Spanning two decades, Nancy Pelosi’s career as the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives has come to an end. On November 17, ten days after the midterm elections Pelosi announced she will not run for her role for the next term, beginning in January 2023.

Pelosi led the way for many other women to join politics as the first woman to become House Majority Speaker. She has been praised by the Democrats, yet dealt with hatred from her opponents. Her role spread through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Now, since Republicans have taken control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections, it is up in the air who the new House Majority Speaker will be.

A possible candidate for this role has been GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, yet he has failed on Tuesday to secure enough support after a third round of voting. Neither McCarthy nor Republicans voting against him seem to back down, creating a stalemate.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy has doubled down and has refused to drop out of the race.

“It’s not going to happen,” McCarthy said. McCarthy insists that he is “not that far away” from gaining the “11 more votes to win,” ignoring the stalemate that has occurred.

Tuesday night McCarthy spoke to former President Donald Trump, to solidify Trump’s support for his election into the role.

“He thinks it is better that all Republicans get together and solve this,” McCarthy said, speaking for Trump. “It doesn’t look good for Republicans, but we want to be able to solve it when we are stronger in the long run.”

After the House refrained from voting after three rounds of voting on Tuesday, voting will resume on Wednesday.

“I didn’t think we were going to get any more productive by continuing on the day,” McCarthy said.

Along with a Republican Majority Speaker, a Democratic Minority Leader needs to be voted in. As of right now, the House Democrats are united behind Hakeem Jeffries, making him the first Black lawmaker to lead a party in Congress.

Wednesday was full of vote after vote will no change. Because the position is not filled, the House cannot vote on other bills, creating a standstill. After losing six votes in a row, more votes are still needed in order for McCarthy to secure the position.

Now, as the seventh vote is occurring, McCarthy is not gaining the votes needed. Matt Gaetz(R-Fl 1st District) voted for Donald Trump, taking another vote away from McCarthy.

Typically a nominee needs 218 votes to acquire the position, yet this number could change if members abstain their votes.

This article has been updated Thursday, 5 January 2023.