Byron Donalds

The 44-year-old Florida Republican received support from a group of hard-right Republicans for House speaker on Wednesday, a day after he joined them in ...

Hard-right Republicans nominated GOP lawmaker Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) to be House speaker, an alternative to caucus leader Kevin McCarthy.

See the remarkable [near-confrontation on the House floor](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/07/house-floor-fight/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_5). Here are the [concessions that could become flash points](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/09/mccarthy-concessions-rules-debate/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_9). [The House elected Kevin McCarthy](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/06/house-speaker-votes-mccarthy-adjourn/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_1) after days of defeats and concessions to win over hard-line Republicans. In the end, these were the remaining [six holdouts McCarthy needed to persuade](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/06/mccarthy-holdouts-reasons-republicans/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_8). “My support of President Trump has been consistent, but at the same time, I’ve had the ability to advocate for issues, ideas, proposals and funding that have helped the Black community in my state.” “And I think what you’re finding in some of these areas is we also happen to be the best candidate in the field.” Since coming to Congress, Donalds has made headlines defending the GOP — and former president Donald Trump — from accusations of racism. Rick Scott (R) appointed Donalds to the board of trustees of a state college, which helped increase his profile in the state’s Republican Party. Democrats have nominated lawmaker Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), who is on track to become the first Black person to lead a party in Congress. He was unsuccessful but was eventually elected to the Florida legislature four years later. “We do not seek to judge people by the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character,” the Texan said. Donalds, 44, has spoken often on the campaign trail about adversities he had to overcome as a younger man, particularly being arrested for distributing marijuana as an 18-year-old.

Donalds won 20 votes in the fourth round of voting, ensuring McCarthy could not clinch a victory.

Following a round of voting Wednesday, Donalds told Fox News Channel's "America Reports" that he intended "to make sure that we get a speaker elected and that we start this process. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), in a 144-74 vote. It needs to be earned," he added. The days of just power by acclamation, those days are over. But what is necessary now is that Republicans come together and find a way to elect a speaker," he added. - He was among the 139 House Republicans who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election on Jan. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) for the role. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). - "Right now, he doesn’t have a pathway to get there. [Trump urged Republicans](https://www.axios.com/2023/01/04/trump-mccarthy-gop-house-speaker-vote)to vote for McCarthy. [third round flipped his vote](https://www.axios.com/2023/01/04/house-republicans-speaker-governable)from McCarthy to Rep. [blocking GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy](https://www.axios.com/2023/01/04/house-speaker-vote-kevin-mccarthy) (Calif.) from taking the position.

The nominations of Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries signify the first time two Black members have been nominated for the gavel.

Donalds voted for McCarthy in the first two rounds of the speaker vote, on Tuesday, but on the third round switched his vote to Ohio Republican Rep. [in the aftermath of Jan. That prompted a standing ovation from the chamber. "I’m blessed and highly favored, honestly. [For the first time in history](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/new-congress-historic-ways-recap-notable-moments/story?id=96132209), there have been two Black Americans placed in nomination for speaker of the House." [as the latest protest nominee from within the GOP](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/live-updates/new-congress-live-updates/?id=95854349) as leader Kevin McCarthy [continues to struggle](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mccarthy-faces-difficult-day-confirms-backing-after-failed/story?id=96165944) to win a majority to be elected speaker.

The far-right of the House Republican Party nominated Rep. Byron Donalds from Florida for speaker as the floor fight over the gavel continued Wednesday.

Donalds was raised in Brooklyn, New York, by a “single mom with three kids, two jobs and not much else,” he said. “Right now, he doesn’t have a pathway to get there,” Donalds told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins after voting against McCarthy Tuesday. Francis Rooney vacated Florida’s 19th Congressional District seat, and his second in 2022 in a landslide victory. So far, Donalds has collected 20 votes each in the fourth, fifth and sixth ballots for speaker, blocking McCarthy’s path to victory. Jim Jordan of Ohio on the third ballot with conservative hardliners. Byron Donalds from Florida for speaker as the

Trump-loving Republicans who oppose Kevin McCarthy set their sights on a Black congressman for House speaker and tried to give a lesson on Black history.

[publicly backed McCarthy](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/mccarthy-struggles-speakers-race-trump-hedges-support-rcna64196) [’](https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1610763119273381896) [s bid](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/mccarthy-struggles-speakers-race-trump-hedges-support-rcna64196). Republicans love highlighting the fact that many Black people were aligned with the GOP more than a century ago, largely stemming from the party’s alignment with the Union during the Civil War. That excitement had Perry playing Black history professor on Wednesday. Chip Roy of Texas nominated Donalds for speaker during the fourth round of voting. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, nominated Donalds again in the next round. [wasn’t on board with his speaker nomination](https://twitter.com/sahilkapur/status/1610763119273381896) as of Wednesday evening. [in its proper context here](https://twitter.com/CoriBush/status/1610726873792929792?s=20&t=D9mN6_M6Tc0dHuCqOkioAA): [discussions about racism](https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/poll-republicans-parents-education-rcna26628) are anti-American, Republicans love to engage in them when they seem useful to their cause. [Southern strategy stuff](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/05/donald-trump-richard-nixon-southern-strategy). [humiliating](https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-vote-embarrassment-rcna64232)) time, GOP Rep. [Frederick Douglass was a Republican](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/the-confounding-truth-about-frederick-douglass/573931/). Kevin McCarthy’s speakership bid](https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/mccarthy-house-speaker-club-for-growth-rcna64036) hitched their wagons Wednesday to Rep.

The 20 Republicans opposing Representative Kevin McCarthy of California for the House speakership have coalesced, for now at least, around Representative ...

“Byron Donalds is a good man raised by a single mom who moved past adversity, became a Christian man at the age of 21 and has devoted his life to advancing the cause for his family and his country.” “We do not seek to judge people by the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character,” Mr. In nominating him at the start of the fourth vote on Wednesday, Representative Chip Roy of Texas noted that Mr. [a 2021 interview with The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/22/us/politics/byron-donalds-trump.html), Mr. Donalds, 44, worked in finance before being elected to the Florida House in 2016 and then to the U.S. That makes him an unusual candidate for the job of speaker, which normally goes to more experienced legislators, though there is no formal requirement that a speaker have served in Congress for a certain length of time or even that they be a member.

MIAMI (AP) — As Republicans struggled for a second day to elect a House speaker, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida emerged as the choice of conservative h...

Chip Roy of Texas was the sole member to vote for Donalds for speaker on Tuesday, before subsequently supporting Jordan. On Wednesday, when his own name was placed in nomination, Donalds cast votes in favor of himself. In his Wednesday speech nominating Donalds, Roy said the sophomore represented a move toward something different, both for Washington and the Republican Party. In doing so, Donalds tweeted that the “reality is … It’s to use our votes to elect a speaker who will enable us to get our country back on track.” “Once we get this organized and figured out, we’ll get back to business,” he said. “So right now, the question is, who’s going to be the person that’s going to take us to the next level?“ Donalds said. He was working as a financial adviser when he was appointed to the board of trustees at a state college by then-Gov. For his first election in 2020, Donalds won a nine-way GOP primary and defeated his Democratic opponent to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Byron Donalds has acknowledged being arrested as a young man on a marijuana distribution charge that was later dismissed, and said he turned his life around. Donalds, 44, was elected in November to his second term representing Florida’s 19th District, in the state’s southwest. Byron Donalds of Florida emerged as the choice of conservative holdouts who are refusing to support Kevin McCarthy’s bid.