host: 20 republicans opposed his bid for speaker, rejecting him as their speaker. now they're presumably going behind closed doors to hash this out until they come back tomorrow at noon to attacker this up -- to take this up again. your reaction to the opening day of the 118th congress and what you saw on the house floor here on c-span. white we wait for you to call -- while we wait for you to call in, let's go back to earlier in the day, when congressman jim jordan, republican of ohio, ahead of the second round of voting, nominated kevin mccarthy as speaker.

he went after his nomination speech, 19 republicans did not flip their votes and vote for kevin mccarthy. they voted for jim jordan. take a listen. mr. jordan: i nominate kevin mccarthy for speaker of the house. [applause] >> the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, madam clerk. i think we have three objectives this congress. three fundamental things we have to get done in the 118th congress. first, pass the bills that fix the problems. in two years' time, we have a border that is no longer a border. we have a military that can't meet its recruitment goals, we

have bad energy policies, bad education policy, record spending, record inflation, record debt and a government that has been weaponized against we the people. against the very people we represent. we need to pass legislation to address all that. and i hope my democrat colleagues will join me. i really do. but i have my doubts. and if they don't and if chuck schumer says, no, we're not going to take up that legislation that we passed and if joe biden won't sign it, so be it. they'll have to answer to the people in 2024. second, second, we can never, ever let a bill like the one that passed 12 days ago, $1.7 trillion spend, we can never, ever let that kind of legislation pass again. [cheers and applause] we have to pass a budget that

makes sense, that's good, commonsense, and appropriation bills that recognizes the people's money, not ours. and send it to the senate and then stand firm on that legislation. and, again, if they won't take it up, and joe biden won't sign it, we can stand firm on a c.r. or something, we can have that fight. but we are not going to have what took place a week and a half ago ever happen again. amend then finally, third, and this is important, we have to do the oversight, do the investigation -- >> order. order. >> we have to do the oversight and the investigations that need to be done. this idea that bureaucrats who never put their name on a ballot but think they run the country, who have assaulted our constituents' first amendment liberty, they need to be held accountable. that has to happen. we need to do it -- [applause]

we need to do it in a way that's consistent with the constitution, but we need to do it vigorously and aggressively. that is part of our duty as members of this body. to my friends here on this side of the aisle, i would just say this. the differences we may have, the differences between joyce and jordan or biggs and bacon, they pale in comparison to the differences between us and the left which now unfortunately controls the other party. so we had better come together and fight for these key things, these three things. that's what the people want us to do. and i think kevin mccars that i the right guy to -- mccarthy's the right guy to lead us. i really do or i wouldn't be standing up giving this speech. i came in with kevin. we came in the same time, 16 years ago. we haven't always agreed on everything but i like his fight, i like his tens asy and i --

tenacity, i remember kevin told me, he said, the toughest times in life are when you get knocked down. the question is, can you come back? i've always seen him be able to do that. we need to rally around him, come together and deal with these three things. because this is what the people sent us here to do. my favorite scripture verse is second timothy 4 dplnch 7, he says, fight the good fight, finish the course, keep the faith. i like the verse because it's a verse of action. fight, finish, keep. not wimpy words, words that i think fit america. that's what the american people want us to do. they want us to fight for the things they care about and they elected us to do. and we should all remember, we should all remember, only about 12,000 people have ever had the opportunity to do what we're doing today. sit in this body, serve in this congress. it is a privilege. it is an opportunity. we owe it to them, the american people, the good people of this great country, to step forward,

to come together, get a speaker elected so we can address these three things. i hope you'll vote for kevin mccarthy and that's why i'm proud to nominate him for speaker of the house. [cheers and applause] host: ohio, republican, jim jordan, from earlier today, nominating kevin mccarthy for speaker. that was ahead of the second round of voting. kevin mccarthy did not get enough votes the first round, the second round or the third round. g.o.p. defections were at 20 after the third round of voting. moments ago the house adjourned until noon tomorrow. with what's next is lindsey mcpherson who is the roll call

senior reporter and joining us now to talk about what happens tomorrow. before we get to tomorrow, what do you know about what's happening on capitol hill right now? are republicans going to go behind closed doors this evening or will they wait until tomorrow? reporter: i'm cuently standing in the hallways outside of the chambers people are kind of all wandering around so i think it's no totally clear. it looks like there will be at least some individual or small group meetings with kevin mccarthy tonight. i don't knowf they're going to have a full-on conference eting. those typically aren't the most productive places to negotiate. there will probably be more private associating among the 19 who have a specific proem with kevin mccarthy. the 20th -- [indiscernle] -- it's clear mccarthy doesn't have

a path and he wanted to -- [indiscernible] -- so they could negotiate who would. and so that happened so don't really think he's the main issue. the other 19, they have to figure out how can mccarthy get their votes or if he can neve get them, or not enough of them, he would need fo to get the win. or -- host: setting aside byron donalds, kevin mccarthy needs to flip 15 of those 19 by tomorrow at noon. reporter: right. or, well, i mean, to win the next ballo they're having it at noon. it's not an easy tk, by any means, becse some of those 19 are pretty stefast in their opposition to kevin mccarthy. there's an inherent distrust for some members. they don't believe he'll deliver onhings he promised.

they've had negotiations before, particularly on big spending bills that didn't advocate for republican priorities enough. they want more commitments from him. he also doesn't want to go too far to the right of his conference when he has, you know, a center and a middle to worry about as well. so you can't really commit to some of the things they're asking f without turning off some of his suprters. it's a difficult dynamic to navigate andt's unclear how they're going come out of it and find a way that everyone's going to be happy. host: what is the big concession that they want kevin mccarthy to make? reporter: some of the latest asks have been about spending bills. they want, for example, individual votes on the house floor to add the earmarks to spending bills. mostly because they oppose earmarks but the republican conference had proposed or they voted to keep in place earmarks for this congress after democrats brought them back. now some conservatives want 2/3 votes on amendments that add

earmarks, instead of just ding them in the bills. they want to be le to have automatic amendments on any amendments that would cut spending. they wt mccarthy to agree am -- they're not particularly well represented in big committees riek ways and means and -- like ways and means a energy and commerce and oversight, there's maybe one or so. theyant more representation on those panels. and finally they've had a political demand, they think mccart and his allies and leadership, they have a lot of committees they think have been working against kevtives -- conservatives in primaries to defeat them and they want that to stop and a firm commitment on that. all of these things e negotiation of progress but some of them are more heavy lifts than others in terms of asks. host: lindsey mcpherson covers capitol hill for c.q. roll call.

you can follow her on twitter @linsem cpherson. for the latest on that, we'll let you get back to it. reporter: thank you, appreciate it. host: we'll go to your reaction now. what you saw on the house floor today. no speaker has been elected, as you saw hakeem jeffries, the democratic leader from new york, he was able to keep his caucus in line, all 212 democrats voting for him. but you need 218 to become speaker. so while he had more votes on the screen than kevin mccarthy, he did not and he likely would not get six republicans to join democrats to give him to 18. kevin mccarthy needs 218 votes of the 434 that have been voting today and are expected to vote tomorrow. ira in california, let's hear from you, an independent. what do you think of what

happened on the floor today? caller: i'm wondering why all the democrats sit together and all the republicans sit together, why don't these people come together? i remember in high school i'd go in and sit with people i didn't know and before too long i know these people. host: how are they to come together on this speaker vote? what do you want to happen? caller: well, i just am saying they're never going to come together if they just sit in their little clan together and all the republicans sit together and do their little thing. i'd like it see them somehow go a democrat and republican, democrat, republican. so they're mixed throughout the chamber. host: all right. jason, new jersey. democratic caller. your reaction. caller: yeah. that was just outrageous what besaw today -- what we saw today. clearly the republican party is divided in the house and maybe not even the house, but honestly

i think if the republicans decide to just put more votes toward that democratic candidate, a democratic speaker and a republican majority house, that would just be interesting and something very interesting to see some day in history. host: all right. steve, anaheim, republican. caller: hi. i don't know. i thought it was an embarrelsment for my party. if this is the way they're going to even pick a speaker, i mean, what's going to be in the future? it seems to me they're more interested in having am committees to investigate whatever they want to investigate than actually solving the real problem out there such as inflation, health care, women's rights, child care. you know, all this stuff, immigration, i think i said that. but i don't know.

it doesn't bode well for how we're starting off. host: who do you want to be speaker? caller: right now i don't really have a person. but i would like to -- i'm trying to remember the representative from ohio, i can't remember his name right offhand. i would like to see him -- host: jim jordan? caller: no, not jordan. i'm trying to remember, when i was watching, you guys had earlier on the debates, i just have -- the party is changing so we're getting new blood in there. that's why i can't remember. sorry about that. host: that's ok. that's all right. margaret in aurora, illinois, independent. what do you think of the opening day of the 118th congress? they didn't get very far. one of the first orders of

business is the speaker votes and five hours-plus later, we don't have a speaker yet. caller: i'm more than happy to see that they can't decide on anything. the confusion is just great with me. i don't want them to accomplish anything and they never will. we need gun control in this country. unfortunately we're going to all be going out the door with helmets on our heads and bulletproof vests on pretty soon. they have to do something about gun control. the immigration problem is happening all over the world. the united kingdom, germany. number one countries around the world are being invaded by people who are just very poor and are looking for a chance to get ahead in the world. and we have to sort of narrow things down to our hemisphere, the western hemisphere. and appoint something like the u.n. to find out why all of these people living in these south american, central american countries are finding it necessary to leave and come here.

and that is probably because of drug dealers who are driving them out of their homes, stealing the deeds to their property, kidnapping their children and assaulting them at every turn. host: all right, margaret. margaret in illinois, we'll leave it there. andy biggs, the republican from arizona, who was nom nateed for speaker -- nom nateed for speaker in the first round of voting, in part leading the opposition to kevin mccarthy, says, quote, talks ongoing with kevin mccarthy to resolve the impasse that we saw on the floor today. brad, republican, minnesota. what did you think of this? caller: i think it's all right. it's ok. that's what it's all about. this is what we call politics. we'll differ. and there's 20 people that are saying, no, no, thanks. and the one lady you had on earlier that was talking from

the c.q. roll call, she was really, really good, but she's talking about some things that are really important that people need to understand that just throwing an earmark the way they do, and then voting on them the way they do, is wrong. ok? so i think that there needs to be consensus but to think we need to make a charade out of this, i mean, listen to these comments you got. they watch way too much msnbc, for god's sakes. host: so who do you think should be speaker? caller: well, you know what we could do? how about me. if you got a twitter account, we'll start brad olson for speaker of the house. me. because i think i could do just as good a job at any of them. host: ok. who do you think could get 218 votes? caller: well, with your help, are you kidding me? [laughter] host: ok. mark in florida, independent.

caller: is this for mark? hi, how are you doing? i wanted to say, greta, the last time i told but -- that i talked with you a month ago, was about the rock on your finger. and it's only because i knew you long before that. i just want to put a smile on your face. but what i want to say today was really, really good. it was a fantastic day. speaking tongues for the american people on who wants to go in what direction. jeffries would be the pick over mccarthy because he's not going to get it, just because they want to go backwards, they want to do the same thing over and over again. host: who is they? caller: the republicans. they want to do the same thing over and over again. you know, as the speaker of the

house and everything, and it's like, we went from white water to white stain. that's just crazy. host: ok, mark. we'll keep taking your calls, getting your reaction to this opening day of the 118th congress. they are going to start a second day of votes for speaker tomorrow at noon. now, historically votes have gone longer. the record is 133 ballots, lasting over two months. kevin mccarthy telling reporters earlier he'd be happy to beat that record. they will come back to vote at noon tomorrow. we'll continue with your phone calls, so keep dialing in. while we wait, let's listen to earlier on the floor today, matt gaetz, republican of florida, part of those opposition to kevin mccarthy, nominating jim

jordan, republican of ohio, to be speaker, even though jim jordan was asking his republican colleagues to back kevin mccarthy. mr. gaetz: sometimes we have to do jobs that we don't really want to do. and sometimes we have to do jobs that we are called to do and so, my colleagues, i rise to nominate the most talented, hardest working member of the republican conference, who just gave a speech with more vision than we have ever heard from the alternative. i'm nominating jim jordan. jim jordan is humble, perhaps today humble to a fault. maybe the right person for the job of speaker of the house isn't someone who wants it so bad. maybe the right person for the job of speaker of the house isn't someone who has sold shares of themselves for more than a decade to get it. maybe jim jordan is the right person for speaker of the house

because he is not beholden to the lobbyists and special interests who have corrupted this place and corrupted this nation under the leadership of both republicans and democrats. maybe jim jordan would be the right person for speaker of the house because he wouldn't fight us when we tried to get a term limits bill on the floor. maybe he would be the right person because he wouldn't fight us when we try to put a balanced budget on the floor and vote for it and maybe jim jordan is the right person because he would endorse the plan that was built by the texas delegation to finally secure our border. mr. jordan said in his nomination that there are certain bills that we have to pass to fix the problem. the challenge is the alternative has been someone voting for the very bills that have caused these problems. mr. jordan says that we cannot accept legislation like the omnibus. and i fully agree and if jim jordan were speaker of the house, if he were the leader of

the republican team, we wouldn't have that circumstance, choking the economy of our country, increasing inflation, and diminishing the prospects of a better life for our fellow americans. and finally, mr. jordan said, we must engage in rigorous oversight. every one of my republican colleagues knows that the person who can lead that oversight effort, who works on it every day, who has the skill and the talent and the will is jim jordan. i'm nominating him and i'm voting for him. [applause] host: florida republican matt gaetz earlier today nominating jim jordan, the lawmaker from ohio, to be speaker. he did get in several rounds of voting multiple votes for speaker. from cnn, jim jordan telling me there's no chance he will become house speaker.

he won 20 votes on the last ballot. dwight in california, an independent. what do you make of all of this? caller: greta, how are you doing today? when i think of all this, this is terrible. this is outrageous. here we have a majority party that don't even know who they want to lead them. so how are they going to lead the country? you can say what you want to say about nancy pelosi, but she had her caucus in check. all of them went along with nancy pelosi. the sharpest politician that we've had in years. and now we turn this thing over to these people who don't even have their stuff together? i'm an independent caller and i really am glad that we do have a divided government because that actually keeps things in balance. but the republican party not being able to choose a speaker, come on, man. this is just terrible

governance. how are they going to make laws for us when they can't even choose who is going to lead them? and this is washington, d.c.. this is america. and look at what we have. a cut rate second party. and mccarthy, don't trust jim jordan. jim jordan, just because he nominated you, jim jordan has something up his sleeve. you better believe that. because mccarthy's not going to get the votes. he's not going to get the votes because he's not going to make the deal with the far right wing of this party and he sure is not going to reach across the aisle and try to get any democrats. so it's going to be interesting to see where this thing is going to be going. man, i'm sitting here, i'm a 70-year-old guys. i'm sitting here and have never seen anything like this. wow. host: are you glued to c-span? caller: absolutely. absolutely. i'm not going anywhere. host: all right. nbc is reporting an exclusive,

former president trump declined to say if he's sticking to his endorsement of kevin mccarthy for speaker tonight. telling in a brief phone interview he's had calls all day, asking for support. quote, we'll see what happens, we'll see how it all works out. joey in pennsylvania, democratic caller. caller: how are you doing, greta? host: hi. you have been watching all day? caller: yes. been watching it all day. host: all right, what's your reaction? caller: my reaction, i came to the conclusion that nancy pelosi did such a good job in the white house that people just don't want to let her go and they want the same kind of work and honesty and integrity in our government. host: kathryn in florida. independent. caller: hello. i just want to say, i don't know

why so many people are surprised this is happening. this was a foregone conclusion. i hope it goes on for a couple days. i'm enjoying it immensely. i have matt gaetz representing not my district but -- i don't know where he's from anymore. but anyway, if matt gaetz is the guy nominating you, you should throw your vote somewhere else. because this guy, i mean, i know we're from the stupid state, but this isry dick lowls -- this is ridiculous. jim jordan as speaker of the house is hysterically laughable. and mccarthy's just going to put himself in his own mess. he's in this too. host: why -- caller: i'd like to see jeffries. he's getting all the votes anyway. host: you're an independent. do you lean democrat? caller: i used to, yes.

but i can't stand most of them. i mean, the house is such a mess. nancy pelosi, i mean, she held it together. but the house of representatives is a disgrace. it's hard to say i am a democrat but it's hard to say that i am -- i definitely am not a republican. so i vote independent to democrat. host: that caller mentioning congressman matt gaetz of florida. some of of you may have seen during our coverage today congressman matt gaetz along with paul gosar of arizona talking across the aisle with congresswoman ocasio-cortez, a.o.c. as she is known. and a reporter saying, what was up with those two talking to her? they wanted to know if democrats might skip a vote to give mccarthy a pass to victory. she said no. also, gosar did not apologize during their exchange, during his exchange with a.o.c., for

posting a video of himself murdering her, remember he was censured on the house floor for doing that. david in burlington, vermont. democratic caller. caller: hey. am i on the air? host: you are. caller: that's wonderful. i agreed that a lot of the caller, i just don't think the republicans are capable of governance. they're fighting amongst each other. the far, far right, mine, people like matt gaetz, for pete's sake, this guy is really right wing. they're holding the whole chamber hostage. i'm a democrat. i want a democrat to be speaker. i wanted a democratic house majority and a democratic senate majority. but if they can't agree to a speaker, why not get a moderate consensus speaker? if the republicans are tearing themselves apart, which i admit has been a little entertaining, but why not get a moderate consensus like mary peltola from alaska? i think she's respected by both parties in alaska.

or maybe, i don't know, gosh, it really could be anybody. but i don't know, there's plenty of options here. host: on what democrats might do next, a reporter for bloomberg reporting that nancy pelosi said she sees no chance that any democrats would sit out any votes or split with jeffries in any future ballots for the speakership. she dismissed that notion as a republican rumor. rudy in california, democratic caller. hi, we'll go to you next. rudy, are you with us? rudy in california, democratic caller. are you there? caller: -- host: rudy, i can hear you. you better go. your turn. all right. one last call for rudy. chula vista, california.

all right. all right. while we get this straightened out, more from our coverage earlier today. as many of you saw, the democrats were united behind hakeem jeffries in their vote for speaker. he was nominated for speakerle all three times during those votes but congressman pete aguilar of california. here is his nominating speech from earlier today. mr. aguilar: madam clerk, i rise today at the direction of the house democratic caucus for election of the speaker of the house of representatives, the pride of brooklyn, hakeem jeffries of new york. [cheers and applause].

today, madam clerk, house [cheers and applause] united by a speaker who will put people over politics. hakeem jeffries has worked 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.

we are unified behind a speaker who is an advocate for protecting and expanding our freedoms. he does not traffic in extremism. [applause]

he does not make excuses for a twice-impeached for a so-called former president. [cheers and applause] madam clerk, he does not bend a knee to anyone who seeks 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. our responsibility is to protect the american dream and honor the sacrifice of the generations before us. like the sacrifice of a mother and social worker who borroed.

and would graduate without any debt to pursue their dreams to the best of their ability, no matter the hardship or the sacrifice. today, his leadership style is quite simple. spread love. it's the brooklyn way. [cheers and applause] and it's borne of this working class upbringing that hakeem and his brother were raised in the first home that their parents ever bought thanks to their collective bargaining salary. in his house where his younger brother saw a future leader and his mother saw a passionate young man and whose g.p.a. went

up when his younger brother started high school. his family always at his side, some with us today and some watching from home, his mom and dad, and his younger brother. mrs. jeffries and her husband said doesn't matter what you do but it has to be done in the service of people. and that's how hakeem will lead. he is going to serve all of us so we can best serve the american public. that selflessness and commitment to success of those around you is what shaped his career and will shape our joint future together. he knows success isn't about personal achievement. he is a leader who will be with you in the beginning whether it is a bill or important priority in your district, he will ride along side you and will be there at the end to see it through. because he knows our success can raise the quality of life for

our constituents creating better jobs and building safer communities. he is guided every step by his faith and his mom and what his mom instilled in him. sunday mornings weren't easy. he knew he wanted to be a lawyer would argue with his mom about going to church that day. but failure is a good teacher. [laughter] he lost those arguments and now hakeem goes to church every weekend, sometimes where his church family is at cornstone baptist where he can meet his constituents where they are. he remembers after church on sunday he would go to nano's house and open door for his grandmother's house for the elders to come with food and conversation. young hakeem listening to everything and usually just trying to catch the score of the jets' game. this is where wisdom gets passed

down and like jim clyburn, john meeks, john lewis, steny hoyer and nancy delessandro pelosi. [cheers and applause] it is shaped by that guidance that we are prepared to nominate a leader that will open a 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]

that's progress and it's progress that the country wants to continue. for this congress and for our country. therefore, as chair of the democratic caucus, i am directed 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. [cheers and applause] host: nomination of hakeem jeffries nomination to be

speaker of new york, and backing the minority of the 118th congress. they have 212 democrats serving in this congress to republicans' 222. the 52-year-old is serving in his sixth term. as you heard there, becomes the first black person who lead a major political party in congress. we are getting your reaction today to kevin mccarthy losing three votes to be speaker after three votes and offer to adjourn was accepted and the house has now done so until noon tomorrow. democrats dial in and tell us what you think. republicans, we want to hear from you and who you would like to be speaker for your party. all others. john, in new york, democratic

caller, john. caller: i have been watching this. i don't normally watch all day. but, the thing that i find -- i do believe in democracy. i do believe in fairness. the country is equally divided. we have 51 democrats in the senate and majority in the house and then we have a president that won by i don't know how many votes and yet the calls coming into your station are so unequal. i think you should allow both republicans, independents and democrats to have an equal say. and you have three phone numbers that you issue on your station. but how come you have majority of one party, majority of

another party and diminished phone calls from another party. and i look at your -- in the morning, sigh that in the morning, your upon sore comcast is a major sponsor. don't interrupt me. don't interrupt me. comcast is the mother station of nbc and msnbc and they are extremely verbal. i know comcast well and i have friends that work for comcast and i know what they tell and bring these people in there and give them a woke agenda. i'm a democrat. and i see what happens with twitter. host: i'm going to jump in because comcast is one of the cable providers.

we are a public service offered by cable providers and it is not a government service. that's not how we get our money. it's from the cable providers and the money you pay for your cable bill every month, a small sum of that goes to c-span to bring you coverage of the house floor here on c-span, senate floor on c-span 2 and major hearings and other discussions that are happening here in washington on c-span 3 along with books and american history as well. right now we are getting reaction to what happened on the house floor. richard in ohio, republican. caller: i definitely don't want a democrat to be in charge. i mean republicans and democrats are wasting our money.

for example, obama started putting the money toward the green energy. $30 billion of interest for every trillion dollars. telling the people we are spending $399 billion of interest every year on a we have to stop it. host: who do you want to be speaker? caller: i want somebody who is going to work for us. i mean clinton got rid of the jobs. and biden put in $36 billion -- [indiscernible]

>> and the democrats were great inputting forth joakim's name.

caller: i have been listening to the callers and something brought up and compromised choice with republicans working together and could make sense. i think republicans put their radical factions and so i think someone who is in the middle, a democrat representing a republican state like alaska, mary peltola and she is fresh, which a lot of people would

like. that's my reaction. host: this is from a report on capitol hill. he is hearing that some mccarthy allies will be meeting with detractors tonight. we will learn more as the evening goes on and throughout the day tomorrow when the house comes back at noon eastern time. a conversation though with all of you continues tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern time on "washington journal." c-span is unfiltered view of government and funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. comcast is partnering with a thousand communities so students can get the help