In a chaotic turn of events that dragged on for two days, House Republicans failed to elect a Speaker after Kevin McCarthy could not overcome opposition within his own party.

With all members voting, McCarthy needed to meet the majority threshold at 218. Not only did McCarthy lack the votes, he consistently got fewer votes than House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries—who has unanimous support in his caucus. In all six recorded votes, Jeffries finished first at 212 votes—with McCarthy lagging behind at around 201.

Until the U.S. House elects a Speaker, the Constitution says they are unable to conduct any other business. Fortunately, there is an easy way out of this—either six Republicans could vote for Hakeem Jeffries, or eleven can vote "present" to allow the 212 votes for Jeffries to be enough to win and take office.

Hakeem Jeffries is an impressive leader who has served in Congress for 10 years, and has a well-deserved reputation as a consensus builder. As Rep. Pete Aguilar reminded the House: "[Jeffries] does not traffic in extremism. He does not grovel to or make excuses for a twice-impeached former president. He does not bend the knee to anyone who would seek to undermine our democracy."

Sign the petition to Congress: Vote Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker!