House Republicans will open the second day of the new Congress much like the first - with leader Kevin McCarthy trying to become House speaker despite losing in multiple rounds of voting that threw the new GOP majority into chaos.

It was the first time in 100 years that a nominee for House speaker could not take the gavel on the first vote, but McCarthy appeared undeterred by the gravity of the moment. 

“Today, is that the day I wanted to have? No,” McCarthy told reporters late Tuesday at the Capitol after a series of closed-door meetings.

McCarthy said Trump wants him to stay in the race and told him to bring an end to the House Republican chaos and pull the party together.

The former president “wants to see the Republicans united to be able to accomplish the exact things we said we'd do,” McCarthy said.

Asked if he would drop out, McCarthy said, “It’s not going to happen.”

It was a tumultuous start to the new Congress and pointed to difficulties ahead with Republicans now in control of the House.

The House is scheduled to convene on Wednesday after the stalemate essentially forced all other business to a standstill, waiting on Republicans to elect a speaker.

McCarthy losing 20 Republicans

Tensions flared among the new House majority as their campaign promises stalled out. 

Without a speaker, the House cannot fully form — swearing in its members, naming its committee chairmen, engaging in floor proceedings and launching investigations of the Biden administration. 

It typically takes a majority of the House to become speaker, 218 votes — though the threshold can drop if members are absent or merely vote present, an strategy McCarthy appeared to be considering.

McCarthy won no more than 203 votes in three rounds of voting, losing as many as 20 Republicans from his slim 222-seat majority.

The standoff over McCarthy

A new generation of conservative Republicans, many aligned with Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda, were committed to stopping McCarthy’s rise without concessions to their priorities.

As the spectacle of voting dragged on, McCarthy's backers implored the holdouts to fall in line for the California Republican.

But the holdouts forced a third and final round of voting before Republican leaders quickly adjourned Tuesday evening.

The standoff over McCarthy has been building since Republicans appeared on track to win the House majority in the midterm elections in November.

While the Senate remains in Democratic hands, barely, House Republicans are eager to confront Biden after two years of the Democrats controlling both houses of Congress.

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