those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. uhhhh... here, i'll take that. [woo hoo!] ensure max protein, with 30 grams of protein, one gram of sugar and nutrients for immune health. hi, susan. honey. yeah. i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad. try this robitussin honey. the real honey you love, plus the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? robitussin. the only brand with real honeyand elderberry. welcome back to cnn's live special coverage. i'm jake tapper in washington where if you believe in functioning government, it is a frustrating day. united states house of representatives remains speakerless, without speaker.

sans speaker. kevin mccarthy failing again on a fifth ballot to capture the necessary number of votes, the number of opponents among house republicans has actually gone up from 19 to 20, to 21. now republicans are looking for a way out, an exit strategy. is that tossing mccarthy to the curb? is that brokering a deal with democrats to lower the vote? they have to get these 23 rebels on board. me melanie zanona is with us. what's happening here? >> reporter: republicans are searching for an offramp as it's become clear that kevin mccarthy's efforts to win over his opposition not working. i'm told republicans have approached democrats on the house floor and tried to feel them out to see, what would it take for you to vote present or not show up? we're told these are informal conver conversations. it's still early. democrats said they would not

bail out mccarthy, but they would be willing to talk about a consensus candidate. we'll see. the fact that republicans are even thinking about going that route really speaks volumes. it is a far-fetched idea, and i know one lawmaker, a republican lawmaker who did go up to mccarthy on the floor and float this idea. i talked to another republican who said they're going to give it another week before they try to encourage mccarthy to look at other options here, and all -- this is also coming as i'm learning about one of the demands that one of these critics made of kevin mccarthy monday night. matt gaetz was in mccarthy's office for a brief meeting on monday and i'm told one of the asks he made was a sub committee gavel on the armed services committee. he rejected it, and they were furious. they said this shows that at least some of these critics are just trying to get things for them personally and this isn't about some big procedural stand as some of them are making it out to be, and you just get a sense of where things are right

now, jake. >> it's interesting, melanie because mccarthy was trying to make that point yesterday before the voting began, saying that matt gaetz and others were demanding things for themselves. this wasn't about principle. this wasn't about a more open house legislative process, but despite matt gaetz only going to the floor with five total rebels, he ended up with 19. so that argument did not dissuade enough people. >> reporter: no, and some said that conference meeting with mccarthy made that pitch backfired and made people even more entrenched and i'll tell you among mccarthy's al lice, the -- allies, they're trying to suss out who is negotiating in good faith and get them to vote present, versus those who are like matt gaetz for example who are never going to vote for kevin mccarthy and keep moving the goal post. that's what they are trying to figure out there, and once they get a better sense of who's in that camp, they can really start to try to negotiate and figure

out a path forward. it's really, really unclear at this moment. >> thanks so much. manu raju is on capitol hill for us. manu, you have new reporting about what's next. >> reporter: right now, there are discussions about setting up a new negotiating group to try to break the stalemate. i'm told that mccarthy emissaries, people who are chose to the republican leader are in discussions with the detractors, and some of those 20 opponents to figure out which members could sit down behind closed doors and try to negotiate a way out of this. they're still trying to hash out which members will be in that room, but members were very close to mccarthy, and members who represent this block of members are trying to figure out whether or not there is any sort of resolution here. what do those detractors want? whether or not the mccarthy allies will agree to that, and if they come to some sort of consensus, take that to the rest of the republican conference to see if they'll sign off on that.

ken buck was considering voting against kevin mccarthy, i'm told, but was urged by the republican leadership to stick with mccarthy. he's indicating for now he's sticking with him. matt gaetz, one of those key detractors of course, unlikely he'll ultimately come to kevin mccarthy's side, but others within that 20 group block are still -- the mccarthy team believes, they are gettable. the conversation comes as we go to the next vote, we expect to go a sixth speaker ballot vote. they will try to adjourn the house and move to the negotiating session among those members, but in order to adjourn the house, they need to have 218 votes to do that. that means if not all republicans agree, they would need democratic support to adjourn the house. democrats have not yet been willing to do that. we will see if that changes after the sixth ballot, but at the moment, the discussions right now are about setting up some sort of group to figure out a way out of this after the second day, jake. >> we're looking at the house

floor, and you see to the left, congressman ken buck, republican of the colorado. matt gaetz of florida, one of the rebels. buck told cnn just a few minutes ago that it may be time for kevin mccarthy to stop putting his name in nomination for speaker of house, and it might be time to try to find a consensus candidate other than him. he mentioned steve scalise. i don't know if that is what he and matt gaetz are discussing right now, but certainly there is a big effort on the floor of the house the find a way past this impasse. manu raju, thank you. let's go to phil mattingly. president biden today called this display embarrassing. >> reporter: yeah, and i think it's a window into what people familiar with how the president has responded over the last 48 hours have said they have not found a lot of amusement in what has transpired. certainly there are advisers inside the white house, aides

inside the who is who have looked at this with a level of some amusement. white house officials were keenly aware of the figurative opportunity of a split screen when the president arrived in kentucky with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell to talk about one of his bipartisan achievements of his first two years. they didn't expect a literal one. you saw the chaos on the house floor as the president stood with leader mcconnell talking about the $2 billion going to the bridge, and while they like that contrast, they didn't expect it to be just as dramatic as it is as we are now in our second day here, and the president was very blunt when he was asked about this by reporters. he said, he did not enjoy what he was seeing despite what was coming from his critics. he was embarrass. take a look. >> >> it's embarrassing for the country. the reality is, you know, that to be able to have a congress that can't function is

embarrassing. we're the greatest nation in the world. how can that be? >> reporter: and jake, to give you a sense of things, one person i spoke to who'd spoken to the president said, look. you have to view this through the lens of the president, a 36-year veteran of the senate. he's an institutionalist at hi core. you can't be an institutionalist and root for chaos like this. he is cognizant of how the u.s. is viewed around the world particularly in the wake of the last seven years and this is not something he wants to see even if it underscores just how chaotic the house republican majority may be. >> it is democracy. at least they're not storming it with tiki torches. phil mattingly, thank you so much. >> low bar. we're joined by an ally of kevin mccarthy, rodney davis of illinois. congressman, what do you think is going to happen here? it sounds like they're going to have a sixth vote and then vote to adjourn. do you think mccarthy is going to continue to shed votes? >> i think it's very interesting right now they did not roll right into a sixth vote.

they're doing somewhat of a conference meeting on the house floor without having to do the motion to adjourn. i think if they go right into this sixth vote, the key vote you want to look at is ken buck. is ken buck going to stick with kevin mccarthy on this sixth vote or live up to what he said a few minutes ago on air with you and vote for someone else? if he votes for someone else, then i would expect the motion to adjourn, and i would expect republicans to sit down and talk about these things. it's interesting that, you know, you're starting to see the conversation that played out on the house familiar come to fruition, and when you looked at some of the conversations that were happening in the background just now on the house floor, you have mccarthy allies like gary palmer talking to those who voted no. what are they talking about? i would suggest they're talking about what do you need? what type of rules change do you need to make sure you can get to yes? this is the last effort, and i think every mccarthy ally knows

it's very important, but here's the key, jake. the key is ken buck doesn't speak for a majority of those 200 republicans who are sticking by kevin mccarthy, and are they willing to stick it out even if you lose ken buck and maybe a few others? >> that is the big question, congressman davis. thank you so much. let me just turn in to say, i know the viewers out there, this probably seems chaotic and insane, but this is democracy. we can't pretend this is -- i mean, i think congressman gallagher was right earlier today. he said, this is messy, and democracy is messy. it's a feature, not a bug. that's true. these people are exercising their right to do that, and a lot of them, i don't know all of them, but a lot of the 20 rebels are voting the way they're voting because they want substantive changes to the rules. >> i think that is a really open question. >> you disagree with me? >> no, no. i actually think that -- first of all, there's some portion of them. i think we don't know how many of them actually want

substantive rules, and that matters if you are kevin mccarthy. maybe the number who wants substantive changes is like six or seven. that's not enough to get him there. so the number really matters a lot, but it's interesting to me because we just talked to congresswoman spartz, and congressman buck, and both of them think that negotiation is a path forward. so those members who are in the chamber right now still think that there is a way to have a conversation that moves this forward, and that it's not just personality. i think for at least four members, they're hard-nosed and kevin mccarthy won't get them. we don't know what the other number is, and that's hugely important in this moment, even byron donalds who started out in the mccarthy camp, and he's entertaining something that a lot of the members, a vast majority of members thought it was crazy. a one-person note to vacate. a lot of members are coming back

to that idea that maybe negotiation is a path forward. i just think that none of them still to this -- as we sit here now, they don't know how many members negotiation will actually need. >> i'm going to push back on that a little bit. they came on tv and said that. they also note that kevin mccarthy and his allies are seeing him say that. kevin mccarthy has had weeks to wrap this up. >> years. >> i do not think there is going to be some 11th hour miracle. right now i think there are five firm nos. >> yeah. >> and he can't get there with five firm nos. i think today with ken buck, we saw the beginning of the end with kevin mccarthy, and that what he is saying publicly to you, jake, is what others are saying privately, and the question now is how much time does kevin mccarthy have? >> right. well, i think that's why, and

rodney davis alluded to this just a second ago in talking to you, jake, why we're seeing this kind of strange moment on the floor right now where they haven't rolled yet straight into this sixth ballot. i think there is a realization among mccarthy supporters that if they get started, and the ball rolls on this, and ken buck is close to the beginning of the alphabet, this is going to be an early chance for what he intends to do, and davis said earlier while, and again he repeated, buck may not speak for a huge majority of the conference. >> right. >> he may not just be speaking for himself. >> right. >> if they allow this vote to go forward without trying to figure something out behind the scenes which is what's going on here, that could put them in a more tenuous position. >> your position is right in what they want to see in a weakened speaker. it's not going to be the speaker we've seen in years past. even people voting for him like brian mast who said he is committed to voting for him,

that's what they want to see. they want to feel like everyone's voice is heard and you're seeing the energy and the momentum behind this group of 20 that's not voting for kevin mccarthy. they're using that vadvantage what get what they want. whether it's kemmccarthy, steve sca scalise, or god knows who. >> if we can weaken the speaker, they're handing more keys to democrats. >> brian mast said that this morning. >> it seems as though the clerk is trying to get the attention of the unruly members of the house of representatives, 434 of them. although they're obviously not all there right now. it looks like there will be a sixth vote. >> will the house be in order? >> and the point you mate, kaitlan collins is they want a weaker speaker. why do they want a weaker speaker? that makes each individual member of congress stronger. it's not that they're interested in the speaker being weaker. they're interested in each

individual one of themselves having more power and ability to change things. >> to what was said about giving keys to democrats, this is a group that spent several years in the minority and they know what it's like to have literally nothing, and they know that can happen again to them soon. it is about having more of a voice and not having one person have this iron grip on the conference. >> i think it also goes back to the point, jake, that we've made over and over again here which is that it's really about this group and their own personal interests, right? >> yeah. >> their own personal public brands that they now can -- >> let's listen in. we'll come right back. this is the fifth ballot, the official results. >> the honorable kevin mccarthy of the state of california has received 201. the honorable byron donalds of the state of florida has

received 20. with one recorded as present. no member-elect having received a majority of the votes cast, a speaker has not been elected. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida rise? >> thank you, madam clerk. i rise today to nominate kevin mccarthy as speaker of the people's house. >> the gentlewoman is recognized. >> my colleagues, well, it's groundhog day, again. and if it's all right -- >> will the gentlewoman yield? >> i would like to. >> will the house be in order?

>> thank you, madam clerk. if it's all right with you all, i would like to address not you, but the american people because quite frankly, they are -- we don't have a speaker yet. so -- the american people, well, they are our boss, and we work for them. yesterday as we were here on the house floor, our constituents from all around the country made their voices heard. today the calls, the text messages, emails, they all continue. people are letting their voice be heard, and that is a very, very good thing. [ applause ] because that is what we are after all, a constitutional republic. this serves all americans, not just a select few.

to all americans watching right now, i want to tell you that we hear you. we hear you, and we will get this right no matter how messy this process is. we will emerge better for having been through this because nothing great ever comes easy. for the last several months, negotiations have gone back and forth over a rules package to make this chamber your chamber, a better place to deliver better results for you, the american people, and i want to remind everyone watching, listening, here in this chamber that this chamber and this body, our country, we are bigger than a single person or a single moment in time. we are a nation collectively of great people, great patriots, and great moments of courage. the rules package that has been highlighted by so many of my

colleagues dictates how this chamber functions, how bills come to the floor, how much time we get to read these bills, whether or not we will get single-issue bills, and whether or not we can vote proxy. as you have witnessed from events yesterday, so many people have said, what are the next steps? what will we accomplish if we continue down this current path? will we wake up tomorrow and be in this exact same place? the people calling my office said over and over and over again, it is time to get to work. anything less is unacceptable, and, you know, as we stood on this house floor yesterday and again today, over 200 people were poisoned from fentanyl. fentanyl that came from an open border because of the biden open border policy. over 5,000 people were encountered at the border

because of biden's open border policies. these are the issues that people care about. they don't sit around their kitchen tables at night saying, i wonder who's going to be speaker. no, they elect people to come here to do the things that matter, the issues that unpack them every single day in an era of uncertainty. the last thing they need is uncertainty within this chamber. we were elected to be the voice of our constituents. we are their voice in this chamber, and they didn't send us to be perpetual critics. they sent us to get things done. [ applause ] and as we all know, because after all, we are in politics, the line of critics is always long, but the list of those that

are actually rolling up their sleeves and doing the difficult job of leading, of uniting, of delivering results, especially in a chamber like this, well, that list is very short. kevin mccarthy has proved that he can get things done. he has proven that he is willing to stand up in the face of critics, and not only prove them wrong, but work with them. the only thing sovereign in this republic are its people, and they have deemed it right to place a check on the biden administration and put our party, the republican party, in control of this chamber. now is the time that we take control. i understand a lack of trust among some of our colleagues. i do. >> will the house be in order. >> i understand the lack of trust amongst some of our colleagues, but what i am

asking, what i am asking is that we all trust the american people who sent our colleagues here. this house is the only part of the federal government that stands for election every two years, therefore, this chamber is an instrument of the people's will, and the people have overwhelmingly voted for kevin mccarthy. [ applause ] if we continue down this road, if we continue with the actions of yesterday and today, we stifle the will of the american people. the changes to the rules of this place and how it functions have been overwhelmingly positive in the last few weeks. legislation stands ready. it is time to unite, roll up our leaves

le sleeves and get to work doing the people's business. kevin mccarthy has done more than anyone in this chamber to secure a republican majority. many of the people who are members here today are quite frankly here because of his leadership, because they have trusted him, and he has gone out of his way to make sure that every single one of uss has haa voice at the table. furthermore, every single returning republican in this chamber who cast a vote two years ago in the last congress, voted for kevin mccarthy as our leader. we were united then, and we must unify now. that's the only way to start the people's business, and the very reason that we're all here. it's to unify and get to work because we must commit to unity instead of division because we owe it to the american people who sent us here. we must choose to lead in the face of a liberal senate and obama's team in the white house. we owe it to the american

people. the american people sent a conservative majority to govern this body, but we cannot even begin to govern because, heck, we can't even swear in as members of congress. i've traveled the country for the last two years as the youngest republican woman in the 117th congress helping to secure a majority of members who are on both sides of today's republican vote. diversity of thought is a good thing. it's one of the things that sets us apart from our friends on other side of the aisle. yes, diversity of thought is a good thing, but they want us divided. they want us to fight each other. that much has been made clear by the popcorn and blankets and alcohol that is coming over there. the house is not in order. the house is not in order.

>> the clerk would ask all members-elect to abide by the established decorum of the house while making nominations. the gentlewoman is recognized. >> as evidenced by my colleagues' actions -- so today i am asking my friends and colleagues, are we the party of reagan republicans? reagan who said, someone who is with me 80% of the time is a loyal and good friend, not a 20% traitor. are we the party of reagan? that is the question that i ask

you to answer as we embark on this next ballot. it's upon us to remain a nation of equal opportunity, not equal outcome. that is what is on the line here today, and that is why i am nominating kevin mccarthy, and i humbly ask for your support. madam clerk, i yield back. [ applause ] >> for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> madam clerk, i rise to nominate hakeem jeffries, the lead vote getter in the final and last five rounds. >> the gentleman is recognized. [ applause ]

>> madam clerk, democrats are united behind a speaker who will build safer communities. he's a leader in gun violence prevention. he has worked to make our criminal justice system more fair, more equitable and more effective, and he's done it working with both sides of the aisle. a leader who has a track record in actually getting things done, and he understands that public safety, public health, and economic opportunity must go hand in hand. that's why i advance the name of hakeem jeffries from brooklyn, new york as our next speaker for the 118th congress. [ applause ]

>> for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> i'm going to nominate the man from florida, mr. donalds. >> the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you. ladies and gentlemen, no matter what side of the aisle you're on, no matter what your political persuasion, one thing is universally recognized across the country. washington is broken. washington is completely broken, whether it's a wide open border, millions of people streaming across, terrorists, criminals, fentanyl coming right to your community, not at the boerder, but into your community. overdoses happening in your towns, funerals happening in your town because a border's open because this place is broken. 12 days ago, in the middle of the night, 4,000 pages showed up over here. 2.7 -- 1.7, sorry.

$1.7 trillion in spending, 7,200 earmarks, 24 hours' time to read it. it was like a christmas tree right before christmas that nobody outside of this town wanted. if you have been here for one year, if you voted on that once, if you have been here for three years, you voted on the same thing three times. if you have been here ten times, you voted on it ten times. washington is broken. we have crime running across the streets no matter what community you're in because this town has decided that somehow the criminals aren't understood and we've abandoned the victims. this is what people in our country are thdealing with. we are funding the wars in other country while we're destroying our own military because this town is broken. we have an administration that is contempt for the american people and is using these big corporations to spy on americans

and using the instruments of federal power to persecute and prosecute them because this town is broken, and this place is literally broken. there hasn't been an amendment on the floor for six years in this town. so if you are not on the committee of jurisdiction, but it affects your citizens, well, too bad for you. you just vote yes or you just vote no. that's not how this place was designed to be. we vote on bills that have all kinds of things that have nothing to do with the bill itself. everybody came here because they said to their constituents, this town is broken, and i want to fix it. well, how are you going to fix it if you come to this town and just step right in line and keep doing the same things that everybody has done before you? it's not going to fix it, and the american people know it. and i would say this. i think the person that has done the most, that has done the most

to make this fabulous, this wonderful republican majority, is speaker pelosi and her policies. that's what has achieved this majority over here because the american people are sick and tired of it, and they had had enough of it. this is not about -- this is not about personalities. it's not about personalities. it's a abobout the policies tha come out of here. it's not about this side of the aisle or that said of the aisle. we believe, and we want to believe -- we believe and we want to believe that every person that comes here, left, right, center, has the best intentions for our country, the best intentions for our country, and it's not about the personalities in this contest. it is not personal for us, but

because we all acknowledge and we all know that washington is broken, we must take a new path. there must be a new vision so that congress works for the american people because the american people are watching what's happening here, and they've watched what's happened here, and they're sure in their hearts and they can prove it that this town works for this town. that's who this town is working for. ladies and gentlemen, we are making history today. we are making history in this process, and we are showing the american people that this process works. yeah, it's been about 100 years. it's been about 100 years since this has happened before, but we have said we are not going to take anymore of washington being broken. we're going to do something for the american people, and we're going to fix it, and is it going to be painful, and is it going to be difficult? yeah, it probably is.

that's why it took 100 years. it probably is, but we're going to do it, and we can also make history today by making the first -- >> will the house be in order. >> by electing the first black republican speaker of the house. [ applause ] yes. thank you. now as my colleagues probably know, the first black members of comi congress to serve in this body were republicans. they were republicans. as a matter of fact, you probably also know that cedric douglas who went and worked with abraham lincoln to emancipate the people in this country said he would never be anything but a republican. he would never be anything but a republican. i am here to nominate byron donalds because he has

accomplished many things. he is a man of faith. he is a family man. he is a businessman, and he is a man of community service. he's come from the school of hard knocks because not all outcomes in life are equal, but america is the place where we can each do great things regardless of our humble beginnings. each one of us. byron is a product of the single family where it's not easy. it's not easy, but he has succeeded in america, and that's a testament to what we have created here, and what we're trying to save. he's got a record of accomplishing things. he has a record of being on the right side. he is respected. he is trusted. he is capable, and he achieves results. now byron has a big mind and he's big in stature as well. he's very nice, but i will tell you this. in a negotiation -- in a negotiation with chuck schumer, i wouldn't want to be on the other side of byron donalds.

he knows who he is. he knows what his foundation is, and he knows that washington is broken, and what chuck schumer sends over here isn't going to work out for the american people. ladies and gentlemen, washington is broken. byron donalds will inspire us and restore our citizen's faith that this institution actually works for them. it is my highest honor to nominate the gentleman from florida, byron donalds to be next speaker of the house. i yield. [ applause ] >> the reading clerk will call the roll .

>> adams. >> jeffries. atorhold. mccarthy. >> aguilar. jeffries. crawford, mccarthy. allen, mccarthy. allred, jeffries. amode, mccarthy. armstrong, mccarthy. harrington, mccarthy. hawkenclaus, jeffries.

babben, mccarthy. facon, mccarthy. baird, mccarthy. alderson, mccarthy. >> all right. we are now in the sixth ballot for speaker of the house. let's go to cnn's manu raju with new reporting. you're hearing signs of a potential thaw between mccarthy allies and the 20 republican rebels. tell us more. >> reporter: yeah. welcome news for kevin mccarthy after days -- two days of seeing him fall short at ballot after ballot, not getting the 218 votes of becoming speaker. there are signs of talks moving in a direction that these opponents want. one of them is chip roy. he's 1 of the 20 who voted over and over again against kevin mccarthy.

he pushed for a number of process reforms, things to empower rank and file members and weaken the leadership of his conference. he says he has had, quote, more productive discussions over the last two hours than he has had over the last several weeks. he said that, you know, he compared this to high school when you are right before an exam. sometimes you do better work before an exam and cramming for that exam than you might have done a few weeks earlier. he said they're starting to cryst crystallize what they want. this is becoming at a critical moment. this is the last vote of the day. the house will have to adjourn after this. they need 218 votes to do that. it's uncertain whether they will get them. the republicans believe they will, and if they will, that's when these critical negotiations will take place tonight. there is an effort by mccarthy allies, and some key emissaries to mccarthy. as well as some people who are part of the 20-member block opposing kevin mccarthy, all

getting in a room, negotiating, trying to see where they are going forward and roy telling me he's part of this as well. >> let's listen in because we want to see how congressman ken buck of colorado is going to vote. >> bast. bast. mccarthy. bowman. jeffries. boyle of pennsylvania, jeffries. rakeem, donalds. brown. >> hakeem jeffries. >> jeffries. brownlee.

>> jeffries. >> buchanan. mccarthy. buck, -- buck? bouchon. mccarthy. b b budzin ski, jeffries. >> so ken buck as far as we could tell did not vote when his name was called. that's not all that unusual because at the end of the roll call on a vote, they normally go after any strag lers that there might have been. we were watching ken buck because he was a mccarthy supporter and he voted for him five times but he said that was the last time he could count on his vote. i wanted to see if there was continued erosion of mccarthy

support. abby phillip, i don't know what ken buck is doing, but he might be just kind of waiting to get the lay of the land before he makes his decision. >> yeah, and just to see what happens in this latest vote before anything changes. last time he waited until the end as well, but, you know, the interesting thing is that buck said to us, it's either negotiate or get out of the game, and as manu just reported, there is a little bit of movement to at least have some -- to have some talks this afternoon, and so i'm not sure how that will affect his vote, frankly. maybe he will give it more time. maybe he might choose to vote present just to show that he wants it to continue to play out, but i think that will be a big factor. >> i think it's probably good for team mccarthy that buck has yet to vote because he is ait beginning of the alphabet obviously and anyone who is looking to take cues to see where this is headed would have taken a no or present vote from buck as a sign to potentially

move. now we're going to have the wait likely until the end of the tally for him to come out and i think your point is the right one to underscore. these talks seem to be accelerating. part of why also they haven't been able to adjourn the house today, and we're on the sixth vote instead of, you know, mccarthy allies were talking about adjourning right away to continue the conversations, it's because democrats got a hard line and they said, we're not going to help, and the rebels weren't going to help with it too. if there are productive negotiations and people feel like they're getting somewhere, it makes it much more realistic they could get to 201818 for an adjournment. i don't know how many times we've used the phrase groundhog day. >> let's see how michael cloud

votes. this could be the fifth vote. >> cloud, donalds. >> and there it is. so that is again, five votes for congressman donalds which means as we all recall, kevin mccarthy can only afford to lose four republican votes and he has lost a fifth republican vote. this is the sixth ballot, and the sixth time that kevin mccarthy lost it in the "cs". they were voting alphabetically, and he did it again. >> that lady made a joke about drinking on the floor. they're sitting here going around and around, waiting for this. the republicans we have been speaking with that after this round, the plan is likely to adjourn. the question is what happens behind closed doors. once they do that and they start talking about this, and other names emerge. the question you asked ken buck

earlier is can steve scalise get to 218? that's not clear to us yet, of what the alternatives look like. you've heard those saying they're voting for mccarthy, but some have said behind the scenes they're voting for him until an alternative emerges. >> just to be clear what's going on, we're in the middle of the sixth vote for a speaker of the house. this has not happened since 1923, and it looks as though based on the vote count as of now that -- the vote count will ultimately be very similar, if not the exact same as the fifth ballot and the fourth ballot, but we shall see. we're going to squeeze in a very, very quick break as we are in the midst of a sixth in a row, apparent defeat for kevin mccarthy on day two where the united states of america does not have a speaker of the house. more cnn special connellverage after this. >> mccarthy. >> davis of illinois. jeffries. i love my rings but i'll cherish that lunch...

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test test >> and welcome back to cnn's special live coverage, 6th time not a charm for kevin mccarthy, another defeat for the california republican on the house floor, a potentially positive sign, brokering a meeting with the gop hard liners from the never kevin camp. melenie zanona is on capital hill what do you know about the meeting? >> anderson, at this point, it's wether or not they are able to adjourn. it's unclear whether the opposition will grow or shrink. manu did catch up with ken buck. he told manu that he's still voting for mccarthy. like i said, the question is whether they're going to be able to adjourn. and democrats said they're not helping this time around to give them the votes for a motion to adjourn. so, they're going to

have to get 218 republicans to adjourn. however, in a positive sign for mccarthy, chip roy told manu that they are seeing good faith negotiations, so, perhaps a deal will be worked out that some of these hard-liners will agree to the motion to adjourn so that they could go into meetings, and try to regroup. of course, there are a couple of questions there, first of all, they have to figure out how many people are gettable. chip roy was long seen as someone who is gettable t. it's unclear how many more people are in that camp. but, they're going to try and figure that out. that's what they're doing now, setting up negotiations, trying to figure out who is is going to be the emissaries for mccarthy to hash it out. as we've seen, another 6th vote out for matt. >> chip roy may be gettable, he says he has rules that he would like to see, but, are these other, i mean, is a matt gaetz

gettable? >> no. no, matt gaetz is not gettable. and i don't think the majority of the 20 or so people voting for someone other than kevin mccarthy are gettable. i can't stop thinking about lauren boeberts speech. donald trump created these people. but, now they're like the robots in "terminator" becoming self-aware and taking over. >> listen, chip roy may be gettable, but, the numbers, i see no path to victory for kevin mccarthy, the fact that all day they're on the floor and walking around and not having these conversations or making these negotiations, he hasn't flipped a single vote. the fact that he let this drag on to the second day to the 6th loss ballot and

now he thinks, may be we'll have a meeting and pull it off. they got to learn how to cut bait. the one thing that i want to warn is kevin mccarthy made massive concessions. >> already. >> what else can he do? that's when it starts to get scary for those of us who are pro-governing republicans, like, turning over the january 6th committee transcripts, releasing the committee's reports. this is something that some conservatives have floating. it starts to get dicey when he's throwing everything in the kitchen sink. >> if he gets it, they're talking about selling shares of himself. essentially, selling shares of the speakership and you wonder what moderates will do then. i mean, they're already nervous about some of the concessions that he made around the motion to vacate. so, he keeps on piling stuff on

and giving away goodies to this group of 20, then, i think that you will have moderates nervous. >> i think some of the mother moderate alleys of mccarthy will start to get a bit wobbly. i a i grew with melissa, may be chip roy or a few others will come back. when i listen to these speeches, i have to believe there are at least five hard nos, he needs to turn 17 votes. he must turn all 17. i don't see it right now. scott perry sounded like a hard know, lauren boeberts sounded like a hard no and there are a few others. by the way, if they break, adjourn, recess and go to meetings, some beat-down sessions. we'll see how many people that moves, but, will it move 17? i kind of doubt it. >> i think it's fantastic that one thing consistent in washington is there are many people with blind ambition. we

know there are other republicans at least in prior junctions would have seen themselves as a speaker of the house. the fact that no one is maneuvering who has a fighting chance, means, that kevin mccarthy brokered a deal that's so. i'm going to wait for a better time to do it. same with the scalise. this is the closest this would be of being speaker. >> so, any new person would have to abide by the deals given? >> i don't see how they can't. >> who would want to be speaker under a rules package where five people can successfully move to replace you. i would never agree to that. i don't know why scalise would agree with that. >> by the way, i think in the leadership has taken too many.

many of the people making these proposals aren't here to make washington work better, they're not. they're really more about blowing the place up and making sure that you can't govern, they talk in rhetoric, saying oh, we're trying to make the process better, more open transparent, but, nick roy. >> most of these people haven't ever moved bills. they're not serious legislatures, it's about building their profile and what comes next. >> the republican and class still happening. more coverage on the chaos next on the lead with jake tapper .

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ralph, that's the chewy pharmacy box with our flea and tick meds. it's not peanut butter. i know, i know. but every time the box comes, we get the peanut butter. yes, because mom takes the meds out of the box and puts them in the peanut butter. sounds like we're getting peanut butter. yes, but that is the chewy pharmacy box. ♪ the peanut butter box is here. ♪ ♪ the peanut butter box is here ♪ alright, i'm out. pet prescriptions delivered to your door. chewy. >> this is cnn breaking news. welcome to the special edition of the lead, i'm jake tapper and you're watching cnn's special coverage of the growing chaos in the house of representatives. the sixth time this week. this has not happened since 1923. 100 years ago.