good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. the house comes to order. get ready for a political roller coaster ride today for republicans. will their slim majority be able to agree on a speaker? the new congress cannot even get started without choosing a speaker. at this hour, the spotlight is on house republican leader kevin mccarthy, still needing to nail down four more votes to claim

the gavel. this morning, he was not able to bring along a handful of far right lawmakers who oppose his nomination and are demanding more big power concessions from him as the price for going forward. >> we may have a battle on the floor. but the battle is for the conference and the country. that's fine with me. i don't see how a few people -- maybe it's 5, maybe it's 20 -- sit because they want a gravel that they can't earn. that's not what the constituents voted them for. >> this as house democrats united behind hakeem jeffries, with a new younger ship team holding business cards to play as the republicans dissolve into chaos. why is choosing a speaker important? the house cannot form committees or do work on any legislation until there is a presiding officer. it's been a century since it has taken more than one roll call vote to fill the position.

at this hour, we don't know how many votes it will take to elect the next speaker or how long it will drag out and da minute -- diminish republicans control. we are awaiting word on damar hamlin. the bills releasing a statement saying he suffered card arrest. his heartbeat restarted by emergency responders on the field before he was taken off the field by ambulance leaving coaches and players from both teams in tears, shocked and huddling in prayer. moments ago, his family releasing a statement through a close family friend saying they are deeply moved by the recent prayers, the kind words and donations and they will release updates on his condition as soon as they have them. we begin this hour here in washington.

joining me now, nbc's senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake, brendan buck, nbc washington correspondent yamiche alcindor and former democratic congresswoman donna edwards. garrett, let's hear about opponents that spoke a little over an hour ago. >> instead of saying to these folks standing with me, why have you brought us to this point, we surely haven't come here alone. there's one person that could have changed all this. >> here we are being sworn at instead of being sworn in. we could have had this solved months ago. >> if you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge of the exercise. >> garrett, what are mccarthy and his allies expecting now? >> reporter: the bottom line is, the 118th congress is about to get under way.

no one has votes to be speaker. kevin mccarthy is in theory closer than anyone. these morning meetings, afternoon meetings, evening meetings last night, none have moved the needle in his direction. it has hardened the opposition to him among members of the freedom caucus, our far right members, some want votes on specific things, committee assignments or have personal grievances against the republican leader. we are about to see a pressure cooker on the house floor. the majority of the house republican conference and in many cases their friends, family, children here to see them sworn this later today are probably instead going to be watching hour after hour of house votes while the speaker's office or soon to be speaker hopefully speaker kevin mccarthy tries to pressure this faction, as do other republicans like dan crenshaw. really speaking directly to these republican rebels who are

vowing to oppose mckathy. take a listen. >> nobody knows who bob good is. kevin mccarthy took three weeks to call him after kevin mccarthy put $2 million into the election. some of the reasons they have for not voting for mccarthy are petty. >> reporter: crenshaw is probably just to the right of the center of the house republican conference. his comments there reflect a lot of what our team has heard from other republicans in the rank and file who want to get this speaker's vote over with and want to get a move on on their agenda. but they can do nothing, nothing else in the 118th congress, until they elect a speaker. >> garrett, you are standing by throughout. you will have play by play for us as this all goes through and the context. brendan buck, you have been through leadership fights before. you worked for two speakers who were challenged from the freedom caucus, from the tea party, from their own ranks. this is extraordinary.

kevin mccarthy has the majority of this caucus. he is being held by a handful of people. >> this is the dynamic that we have been dealing with for a long time. it finally is coming to a head. some is the reality that the majority is so narrow. it's a five-seat majority. it's hard to look at this in this context of right now. this is years in the making. this is a dozen years of the far right clashing with leadership. the conflict between the house freedom caucus and leadership. kevin mccarthy has been in leadership this entire time. kevin mccarthy came out swinging this morning. in the conference meeting he confronted those people. told them that -- laid out their demands and said, these are unreasonable. tried to use the pressure of the conference to prove the things they are asking for are absolutely objectionable. they would not support them. he confronted them. it's very clear this is not going to be resolved quickly. it's going to go to multiple ballots. this is where a lot of members said, this is the time to have this fight.

let's finally have this conflict and see who comes out on top. i think people are digging in. >> by the way, our house producer is reporting from the house that just before they convened, the sergeant at arms removed the magnatometers. that's a sign the republicans are in charge. it's a slim majority but the rules will change. yamiche, let's talk about what the larger picture is of what this looks like to the country. this is a moment where the republicans should be celebrating the majority. it's slim but they should be celebrating. democrats lost the majority of the house, even though -- by a slimmer margin than at any time in history. they are feeling good about it. the democrats look united and the republicans are splintered. >> it's an incredible moment, andrea. this is a party that should be, as you said, celebrating, should be coalescing around a house speaker, should be saying, this is a new era. we will put checks on president

biden. we have all this agenda items we're going to do. they should be talking about what they want to do for the next two years as they have control of congress. instead, you see this remarkable scene of open warfare in the republican party. i'm really struck by the fact that you had kevin mccarthy come out and say that people are being selfish in this moment, that people -- he was calling on people by name saying matt gaetz is focused on himself and not the country. it's the words you hear from democrats. you hear the battle for the soul of the nation coming from president biden. you have kevin mccarthy talking about his own members saying they have a problem. you have lauren boebert saying that people should be getting sworn in instead of sworn at. which tells you that conference meeting, the last meeting in a series, that they did get heated. there were curse words used with elected officials and lawmakers. this is -- this cannot be a more trying and worse time for

republicans. democrats that i'm talking to, they are sitting back and saying, this is why republicans shouldn't be in control. in some ways, this is in some ways underscoring the point the democrats have been making. we have to see what happens. but it's a remarkable moment and chaotic for the republican party. >> before we move on from the republicans, brendan, i want to point out, it's a footnote now, but george santos, once there's a speaker, will be among those sworn in. kevin mccarthy needs every vote. he cannot criticize and has not criticized george santos, the republican elected from long island who fabricated his resume. he is under investigation from different officials. i think we are seeing him on the floor right now as we speak. the fact is that he is now -- they have reopened the investigation into his behavior in brazil. there's an early federal investigation of him. he is standing behind dan

crenshaw. earlier today we saw him -- we will roll the tape in a bit. we saw him trying to find his way amidst a crush of reporters and cameras, not being able to find his office. no one could be less qualified to be sworn in potentially, as soon as there's a speaker. he will be because kevin mccarthy can't criticize him. >> it's a quirk. he will be voting for who the next speaker is before he actually gets sworn in. it's the first thing that congress does. they can't -- they don't have rules in place for how the house operates. george santos will have a vote because he is qualified under the rules to have a vote here. i don't know how long george santos will last. kevin mccarthy could not afford to rock the boat with him. obviously, he needs george santos' vote. there were people in kevin mccarthy's corner who said, we should give george santos a chance. he wants to keep everything quiet. that's a big problem for kevin mccarthy. i think he sees that as a

tomorrow problem. right now, he has a big enough today problem. >> today is the bigger problem. donna edwards, in watching this, we saw nancy pelosi coming to the floor. she's not on the podium. that is the big change. it was done so gracefully that it doesn't seem as though this was a loss for her or for the democrats. she had plenty of personal reasons with what happened to her husband paul. there was an acknowledged need for leadership change in generations as well. >> i think that's right. what you see among democrats is this brilliance among this new leadership team. the democrats firmly united behind that team and ready to go. then you look across the aisle and it's utter chaos. i think this is really just the beginning of the chaos. democrats are going to have to stay united with their leadership team to make sure that they can thwart and take advantage of the chaos that's

going to be on the other side. >> garrett, in talking about nancy pelosi, i'm thinking of when we were live in 2006 that she was taking the gavel as the first woman speaker, the first time she did, and called all the children up to the podium and said, it's about the children, which is something as you know she says very often now, and seeing the children, we should point out members are allowed on this one day to bring their families to the floor for the opening of every new congress. it's quite a moment with their families, the kids there, spouses. of course, now, bogged down in this incredibly embarrassing for republicans leadership fight over who will be the speaker. >> reporter: it may be well past the children's bedtime by the time there's a speaker to invite anybody down on the floor tonight to celebrate. i think that's one of the dynamics at play here. frankly, on the politics of it, could work to kevin mccarthy's advantage. as you pointed out, there are spouses, children, extended families, members from both

parties who have come here today to participate in a day that's usually a celebration, particularly for the new majority. they want to get their picture taken. they want to shake hands with the new speaker. they want to be part of this historic day. they don't want to do it at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning or friday. that dynamic, that little bit of pressure, in the same way we joke about the senate magic, that approaches holidays and things, where members want to get home, so they vote for things they might not otherwise vote for, it's possible you could see a similar dynamic at play here from spouses and family members perhaps texting members to say, get this rolling here. we have other places to be. >> stay with us. we will be here for a while watching this play out. first, let's bring in msnbc national political correspondent steve kornacki. what are you watching for? explain -- let's get in the

weeds -- how they get to 218. >> let's take you through the math. what's about to happen is the democrats are going to nominate hakeem jeffries for speaker. the republicans will nominate kevin mccarthy for speaker. the way the vote works on the house floor is they call out every individual member or member elect. they haven't been sworn in yet. every member elect shouts out their vote. the republicans, mostccarthy. the democrats, probably all will say jeffries. they could vote for anybody else. these republicans could vote for a different republican, andy biggs from arizona put his name forward. a republican could vote for bob smith, pick any name out of a hat. the problem for mccarthy is the balance right now is there's 222 republican members elect, 212 democrats. this one vacant seat, a democrat who passed away after the

election and before today. that means if all republicans, all democrats do cast votes here in the next hour, we expect, there will be 434 total votes. you need 50% plus one. a majority. in this scenario, it's 218. that would be what mccarthy needs on this first ballot. if you need 218 and you are kevin mccarthy, you have already got these five republicans who for weeks now have been adamantly saying they are no. if they vote and they vote for somebody besides mccarthy, if they voted for biggs let's say, then mccarthy best case is at 217. then if every democrat is voting, we said the magic number in that scenario is 218. these are the five most obvious. there are other republicans, including within the last hour, who sent signals they seem likely to vote no on mccarthy and vote for somebody else as well. that's why we are talking about this potentially first time in

100 years a speaker's vote goes to the second ballot. one thing mccarthy might be hoping for, there could be a motion to adjourn, all possibilities enter into the picture. what mccarthy's people are probably hoping for, if it goes to a second ballot, you take a look at a lot of the republicans who maybe vote for somebody else on the first ballot, here is the catch to the rules. if you vote present or if you just don't vote -- some of these republicans would be able to say, i didn't vote for mccarthy. but if you vote present, it lowers the threshold. there's 434 votes cast. let's say eight republicans who don't like mccarthy on the second or third or fourth bet, they vote present, now you only have 426 official votes cast. a mjority would be 214, not

218. suddenly in that scenario, mccarthy could afford a few defections. that's something that entered into play. of course, the other twist, if you got too many republicans doing that, democrats are sitting there potentially on 212 votes for hakeem jeffries. a lot of possibilities enter into play that we haven't been talking about in a century. >> you don't even have to be a member of congress to be the speaker. so steve, something could nominate you. stand by. everyone be ready. thanks, steve. we will keep track with you of the vote and the vote counts and make sure to check steve's timely podcast, the revolution, with steve kornacki. it's about the 1994 republican takeover of congress. something i covered. which changed both political parties forever. the house republicans seem to be in disarray. house democrats are as we say more united than at any time in recent memory. incoming minority leader hakeem jeffries of new york becomes the first black lawmaker to lead a

party in congress. he talked with msnbcari -- ari melber. >> they are dealing with crisis, confusion and craziness. it's a product of the trump years and the fact that they refuse to push back against donald trump's emergence and all that that represented. in many ways, you reap what you sow. that's what we are seeing. >> joining me now is democratic congresswoman debbie dingell of michigan. i know you have to get ready for the action. is there any scenario in which any democrat would help kevin mccarthy become speaker for the sake of the institution, to get things going, to get things organized? or are you sitting back and watching the republicans have their fight? >> i would virtually almost

guarantee there's no. >> daymeon: -- no democrat that would vote for kevin mccarthy. i don't think he will get it on the first ballot. the buzz is there may be more republicans not voting for him on the second ballot. my guess is we see the first two and then one of the freedom caucus or a member may vote to adjourn. i don't think the votes will be there to adjourn. they would go into caucus. i think if we're on a fifth or sixth or seventh ballot, you might see some interesting dynamics. i'm hearing a ton of scenarios. many of you might have read don bacon saying he might nominate somebody a member of congress last time. we will have to see. it's an interesting afternoon, maybe evening. who knows what will happen. >> what do you think long-term affect on congress as an

institution is for this kind of chaos to be taking place in just choosing who is the speaker of the house, second in line for the presidency? >> i think at the end of this, we have to come together. i'm someone that you know will work across the aisle. i am hoping that this chaos is not what we're going to see for the next two years. i'm hoping there are leaders inside the republican caucus that know that they can't be like that. for one, the sake of the country. two, they're not going to keep their majority if that chaos continues. i do think this week is going to be chaotic. i think kevin mccarthy has had to make a lot of promises that are a danger to this congress. it hasn't worked either. i'm hoping at the end of this when we know and see who the leadership is that we're all going to pull together in some way to protect america and to work together on some really pressing issues in this country. >> it's been noted that the

magnatometers are down. it's one sign the republicans are in charge. they have the numbers, majority, slim though it be. what do you think that shows and what other changes do you think in the procedural -- i guess you don't know what other concessions will have to be made by the new speaker, if it's kevin mccarthy. what other changes about the process do you see? >> i noticed when i came out to do the interview, i went -- i had to go through them twice today. they did come down very quickly. i think they will have a serious problem. i think they have not yet focused on the fact that we no longer have proxy voting. there's only a four-vote majority. the week that i had covid, there were ten members that had covid. you get deaths or covid that goes through the house, and you will not have votes you need on either side. i think that's going to be a

major issue when the majority is so close. one of the first votes we will have today is to rescinded additional irs auditors that were put into place not to go after everyday people but to try to make everybody pay their fair share. the irs has been behind for years. i think that's where we're going to start to feel some of the pain of the messages that they're trying to send. i think -- i will say this on msnbc, a fox talking point, i heard it back home as people are screaming about it, thinking the irs will come after them, which is a falsehood. but you are going to see policy issues like that that will -- if we get the speaker issue resolved, that's a vote that will be taken today. >> finally, i want to ask you about nancy pelosi. how do you think she is today? do you think she has any regrets about staying in congress in the minority? there's lots of talk of

ambassadorships dangled in front of her. >> nancy pelosi is a very strong, tough woman. i have nothing but the utmost respect for. she knew exactly what she was doing when she said she would stay here. she's going to always be a leader in this institution. she's helping to mentor the next generation. i think in a way, it's probably a relief to her to have the new generation have to handle some of this drama. but she will be there with words of wisdom. >> there she is on the floor with her successor. the democratic leader -- sorry -- >> i don't think that's hakeem. >> i'm sorry. it's christopher murphy. small monitor. we will fix my eye or the monitor. that's nancy pelosi in the pink suit being photographs with a lot of her members on the floor with her new place on the floor

and not on the podium. congresswoman debbie dingell, thank you very much. thanks for being with us. stay with us for all the drama on and around the floor as the question of who will be the next speaker of the house remains unanswered. prayers on the field. the outpouring of love and support for buffalo bills player damar hamlin who remains in critical condition. what we know about what happened. that's coming next. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. power e*trade's award-winning trading app makes trading easier. with its customizable options chain, easy-to-use tools, and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. ♪ when pain says, “i'm here,” ♪ i say, “so are they.” just one aleve. 12 hours of uninterrupted pain relief. aleve who do you take it for?

more breaking news from the floor. garrett haake joining us. you spoke to kevin mccarthy. what did he tell you? >> reporter: with a cheer, mccarthy came out of his office, flanked by some of his staffers and supporters, and walked to the house floor. he stopped right about where i'm standing now and really laid the onus of this challenge at the feet of his opponents saying what they're doing is selfish, what they are doing is about themselves and not the conference. he said the country elected republicans to lead in the house. he is prepared to do it. he said he has been negotiating in good faith about the rules of the conference, the rules of this congress, trying to address the concerns of some of the members for months. now, it's time for them to get to work and to govern. setting the stage for what could be a protracted pressure campaign today to bring enough

of those rebel republicans around in voting for him. remember the math today. he can lose four votes if every member is present and voting. how long do these other republicans hold out in what he says is the face of the voters, the republican voters who have sent them all here? he predicted that he will never drop out of the race in answer to one reporter's , he holds the record for the longest floor speech on the house floor. he is comfortable if he chases the record for the most votes to become speaker. >> we see kevin mccarthy is right there on the other side of the screen. he is on the floor. he is next to sheila jackson lee from texas. talking as though he has no concerns in the world. not twisting arms in any case now after having a really tough caucus meeting. garrett, the next steps are to convene probably at 20 of.

we have about 10, 12 more minutes. he will be nominated by elyse stefanik. >> reporter: elected as a moderate from upstate new york. someone who really embraced donald trump, and the trump style. she rose in the republican ranks. took over the role of conference chair when liz cheney was forced out of that position. she's one of the more junior members of the republican leadership team but someone close to donald trump. has endorsed him for his presidential campaign. it's not clear how much cache her support brings for mccarthy. the symbolism of picking her here, a woman, a younger member of the conference, someone close to the former president, is all the kinds of things he would

like to wrap himself in as he takes the speakership bid to the floor today. >> of course, that's the new elyse stefanik. she came in as a young member and someone who was much more moderate. in fact, proclaimed herself a moderate. going into her third term, did not enjoy any power in the trump world. someone who once called donald trump a whack job. then became one of his closest acolytes. there's been a lot of profiling of her and what some would call the hypocrisy of her current position. but a rising party in this republican party. we want to talk about the most heartbreaking football game that any of us have seen. right now, buffalo bills safety damar hamlin sedated in critical condition at a cincinnati hospital. the 24-year-old collapsing during the first quarter of monday night football and going

into cardiac arrest on the field. needing his heart to be restored by medical staff before being transported to a medical center. a few minutes ago, the hamlin family releasing a statement through a close family friend saying that they will release updates on his condition when they have them and that generosity and compassion from across the country means the world to them. joining me now is buffalo news writer jay skirski who was at the game last night and dr. joseph sakron, a trauma and critical care surgeon at johns hopkins. you were there. we were all watching. this was a huge game. you were tweeting about what you witnessed on the field. we saw him collapse. the defibrillator taken out quickly. they have medical teams at the ready. being ambulanced out. we saw players crying, coaches praying. tell us what it was like.

>> you know, covering the nfl for as long as i have, you get accustom to seeing injuries, sometimes serious. the players themselves get accustom to seeing it. the thing that made this so different for me was the reactions from the players. it was apparent immediately that this was something far more significant than a typical football-related injury. it was -- it ended up being so much different. to see a world class 24-year-old athlete having cpr performed on him in the middle of a football field was jarring for me. it was horrifying for me, quite frankly. i think it was horrifying for everyone in that stadium. i can't imagine the anguish that damar hamlin's teammates, his family, his mother was at the game, rode with him to the hospital, what his coaches were feeling at that time. >> doctor, can you give us a better idea of the kind of medical care that damar hamlin is receiving today?

apparently, his heart did stop and it was restarted with the defibrillator. it's fortunate that they -- at all nfl games, they have a team of 20 people. we often see the orthopedic teams coming out. sadly and tragically for the players. this was more serious. >> yeah. far more serious. let me say that our thoughts and prayers are with damar, his family. what we saw last night i think jay summed up beautifully. it was horrifying. the health care professionals did what they are trained to do, which is they immediately responded in someone who had cardiac arrest with cpr as well as the aed defibrillator. there's a lot of information that we don't know at this time. that early response in providing that life saving care is so critical. we have heard that before damar

left the field, that he had return of circulation, which is a positive sign. i think at this point with everything that's happening at the university of cincinnati, they are taking extra measures to ensure he is getting all the life saving care that he needs to have the best prognostic care. >> the hit didn't see worse than a lot we see. what do you think happened? was it because -- i'm going to -- >> it's hard to know exactly -- go ahead. >> i'm going to interrupt. [ cheers and applause ]

>> in just two years of failed one party democrat rule, the american people have suffered from a historic border crisis, rampant crime, crippling inflation, rising energy costs, runaway debt, unconstitutional attacks on our fundamental freedoms and weakness at home and abroad. the people across this great nation spoke loudly and clearly that they wanted a new direction. they wanted a new direction to stop this radical far left agenda, to hold joe biden accountable and to save the united states of america. under kevin mccarthy's leadership, house republicans drafted a bold vision to put our nation back on track.

our commitment to america is a promise to the american people that this new republican majority will stand up for an economy that's strong, a nation that's safe, a future that's built upon freedom and a government that's accountable to the people. [ applause ] kevin mccarthy is the proud son of a firefighter and a fourth generation californian. home to wildcaters, and the right stuff. bakersfield embodies the spirit to work hard and dream big. this spirit is what we need in our next speaker. kevin mccarthy is a strong conservative. he is proudly pro-life, a supporter of our second amendment rights and he is committed to stopping wasteful government spending and shrinking the size of government. when republicans last held the

majority, kevin helped to reduce domestic spending and lower the tax burden on hard working american families. as a republican leader over the past several years, kevin has taken the fight to one party democrat rule on behalf of the american people. he helped bring this historic border crisis to the national consciousness, a crisis kevin made sure democrats could no longer ignore. he fought for and succeeded in repealing the ill-advised military covid vaccine mandate. he stood on this very floor and spoke for a record eight hours and 35 minutes to not only delay the vote in the house but to make the case that ultimately defeated joe biden and house democrats' dangerous build back broke legislation. no one -- no one in this body has worked harder for this republican majority than kevin mccarthy. [ applause ]

since the day kevin was elected as our leader, house republicans have only gained seats and won. while republicans in the senate and state legislatures lost seats, house republicans are the only ones who have consistently won, because kevin knows what we stand for. he knows when we should engage in the fight and. and he knows how to build consensus. kevin has done the work of listening to all americans, traveling to nearly every district in this country, fighting for conservative values and fighting for the people that are committed to upholding them. kevin has shown up in these communities. i can guarantee, he has shown up in the districts of many of our colleagues across the aisle as well. his relentless effort yielded an extraordinary new house republican majority that represents our country's

greatness from all walks of life. when the last congress gavelled in two years ago, every new republican welcomed to our conference was a woman, veteran or minority. today's house republican conference is the most diverse republican conference in our nation's history. [ applause ] a seasoned legislator, an experiencing leader, a friend to so many of us, a proud conservative with a tireless work ethic. kevin mccarthy has earned this speakership of the people's house. madam clerk, as the chair of the republican conference, it's my high honor to present our conference's nominee for election to the office of speaker of the people's house, the honorable kevin mccarthy from the state of california. and i yield back. [ cheers and applause ]

>> the clerk now recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. aguilar. >> madam clerk, i rise today at the direction of the house democratic caucus to place into nomination for election to the position of speaker of the house of representatives the pride of brooklyn, hakeem jeffries of new york. [ cheers and applause ]

today, madam clerk, house democrats are united -- [ cheers and applause ] united by a speaker who will put people over politics. hakeem jeffrie worked his life to improve economic opportunity for all people. he is committed to strengthening the american dream by lowering costs for working families, building safer communities, by taking weapons of war off streets and by creating good paying jobs in industries of the future. as we work to implement our historic legislative accomplishments of the last two years, house democrats are united behind a speaker who wants to make things in america and bring home jobs that have been shipped overseas. [ cheers and applause ]

to write a tax code that rewards hard work, not wealth. to invest in clean energy that reduces our country's dependence on fossil fuels. from voting rights to reproductive rights, we are united, madam clerk. [ cheers and applause ] we are unified behind a speaker who is an unapologetic advocate for protecting and expanding our freedom. he does not traffic in extremism. [ cheers and applause ] he does not grovel to or make excuses for a twice impeached so-called former president. [ cheers and applause ]

madam clerk, he does not bend a knee to anyone who would seek to undermine our democracy. [ cheers and applause ] because, madam clerk, that's not what leaders do. because he understands what great leaders of this house understand, that this body and this institution are best equipped to serve the needs of this democracy and the beautiful mosaic of the members it sends. our responsibilities of members is protect the american dream and honor the sacrifice of the generations before us. like the sacrifice of a mother and social worker who borrowed against a pension to put their kids through school.

today, hakeem's leadership style is quite simple. spread love, it's the brooklyn way. [ cheers and applause ] and it is born of this working class upbringing in that same bureau, they were raised in the first home their parents bought and it's where they live today. his younger brother saw a future leader. his mother saw a thoughtful, passionate young man. where his father saw a competitor, whose gpa went up when his younger brother started high school. his family always at his side, some here with us today and some watching from home, his mom and

dad, kenny, jj, joshua and his younger brother. mrs. jefferies says it doesn't matter what you do, but it has to be done in the service of people. he is going to serve all of us so we can serve the american public. that commitment to succeed of those around you is what shaped his career and what will shape our joint future together. he knows success isn't about personal achievement. he is the leader who will be with you in the beginning, whether it's your bill in an important priority in your district, he will ride alongside you as you do the work and he will be there at the end to see you through. because he knows that our success means that we can raise the quality of life for our constituents, creating better jobs and building safer communities. he has guided every step of the way by his faith and his mom --

that his mom instilled in him. sunday mornings weren't always easy. the young man knew he wanted to be a lawyer would argue with his mom about going to church that day. but failure is a good teacher. he lost those arguments. now hakeem goes to church every weekend, sometimes that one where his church family is at cornerstone baptist, or somewhere else in the district where he can meet his constituents where they are. he remembers that after church on sundays, he would go to nano's house where there was an open door at his grandmother's house for the neighborhood and their elders to come through with food and conversation. a young hakeem listening to everything, but usually just trying to catch the score of the jets game. this is where wisdom gets passed down. now guided by the faith and wisdom of leaders like jim clyburn, greg meaks, steny hoyer and nancy pelosi. [ cheers and applause ]

it is shaped by that guidance that we are prepared to nominate a leader who will open the door to the new generation of leadership. madam clerk, a latino is nominating for leader of this chamber, a black man for the first time in our history. [ cheers and applause ] madam clerk, that's progress and it is progress the country wants to continue. for this congress and for our country. therefore, as chair of the democratic caucus, i am directed

by the vote of that caucus to present for election to the office of speaker of the house of representatives for the 118th congress the name of the honorable hakeem jeffries, representative elect from the state of new york. chpz [ cheers and applause ] . . >> the names of the honorable kevin mccarthy, a representative elect from the state of california, and the honorable hakeem jeffries, representative elect from the state of new york, have been placed in nomination. are there further nominations?

>> madam clerk, there is. >> the gentleman from arizona is recognized. >> america knows that washington is broken. the power doesn't reside in the speaker. it doesn't in the majority nor minority leader nor the whip. the power resides in we the people, the people who entrusted us here, each individual member, to represent their district, their state and the federal government. washington's broken. we are the last ones to know. a wise person once told me, good process builds good policy builds good politics. we gotta return to that. it is with that that i place the name of my friend and colleague from arizona andy biggs for speaker of the house. thank you. [ applause ] >> are there further

nominations? there being no further nominations, the clerk appoints the following tellers. the gentleman from georgia, mr. loudermilk, miss lee, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. steele and the gentleman from new york, mr. morelli. the tellers will come forward and take their seats at the desk in front of the speaker's rostrum.

>> the names of the honorable kevin mccarthy, a representative-elect from the state of california, the honorable hakeem jeffries, a representative-elect from the state of new york, and the honorable andy bigs, a representative-elect from the state of arizona, have been placed in nomination. the role now will be called. and those responding to those names will indicate by sir name the nominee of their choosing. the reading clerk will now call the roll.

>> adams. >> jeffries. >> mccarthy. aguilar? >> jeffries.

>> alford? >> mccarthy. >> alan? mccarthy. >> allred? >> jeffries. >> armstrong? >> mccarthy. >> arrington? >> mccarthy. >> auchincloss? >> jeffries. >> babin? >> mccarthy. >> bacon?

>> mccarthy. >> baird? >> mccarthy. >> balderson? >> mccarthy. >> balint? >> jeffries. >> banks? >> mccar thi. >> barr? >> mccarthy. >> barragan? >> jeffries. >> bean of florida? >> mccarthy. >> beatty? >> i vote for jeffries. >> bentz? >> kevin mccarthy. >> bera? >> jeffries.

>> bergman? >> mccarthy. >> beyer? >> jeffries. >> bice? >> kevin mccarthy. >> bigs? >> bigs.gs? >> biggs. >> bilirakis? >> kevin mccarthy. >> bishop of georgia? >> jeffries. >> bishop of north carolina? >> biggs. >> blumenauer? >> jeffries.

>> blunt rochester? >> jeffries. >> boebert? >> cast my vote for jordan. >> bonamici? >> jeffries. >> bost? >> kevin mccarthy. >> bowman? >> hakeem jeffries. >> boyle of pennsylvania? >> jeffries. >> brecheen?

>> banks. >> brown? >> hkeem jeffries. >> brownley? >> jeffries. >> buchanan? >> mccarthy. >> buck? >> is mccarthy. >> bucshon? >> mccarthy. >> budzinski? >> jeffries. >> burchett?

>> mccarthy. >> burgess? >> mccarthy. burlison? >> mccarthy. >> bush? jeffries. >> calvert? >> mccarthy. >> cammack? >> mccarthy. >> carbajal? >> jeffries. >> cardenas? >> jeffries. car, y?

>> mccarthy. >> carl? >> mccarthy. >> carson? >> jeffries. >> carter of georgia? >> kevin mccarthy. >> carter of louisiana? >> hakeem jeffries. >> carter of texas? >> mccarthy. >> cartwright? >> jeffries. >> casar? >> jeffries. >> case? >> jeffries. >> casten?

>> jeffries. >> castor of florida? >> jeffries. >> castro of texas? jeffries. >> chavez-deremer? >> mccarthy. >> cherfilus-mccormick? >> jeffries. >> chu? >> jeffries. >> cicilline? >> jeffries.cikomani? >> mccarthy. >> clark of massachusetts? >> jeffries. >> clarke of new