What can the U.S. House do without a speaker? Not much.

Frustration mounted after a third day of voting failed to break a stalemate as of Thursday evening between GOP factions in the U.S. House over the election of Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.

Iowa's U.S. House members continued to back McCarthy in a chamber that remained paralyzed, unable to elect a leader and officially seat its members as a group of 20 hard-line, anti-establishment Republicans dig in against McCarthy’s bid for speaker, despite concessions from the California Republican.

Democrats meanwhile seemed content to let Republicans twist in the wind. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters there was no chance that Democrats will strike a deal to provide the votes to elect McCarthy, The Washington Post reported.

The last time electing a House speaker went 10 rounds or more was in 1859, which took 44 ballots over two months.

Until a speaker is elected, lawmakers cannot be sworn in and a new Congress officially seated. Meaning until someone wins the gavel, House lawmakers remain members-elect who are able to occupy their offices and field calls from constituents, but cannot adopt rules, set up committees, vote on bills, attend high-level security briefings or help constituents navigate federal bureaucracy until a speaker is chosen.

“Washington is broken. I came to Congress to fight the chaos and dysfunction in D.C. and am just as frustrated as Iowans are by the current stalemate,” Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, of Marion, said in a statement. “We need to elect Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. In the meantime, I am focused on Iowans’ priorities: restoring fiscal responsibility, securing the border, unleashing American energy, and holding China accountable.”

Hinson said her D.C. and district offices in Iowa “are fully operational and serving Iowans — anyone who needs assistance with the federal government should reach out to our team.”

Fellow Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, of Hull, said “It’s time to get to work to pass a conservative agenda.

“The delays only help Democrats obstruct our efforts to rein in wasteful spending, balance the budget, and fix our broken economy,” Feenstra said in a statement.

Iowa Republican Congressman-elect Zach Nunn echoed Hinson and Feenstra.

"Our D.C. team is up and running and the bulk of our staff is hired and already operating in Iowa,“ Nunn said, with three new district offices opened in Des Moines, Creston and Ottumwa.

“My top priority remains serving our constituents across IA-03 and delivering for our city and country communities,” Nunn said in statement. “However D.C. operates, we’re going to keep working each day for Iowans. We will get to work as promised on lowering inflation, strengthening national security, gaining energy independent and curbing expansive government overreach.”

Iowa U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks on Wednesday joined other Republican veterans at a news conference warning that the drawn-out fight over the speakership is damaging the chamber’s national security oversight, preventing lawmakers from participating in classified briefings and meeting with top national security officials, and delaying the work of the House Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.

Until a speaker is elected, University of Iowa graduate and U.S. House Clerk Cheryl Johnson currently presides over the House.

A Louisiana native, Johnson graduate from UI in 1980, where she earned a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She studied law at Howard University.

She worked for the Smithsonian Institution for a decade, as its director of government relations, before becoming House clerk. She was first sworn in as House Clerk by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in 2019 and again in 2021.

Johnson also worked in various roles the U.S. House for nearly 20 years before joining the Smithsonian Institution, according her bio.

Along with the House Sergeant at Arms, she twice led House impeachment managers as they delivered articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the U.S. Senate in 2020 and 2021.

Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., praised and thanked Johnson on the House floor for her work presiding over the chamber amid the disarray of trying to choose the next speaker, sparking a standing ovation from House members.

“Our clerk has stepped up and reflects our House’s best tradition of preparation and dedication to this institution, and we’re grateful,” Hill said.

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