• For the first time, two Black people were nominated to be Speaker of the House of Representatives.
• Conservatives opposed to Kevin McCarthy nominated Rep. Byron Donalds on the 4th ballot on Wednesday.
• A majority of the chamber voted for a Black candidate — either Donalds or Hakeem Jeffries.

For the first time in American history, two Black people were nominated at the same time to serve as Speaker of the House on Wednesday. And a majority of chamber supported a Black candidate.

Conservatives oppposed to Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy nominated Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida — a Black Republican who was first elected to a southwest Florida district in 2020 — as their candidate.

He joins Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who had already made history as the first Black person chosen to lead a party in Congress. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped down from leadership at the end of the last Congress, though she will remain in the House as a rank-and-file lawmaker.

The Florida Republican ultimately garnered 20 votes from the same crop of anti-McCarthy Republicans. Combined with the 212 Democratic votes for Jeffries, a majority of the chamber voted for a Black candidate. McCarthy once again failed to garner the necessary votes to become Speaker.

“Byron is a dear friend, a solid conservative, but mostly importantly, a family man,” said Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas as he nominated Donalds. “Now, here we are, and for the first time in history, there have been two Black Americans placed into the nomination for Speaker of the House.

The chamber then erupted into widespread applause.

“However, we do not seek to judge people by the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character,” he continued.

—ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) January 4, 2023

Donalds previously served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020. A member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, he will be one of five Black Republicans elected to serve in the next Congress.

Donalds’ nomination came on the fourth ballot for Speaker of the House. The House held three votes in a row for the position on Tuesday, but adjourned without choosing a candidate or swearing in any of its members. 

Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has continually failed the majority of votes necessary to become Speaker, earning less votes than Jeffries on every ballot so far, despite Republicans holding a narrow majority.