Kevin McCarthy narrowly loses 14th House speaker vote in stunning setback

Republicans had placed their hopes in a deal with far-right detractors, but Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert thwarted that plan

In a stunning setback, Republican Kevin McCarthy failed to persuade the remaining bloc of far-right holdouts in his party to back him for speaker during a late-night vote on Friday - his 14th attempt in four days - leaving the embattled leader one vote shy of clinching the gavel.

Walking onto the chamber floor, McCarthy appeared confident that the vote would be his last. But the Republican's optimism soured when it became clear that he had once again failed to reach the threshold needed to break the impasse that has paralyzed the start of the new Congress.