At the time of publication, the United States House of Representatives was at a historic standstill in its process of choosing a Speaker for the 118th Congress — a quagmire that could lead to lawmakers delaying committee hearings.
As of Jan. 4, California Representative Kevin McCarthy lost the fifth round of votes to become the next Speaker of the House following Republicans taking majority control of the chamber in the 2022 midterm elections. This marked a rare occurrence — only 15 times in the entire history of Congress since 1789 — when more than one round of voting was required to determine a Speaker, and there’s no end in sight.