House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is on track to lose at least seven ballots for House speaker.
And on Thursday, someone from outside the House received a vote instead of the Californian Republican.
During the seventh ballot in the speaker’s race, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) cast his vote for former President Donald Trump.
Watch the moment below:
Gaetz casts his vote for Trump pic.twitter.com/rxcdlLu0yI
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 5, 2023
Trump endorsed McCarthy for speaker and urged Republicans to vote for him.
However, the former president’s support did not sway Republicans to back McCarthy.
Gaetz, who has been one of the leading opponents of McCarthy, was unmoved by Trump’s endorsement in a statement as he said, “Sad!”
“This changes neither my view of McCarthy, nor Trump, nor my vote,” he added.
Last month, Gaetz addressed Trump’s support for the Republican leader as he said, “I can’t wait to vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.”
However, he said, “If Donald Trump believes that Kevin McCarthy should be Speaker of the House, then Donald Trump is wrong. And Donald Trump has not always nailed it on the HR front.”
In case you missed it:
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Monday criticized Donald Trump for backing Kevin McCarthy for Speaker:
— The Recount (@therecount) December 20, 2022
"If Donald Trump believes that Kevin McCarthy should be Speaker of the House, then Donald Trump is wrong. And Donald Trump has not always nailed it on the HR front." pic.twitter.com/eSetHF7S2r
“President Trump is the leader of our movement, he sets the vision. But Donald Trump has not moved a single vote when it comes to the people considering how to cast their lot in the speaker’s race,” he added.
McCarthy lost two ballots on Tuesday, with 19 Republicans voting for other candidates. And he lost a third ballot the same day as the number of defectors grew to 20.
It marked the first time since 1923 the House needed to take more than one vote to decide who the next speaker will be.
On the fourth, fifth, and sixth ballots, 201 Republicans voted for McCarthy, 212 voted for incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and 20 Republicans voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).
While Jeffries has repeatedly won the most votes of all the candidates, he has not hit the required 218 votes needed to win the speaker’s gavel.
The House will have to hold at least an eighth vote to choose a new speaker.