headed back to his seat at the front of the chamber. A top ally, Rep. PATRICK McHENRY (R-N.C.), moved to adjourn the House until Monday — a risky plan that would send the GOP’s leadership turmoil into a second week.

Then McCarthy’s whips went back to work. McHenry, who had been leading negotiations with conservatives, reiterated to Gaetz the concessions that his fellow conservative hard-liners had won. What more, he demanded to know, could they do to break the logjam?

Earlier that week, Gaetz had insisted on a House Armed Services subcommittee gavel as his prize for backing McCarthy. McCarthy told him he couldn’t give him that position — that decision was up to committee Chair MIKE ROGERS (R-Ala.). But as they struggled to nail down votes that night, leadership talked through the idea again — even after Rogers had confronted Gaetz on the floor in one of the night’s most dramatic moments.

As McHenry tried to fix the problem, Rep. MATT ROSENDALE (R-Mont.) came into the aisle to cheer Gaetz on. “We got your back,” he said, according to a person present. “Hold the line. You’re not on your own.”

Meanwhile, Majority Whip TOM EMMER sat next to Gaetz, with Chief Deputy Whip GUY RESCHENTHALER standing on the aisle — blocking Gaetz from leaving but keeping other angry Republicans (some of whom had been drinking) from approaching and making things worse. The whips pulled on the holdouts’ heartstrings, reminding them about Rogers and Hunt and their wives.

“Think about the human element of this,” one McCarthy ally told Gaetz.

At one point, Reschenthaler turned to Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) with a request: “I need you to get [DONALD] TRUMP on the phone right now,” according to a person who overheard the remark.

Greene did just that, calling up the former president and putting him on the line with both Gaetz and fellow holdout Rep. LAUREN BOEBERT , as CNN’s Kaitlan Collins first reported. He would later talk to other holdouts, though one McCarthy foe, Rosendale, refused to talk to him, a rejection captured in a striking photo by Al Drago. “Don’t put me in that situation!” he yelled at Greene.

Twitter screenshot

Trump angrily told the group to knock it off, according to a person familiar with the conversations, arguing that the televised mayhem was making him look bad. “He ripped them a new asshole,” the person said.

Amid the full-court press, the holdouts ping-ponged between huddles before finally agreeing that McCarthy would ultimately get the gavel one way or another and that they should let fate take its course.

Gaetz, who had already voted to adjourn until Monday, walked to the clerk’s desk at 11:31 and pulled a red slip to change his vote. He found McCarthy and told him the group would clear the way for him to get the gavel.

McCarthy immediately yelled for a 15th and final vote, sparking an eruption of cheers from his rank-and-file. Members chanted “One more time! One more time!” as dozens went to change their votes for adjournment.

An hour later, McCarthy prevailed. He won 216 votes, with the six holdouts all voting present. Not a single GOP vote was cast against him.

It was a remarkable and suitably dramatic ending to the wildest speaker race in modern congressional history. We highly recommend diving into the killer accounts of the floor spectacle from our Olivia Beavers, Sarah Ferris and Jordain Carney; from Mel Zanona and the rest of the CNN team; and from WaPo’s Paul Kane and Dylan Wells.

Good Saturday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook. Sorry we’re so late sending today! We were working the phones trying to get a full tick-tock on all of last night’s drama! Drop us a line anytime: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

The must-see video clips, via C-SPAN: The McCarthy-Gaetz-Rogers scuffle … McCarthy and Gaetz talking before the final vote… The winning moment… McCarthy sworn in… McCarthy swearing in the members

The deets: “What's in McCarthy's emerging deal with conservatives — and why it could work,” by Olivia Beavers, Sarah Ferris, Connor O’Brien and Meredith Lee Hill

The view from back home: “‘Kevin Who?’ In McCarthy’s Hometown, a Different Take on His Fate,” by David Siders in Bakersfield, Calif. … “Kevin McCarthy wins his dream job, but at a humiliating and stifling cost,” by L.A. Times’ Jeffrey Fleishman and Melanie Mason … “Column: Kevin McCarthy ‘won’ the House speakership. Now the country will pay the price,” by L.A. Times’ Mark Barabak

The view from the other side: “How Democrats could exploit the McCarthy situation,” by WaPo’s Aaron Blake

Knowing Eli Crane: “How the last freshman holdout against McCarthy made it to Congress,” by Ally Mutnick

The media lens: “The flailing, tedious thrill of reporting on the House leadership fight,” by WaPo’s Paul Farhi

More reads: “Speaker Fight Could Preview Months of Turmoil in Congress,” by WSJ’s Lindsay Wise, Andrew Duehren and Kristina Peterson … “McCarthy speaker battle shows a party still incoherent, ungovernable,” by WaPo’s Michael Scherer … “Speaker McCarthy: A weakened leader or emboldened survivor?” by AP’s Lisa Mascaro… “This congressman carried his baby around the Capitol all week,” by WaPo’s Roxanne Roberts

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NEW JMART COLUMN: “Gingrich and Pelosi Agree: The GOP Is Rudderless”: “NANCY PELOSI was never shy about her skillset — she often called herself ‘a master legislator’ — yet when I caught up with her this week in the Capitol she downplayed her talents to make a point about the structural differences between the two parties.

“‘People always give me credit, “Oh you keep them together,”’ she recalled of her days leading House Democrats, though still using the present-tense. ‘I said I really don’t, our values keep us together. We’re committed to America’s working families. If you don’t have that, what’s your why?’ Republicans, Pelosi said, lack that why. …

“NEWT GINGRICH said his party is contending with a band of ‘deranged disrupters’ in the House, a cadre of ‘Biden Republicans’ enabling the president in the Senate and ‘a grassroots base that wants anger.’ Stuck in the middle, Gingrich said, is the sunny son of 1970s Bakersfield.”

PHOTOS OF THE DAY …

It was an historic day inside the House chamber on Friday. While much of the action unfolded live on C-SPAN, a host of ace photographers were also on hand to capture the couldn’t-miss moments for history.

Gaetz speaks to McCarthy after voting "present" on the 14th ballot. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) pulls Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) back as he spoke with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

Gaetz flexes. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

Rep.Katie Porter (D-Calif.) reads a book during speaker votes. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries laugh in the House chamber. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

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Rep.Lance Gooden's (R-Texas) daughter high-fives McCarthy. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

McCarthy celebrates winning the 15th vote for speaker. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

House members, including Reps. George Santos (R-N.Y.) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), are sworn in. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

McCarthy embraces Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

McCarthy and Gaetz shake hands. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

McCarthy stands outside his new office. | Matt Rourke/AP Photo

THE VIEW FROM 1600 PENN — “Biden gears up for ‘Chapter 2,’ anticipating clashes, cooperation with GOP,” by WaPo’s Toluse Olorunnipa and Yasmeen Abutaleb: “Senior White House officials are planning to counter an expected onslaught of oversight by Republican lawmakers by working with the GOP behind the scenes on bipartisan bills as [President JOE] BIDEN gears up for a reelection bid he has said he intends to wage. The strategy also involves moving aggressively to implement and publicly celebrate pieces of the multi-trillion-dollar rush of legislation already passed over the past two years, providing a counterweight to GOP moves to probe missteps and controversies from the same period. …

“White House aides have begun to describe this phase as ‘Chapter 2’ of Biden’s presidency, framing it as a period of mild and expected transition rather than drastic change, according to senior administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy. For Biden, 2023 is shaping up to be a pivotal test of whether he can outmaneuver his political foes while also appeasing Democratic base voters who have argued that the octogenarian president’s gentlemanly approach to politics is a relic of a bygone era.”

LOOKING AHEAD — “Big week for U.S.-Mexico ties going into North American summit,” by AP’s Colleen Long and Maria Verza

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US

1. 2024 WATCH: “Katie Porter weighs Senate bid launch as Feinstein stays mum,” by Burgess Everett, Sarah Ferris and Holly Otterbein: “Fresh off a bruising battleground reelection win, the third-term [Rep. KATIE] PORTER is now considering a bid for what is likely to be an open Senate seat in deep-blue California as a next step, according to five Democrats familiar with her plans. [Sen. DIANNE] FEINSTEIN is widely expected to retire after her current term, but she isn’t making any firm moves yet ahead of what’s expected to be an official announcement within the next couple months.”

President Joe Biden stands with Gladys and Charles Sicknick, parents of deceased U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, during a White House ceremony on Friday, Jan. 6. | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo

2. THE JAN. 6 WHITE HOUSE CEREMONY: “Biden marks Jan. 6 anniversary with emotional tributes, stark warnings,” by Jonathan Lemire: “Marking the second anniversary of one of the nation’s darkest days, President Joe Biden paid tribute Friday to the heroism displayed on Jan. 6, 2021, while also warning that the forces that fueled the violence at the U.S. Capitol still lurk. Biden touted the nation’s healing over the last two years but condemned the riot at the very citadel of the nation’s democracy. He derided the mob ‘as sick insurrectionists’ who wreaked havoc and drew blood in the name of Donald Trump.”

3. TRUMP CARDS: “Judge Scolds Trump Legal Team and Lets James’s Lawsuit Proceed,” by NYT’s Jonah Bromwich and Ben Protess: “A New York judge declined on Friday to throw out the state attorney general’s civil fraud case against former President Donald J. Trump, increasing the likelihood that he will face a trial this fall. In a sharply worded order, the judge, Justice ARTHUR F. ENGORON of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, denied Mr. Trump’s motion to dismiss the case, granting the attorney general, LETITIA JAMES, another victory in the matter.”

4. BIG BREAKTHROUGH: “The FDA has approved a new Alzheimer’s drug, but wide access may depend on CMS easing restrictions,” by Stat’s Ed Silverman: “Now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted accelerated approval to the widely anticipated Alzheimer’s drug from Eisai and Biogen, a key question is the extent to which payers — private and public — will cover the treatment. Such decisions are based on myriad factors, starting with the average $26,500 price tag. But there are other considerations, including the quality of the clinical trial data, side effect concerns, the patient population for which the medicine is approved, and budgetary constraints.”

5. GUNS IN AMERICA: “Federal appeals court strikes down ban on bump stocks,” by CNN’s Tierney Sneed: “A federal appeals court on Friday struck down a ban on bump stocks, devices that essentially allow shooters to fire semiautomatic rifles continuously with one pull of the trigger. A majority of the full U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said that bump stocks were not covered by the law that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives used to put the regulation in place.”

6. WAR IN UKRAINE: “Fighting Rages in Ukraine on Orthodox Christmas Despite Putin’s Call for Truce,” by WSJ’s Isabel Coles: “Fighting raged in eastern Ukraine on Orthodox Christmas despite a Russian call for a cease-fire, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the largest package of military aid from the U.S. and its allies as ‘timely and strong.’ The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russian troops had launched attacks along the front line in the eastern Donetsk region after President Vladimir Putin called for a 36-hour pause in hostilities that was to last through Saturday.” 

— More on the aid: “American aid to Ukraine ramps up but House GOP drama causes worry over future military help,” by CNN’s Maegan Vazquez, Kevin Liptak and Jennifer Hansler: “The administration announced a new $2.85 billion drawdown for Ukraine, part of more than $3 billion in new military assistance to Ukraine.”

7. HACK ATTACK: “Russian hackers targeted U.S. nuclear scientists,” by Reuters’ James Pearson and Christopher Bing: “A Russian hacking team known as Cold River targeted three nuclear research laboratories in the United States this past summer, according to internet records reviewed by Reuters and five cyber security experts. … Reuters was unable to determine why the labs were targeted or if any attempted intrusion was successful.”

8. MUSK READ: “On Musk's Twitter, users looking to sell and trade child sex abuse material are still easily found,” by NBC’s Ben Goggin, Lora Kolodny and David Ingram: “Twitter accounts that offer to trade or sell child sexual abuse material under thinly veiled terms and hashtags have remained online for months, even after CEO Elon Musk said he would combat child exploitation on the platform. … But since that declaration, at least dozens of accounts have continued to post hundreds of tweets in aggregate using terms, abbreviations and hashtags indicating the sale of what Twitter calls child sexual exploitation material, according to a count of just a single day’s tweets.”

9. CRYPTO CRISIS CONTINUES: “A New Clue in S.B.F.’s Washington Scandal,” by Puck’s Theodore Schleifer: “In the last few weeks, according to an email passed my way, the S.D.N.Y. reached out to at least one recipient of donations from Democratic mega-donor NISHAD SINGH, a key [SAM BANKMAN-FRIED] lieutenant and the former engineering director at FTX, as part of an effort to investigate his giving.

“The communiqué asks the recipient for a so-called ‘donor form’ — likely a list of any disclosed information about the contributor—along with details on a record of payment, such as a check or a payment processing record, for the contribution made in Singh’s name. … The implication seems to be that federal prosecutors are seeking to substantiate whether or not the money actually came from Singh himself, or whether it could be a part of a straw-donation scheme.”

— Related read: “FTX Seeks to Recoup Sam Bankman-Fried’s Charitable Donations,” by WSJ’s Eric Wallerstein

— Related read: “U.S. subpoenas hedge funds in probe of crypto exchange Binance,” by WaPo’s Douglas MacMillan and Tory Newmyer

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CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies

GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza:

— “What a 1985 Novel Can Tell Us About Life in the 2020s: Almost Everything,” by Dana Spiotta for NYT: “Don DeLillo’s book ‘White Noise,’ newly adapted for the screen by Noah Baumbach, precisely diagnosed the modern condition.”

— “Inside the Christian Reform School From Hell,” by Rolling Stone’s Adam Piore: “At Missouri’s Agapé school, a devout Baptist boarding facility for boys, students say they were subjected to isolation, restraints, and treatment that bordered on torture.”

— “SBF and the Injustice Democrats,” by Max Berger on Substack: “How SBF, AIPAC and pro-Trump billionaires coordinated to crush the left.”

— “Prison or mercy? A Jan. 6 rioter weighs his sins and confronts his fate,” by WaPo’s Greg Jaffe: “Eight years before he stormed the Capitol, Jake Peart acted with ‘unfathomable’ grace. A judge must decide if it matters.”

— “Facebook Wanted Out of Politics. It Was Messier Than Anyone Expected,” by WSJ’s Jeff Horwitz, Keach Hagey and Emily Glazer: “Hitting mute button on political content recommendations brought unintended consequences, documents show.”

DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.

Ben Smith is writing a book about online news media.

MEDIA MOVE — Paresh Dave is joining Wired as a senior writer. He previously was a tech reporter at Reuters.

TRANSITIONS — Michael McQuerry is now chief of staff for Rep.-elect Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.). He most recently was chief of staff for Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.). … Andrew Brennan is now comms director for Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-Ind.). He most recently was director for faith comms at the RNC. … Geoff Morrell is now president for global strategy & comms at Teneo. He previously was chief corporate affairs officer at The Walt Disney Co. …

… Annie Barletta is now legislative director for Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.). She most recently was deputy regional finance director for the West and Florida at the RNC. … Will Layden is joining the American Wood Council as VP of government affairs. He was previously deputy staff director for outreach for the House Committee on Natural Resources GOP. … Sarah Feldpausch is now director of government relations at Heritage Action. She previously was a policy adviser at Locke Lord.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) … Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) … U.S. Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Yohannes Abraham … Dave Banks … POLITICO’s Claire Barkley … The Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf … Meta’s Nick Clegg … Adam Entous … CMS’ Ernie Tai … Alex Milofsky … Fox Business Network’s Dagen McDowell … Maura Keefe of Keefe Strategies … NBC’s John Reiss … Cherie Short of the Giving Groupe … Stewart Boss of Sen. Jacky Rosen’s (D-Nev.) office … Megan Clarke of Fox News … Lauren Harmon Murphy of Swing Left … Stewart Verdery of Monument Advocacy … Rishi Sahgal … APCO’s Tim Kraus … Linda Douglass … former Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) … Axios’ Ben Geman … Ashley Callen ... Cory Crowley ... Brett Shogren … Katie Couric … Michael McAdams of the NRCC

THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here):

FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) … Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Panel: Jason Chaffetz, Janice Dean, Josh Kraushaar and John Delaney.

NBC “Meet the Press”: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries … Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.). Panel: Rachael Bade, Carlos Curbelo, Symone Sanders-Townsend and Jake Sherman.

ABC “This Week”: DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas … Harry Dunn. Panel: Chris Christie, Donna Brazile, Maggie Haberman and Susan Page.

CNN “State of the Union”: House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) … Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas). Panel: Rep. Colin Allred (R-Texas), Sarah Matthews, Karen Finney and Marc Short.

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