House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, speaks during a press conference on ... [+]
For the first time in a century, members of the United States House of Representatives didn’t elect a Speaker in its first round of voting. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed in 10 additional rounds over three days to secure the 218 votes needed for him to become Speaker.
Last month, New York Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, a Black man, was elected leader of the House Democrats, succeeding outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). It’s unsurprising that colleagues from Jeffries’ party placed his name into nomination for House Speaker. They all voted for him in every round, but knew he wouldn’t win because House Republicans currently hold a 222 to 212 majority in the 118th Congress.
In the first round of voting, Texas Republican Chip Roy was the only member to cast a vote for Byron Donalds (R-FL), a Black man whose name hadn’t been officially placed on the ballot. The next day, on the fourth ballot, Roy formally nominated Donalds for Speaker and noted, “for the first time in history, there have been two Black Americans placed into the nomination for Speaker of the House.” His Republican and Democratic colleagues rose for a thunderous standing ovation. Roy then followed up with a conveniently overutilized Martin Luther King quote: “We do not seek to judge people by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
Moments later, 20 Republicans voted for Donalds, thereby delivering McCarthy his fourth defeat. Just a few minutes after that, Ohio Republican Warren Davidson nominated McCarthy, California Democrat Pete Aguilar nominated Jeffries, and Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert nominated Donalds. The outcome didn’t change. Again, exactly 20 Republicans voted for Donalds. Shortly thereafter, Florida Republican Kat Cammack nominated McCarthy for the sixth ballot. He lost, again. The House adjourned and tried five additional times the next day. McCarthy failed on all 11 ballots.
In his passionate advocacy for Donalds in the sixth round, Pennsylvania Republican Scott Perry reminded his colleagues that Frederick Douglass also was a Black man and a Republican. This garnered no additional votes for Donalds.
Diversity offers a fascinating, paradoxical explanation for the defeats McCarthy suffered in his bid to become Speaker. Last November, New York voters elected George Santos, a Republican, to serve in the House. Multiple media outlets have since uncovered numerous lies Santos told in his bios, tweets, speeches, and interviews. Assuming he isn’t lying about his sexual orientation, Santos is the first openly gay, non-incumbent Republican candidate to win a Congressional election. When the House finally elects a speaker and Santos is officially sworn in, this one openly gay man will add diversity to the House Republicans.
In comparison to the Democratic party, the GOP has long lacked both racial and gender diversity. In the 117th Congress, only 27% of women in the House were Republicans, according to a December 2022 Congressional Research Service report. Republicans were just two of the 56 Black, 13 of the 45 Latino, and three of the 19 Asian American and Pacific Islander House members. Half of the six Native American House members were Republicans.
White members comprise approximately 70% of the House; their representation among Republicans is even larger. Given its lack of racial diversity and the underrepresentation of women, it would seem that the GOP would more easily reach consensus. There are at least two explanations for why, in 11 rounds of voting, a group mostly comprised of white heterosexual men refused to cast their votes for McCarthy, another white heterosexual man.
On its website and in broadcasts this week, CNN has highlighted what it calls ‘Five Families’ inside the House GOP. Accordingly, they are the Freedom Caucus, chaired by Perry; the Republican Study Committee, chaired by Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern; the Main Street Caucus, chaired by South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson; the Problem Solvers, co-chaired by Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick; and the GOP Governance Group, chaired by Ohio Rep. David Joyce.
Even though each leader of these so-called families is a white man, the existence of five (or more) cliques in the Republican party showcases a particular brand of diversity. Carrie Lukas, a fellow Forbes Contributor, wrote an article in 2019 titled, “One Type Of Diversity Never Seems To Matter.” She was referring to what’s called ideological diversity. Presumably, GOP members think it’s good that not all members feel the exact same way about the leadership of their party.
Compelling empirical evidence of the organizational benefits of diversity are presented in a 2020 McKinsey report. The business case for diversity has also been established in hundreds of other studies over the past few decades. One thing, though, that researchers, executives, and employees across levels and industries have made clear is that diversity complicates workplace interactions. Reaching consensus is easier when there’s homogeneity; there’s less conflict over which direction to take an organization and over which ideas are worth pursuing.
Ironically, the political party that has considerably fewer women, people of color, and LGBTQ members than does its opponent, issued a historic 11-time defeat to a white heterosexual man. It therefore seems that the ideological diversity that conservatives often champion in lieu of compositional diversity has brought complication to the Republican party and conflict to the House floor. Notwithstanding, diversity in all its forms adds value to organizations and political parties alike. Perhaps the longer-term benefits of ideological diversity among members will become clearer to the GOP as it determines what to do about McCarthy’s desperate desire to serve as Speaker of the House.
