Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) called for a vote tonight to adjourn for the day.
This was after the US House failed to select a Speaker after 11 consecutive votes.
As reported earlier this has not happened in over 100 years.
This hasn’t happened since 1859.
*HOUSE SPEAKER FIGHT GOES TO 10TH VOTE, MOST SINCE PRE-CIVIL WAR
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 5, 2023
According to the Washington Post, “the last time a speaker election took more than one ballot was in 1923, when Speaker Frederick Gillett (R-Mass.) was reelected on the ninth ballot.”
“But the longest speaker vote began on Dec. 3, 1855, when the 34th Congress convened,” the outlet added.
More from House.gov:
At the conclusion of the longest and most contentious Speaker election in House history, the House elected Representative Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts as its presiding officer for the 34th Congress (1855–1857). Sectional conflict over slavery and a rising anti-immigrant mood in the nation contributed to a poisoned and deteriorating political climate.
As a sign of the factionalism then existing in the House, more than 21 individuals initially vied for the Speaker’s post when the Members first gathered in December, 1855. After two months and 133 ballots, the House finally chose Representative Banks by a vote of 103 to 100 over Representative William Aiken of South Carolina. Banks, a member of both the nativist American (or “Know-Nothing”) Party and the Free Soil Party, served a term as Speaker before Democrats won control of the chamber in the 35th Congress (1857–1859). Banks retired from the House to serve as governor of Massachusetts.
If the vote passes the House will reconvene at noon on Friday.
UPDATE: The vote passed 219 to 213. Congress will reconvene Friday at noon.
