The House of Representatives adjourned on Thursday night as the battle to elect a new speaker continued and failed on day three.
There seemed to be no resolution or end in sight.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy from California could not convince 20 of his conservative GOP party members to support him as speaker, ballot after ballot.
As of late on Thursday there were no sworn-in members of the House of Representatives.
Those against McCarthy as speaker appeared willing to wait it out until he decides to withdraw himself from the contest.
Americans did not have a representative in the House as of Thursday evening as the House continued nominating and voting for their choice for a speaker.
The U.S. has 434 representatives-elect. Until 218 can agree on a House speaker, the House will not be a functioning body.
The standoff continued on Thursday as enough Republican members continued to oppose McCarthy. Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz even nominated former President Donald Trump for the role.
Rep. Gaetz also nominated and voted for Trump as speaker on the 11th ballot on Thursday. He had previously alsovoted for Trump during the seventh and eighth ballots earlier in the day.
While McCarthy worked on members to convince them to stick with him, several Republican members vowed to continue to oppose his nomination.
“It's time for him to hang up the cleats and let the House move forward without him at the helm,” tweeted Rep.-elect Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican.
“For far too long, conservatives left their leverage on the table and let the establishment ignore us and sideline us,” Rep.-elect Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, said.
“Real leadership is realizing that consolidating power in one person is unacceptable,” she said.
President Joe Biden said he was frustrated that the House was not functional.
“It's embarrassing for the country,” he said. “I mean, literally. Now, I’m not making a.. it’s just the reality is that, you know, to be able to have a Congress that can't function is just embarrassing. We're the greatest nation in the world. How can that be?”
On Wednesday, incoming members took three additional votes – bringing the total number of votes to six – on who will serve as the body’s speaker. The three votes on Wednesday largely resembled the three votes taken on Tuesday.
Kevin McCarthy, who previously served as minority leader when Democrats held the majority, remained about 16 votes shy of becoming speaker on Wednesday. He must garner support from 218 of his 222-member GOP caucus.
All 212 Democrats banded together to vote for Hakeem Jeffries as their nominee for speaker.
After going on recess late Wednesday afternoon, incoming members returned at 8 p.m. Wednesday. A slim majority decided to postpone a seventh round of voting until noon today.
