Pressure Is Growing On Kevin McCarthy To Stand Down After Crushing Speaker Vote Defeat

19 House Republicans voted against Kevin McCarthy to be the next Speaker of the House and after losing, he is being pressured stand down.

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Kevin McCarthy lost the first ballot to be the next Speaker of the House. Nineteen of his fellow Republicans voted against McCarthy. The Republican leader has vowed to continue fighting until he wears down his opposition and gets the gavel that he has chased and lusted after for decades, but he is already being pressured to give it up and stand down.

Here was the total vote on the first ballot:

Manu Raju @mkraju

For the first time since 1923, the House cannot elect a speaker after the first ballot. No one gets 218 votes. Vote not closed yet McCarthy - 203 Jeffries - 212 Biggs - 10 Others - 9 Voting will continue until someone gets 218. House cannot move forward until a speaker is elected

Rep. Andy Biggs urged McCarthy to stand down:

Rep Andy Biggs @RepAndyBiggsAZ

We barely got through half the ballot before confirming that McCarthy is still well short of 218 votes. My colleagues have made clear that our party deserves a new leader. McCarthy should stand down and allow us to select someone else in the next ballot.

McCarthy is not expected to fare much better on the second ballot, but the floor fight already has long-term ramifications for the House.