Democratic Representative Katherine Clark held a news conference earlier, where she said House Republicans are "in historic turmoil".

Holly Honderich
BBC News, on Capitol Hill

Image source, Getty Images

We're midway through the ballot but already it looks like Kevin McCarthy will lose in this seventh vote for House Speaker.

Every Republican rebel called on so far in the alphabetical roll call has once again refused to support their party leader.

In the chamber, McCarthy's calm demeanour of the first two days has started to crack. He stares straight ahead, appearing to mutter to himself as he tallies yet another loss.

The count so far suggests that he has been unable to sway a single one of the defecting Republicans, a very bad sign for the California representative's day ahead.

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz - one of the Republican rebels opposing Kevin McCarthy - has just stood and voted for former President Donald Trump.

His words draw grasps and confusion throughout the chamber.

Anyone can be nominated as Speaker, they do not have to be in the House of Representatives, though the Speaker has always historically been chosen from House members.

Republican Byron Donalds has now received seven votes, meaning that McCarthy is likely set to lose the vote for a seventh time.

However, a few Republicans could vote 'present', lowering the total number of votes needed to win for McCarthy.

Holly Honderich
BBC News, on Capitol Hill

It's the start of what we expect to be another long day in what's been a very long week, and inside the House chamber, people are looking tired.

Republican John James, nominating McCarthy, drew laughs from both sides of the House when he celebrated yesterday's "small win" - a successful vote to adjourn and stop the votes at 8pm last night.

Now on the third day of a leaderless House, that small win is a hollow victory, and everyone here seems to know it.

Here we go - the seventh round of voting begins.

They are voting on: Jeffries (Democrat), McCarthy (Republican), or Donalds (Republican).

Once again, an alternative to Kevin McCarthy is put forward.

Republican Dan Bishop is nominating Byron Donalds, saying that if chosen, he could be the first black Speaker of the House.

He rejects accusations that Donalds is a prop, saying if that were true, "he would not be sitting where he is sitting".

The Democrats have now nominated Hakeem Jeffries again. He has the full backing of the party.

Just a reminder though, the Democrats probably can't win the Speakership because they do not have a majority in the House.

Image source, Reuters

John James, from Michigan, is nominating McCarthy, telling members there is more that unites them than divides them.

McCarthy has now been nominated for a seventh time, indicating that voting will go ahead.

James says the public want action from the Republican party but says: "We're still stuck at the starting block.

"The American people have told us by putting a Republican majority here that they want Republicans to lead and they want a government that works and does not embarrass them, and we are failing on both missions."

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Let's take a look at three ways this stalemate could be resolved:

Kevin McCarthy prevails

The current strategy from Kevin McCarthy appears to be to fight a war of attrition. His supporters will keep placing his name in nomination until those in opposition get tired of voting against him.

McCarthy has offered a number of concessions including a seat on the influential rules committee, which sets the terms for debate on legislation in the chamber. He also agreed to lower the threshold for triggering a vote on whether to unseat the speaker to only one House member.

While these offers may be able to win over some of the holdouts, they may not be enough to get him all the way to the finish line.

He gives up

Surrender has to be considered a possible, even likely, outcome for McCarthy after two days of failure.

At some point, the Republicans who are currently supporting McCarthy may decide the best move is to give the hardline Republicans their scalp and try to move on.

But they would then have to agree on somebody new.

The two parties compromise

Some Republicans have expressed their openness to working with Democrats to elect a compromise speaker.

All of this would require a sizeable number of Democrats to go along with the plan, which in today's sharply divided partisan environment seems unlikely in the extreme.

And any Republican who works with Democrats will instantly be persona non grata among most conservatives.

Image source, Getty Images

The House has now counted how many members are present in the room to see if there are enough people to begin the vote for Speaker.

There are 311, so proceedings can begin.

Image source, Reuters

Congress is back, the gavel has sounded, and the prayer read.

Proceedings can now begin.

House members are beginning to file into the chamber - click the play button at the top of the page to watch live.

The chamber is due to reconvene at midday (1700 GMT), when the gavel will sound.

Proceedings are likely to start the traditional way with a prayer, the pledge of allegiance and a call of the roll.

You can watch events unfold by going to the top of the page and clicking play, we will be streaming live.

Image source, Getty Images

Depending on the partisan makeup of Congress, the Speaker can make or break a US president's agenda, stymie opposition, and spearhead their party's biggest legislative initiatives.

A shrewd and effective Speaker will be able to marshal their members behind their party's agenda, and control rebellious lawmakers by doling out incentives or punishments.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat who stepped down from the position when Republicans took control of the House on 3 January 2023, was regarded as one of the most effective modern Speakers.

Though the Democratic caucus she oversaw contained multiple factions, she was able to use the tools available to her to keep a united front when it came to most major votes.

Image source, Getty Images

The start of a new Congress was supposed to be a victory lap for the Republican Party as it took control of the lower chamber following November's elections.

Instead, McCarthy has faced a rebellion from within his own ranks and made history for all the wrong reasons.

Republicans narrowly won control of the House in November, so McCarthy only had a few votes to spare in his bid to become Speaker. That allowed a group of hardline conservatives to band together to oppose his nomination.

The rebels oppose McCarthy on ideological and personal grounds, but also see an opportunity to exploit Republicans' narrow majority to force further concessions from him.

Even if McCarthy finds a way to win, the turmoil on the floor of the House could lead to a tumultuous two years of moderate and right-wing Republicans at war with each other.

Holly Honderich
BBC News, on Capitol Hill

Image source, Getty Images

By the time the House adjourned late last night - after Republicans failed on their sixth attempt to elect a new speaker - tempers had flared, a chorus of booing had erupted, and Democrats munched popcorn as turmoil engulfed the other side of the aisle.

After two days of backroom dealings, lawmakers could not even agree on whether to call it a night - the knife-edge vote to adjourn prompted shouts and confusion. On CNN, an anchor asked: "Is this normal?"

It may be more of the same today.

Republican leader and speaker hopeful Kevin McCarthy has vowed to keep fighting, but there are so far no clear signs that he's made headway with the 20 Republican rebels who have refused to support him.

If he hasn't, we may be on for Groundhog Day round three, and another day of chaos in the House.

Read about the dysfunction and confusion in the House so far

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Kevin McCarthy, who has served as the party's House minority leader for four years, has 20 Republicans standing between him and the gavel - and they aren't budging.

Matt Gaetz, one of a group nicknamed the "Never Kevins", described McCarthy as a desperate guy and said his request was simple: "For him to drop out of the race."

But overnight on Wednesday, McCarthy offered a number of concessions, including a seat on the influential rules committee which sets the terms for debate on legislation in the chamber.

He also agreed to lower the threshold for triggering a vote on whether to unseat the Speaker to only one House member.

While these offers may be able to win over some of the holdouts, they may not be enough to get him all the way to the finish line.

His hope is that momentum toward victory would increase the pressure for those opposing him to throw in the towel.

Read in full: McCarthy makes new concessions to rebels

We're about to enter day three of the House attempting to elect a Speaker. This is the first time in 100 years a leading party has failed to unite and elect a Speaker in multipe rounds of voting.

Let’s take a look at where things stand:

• Republicans have now failed six times to elect a new Speaker who will replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi
• The reason for this is that a group of 20 hard-line Republicans have repeatedly refused to support party leader Kevin McCarthy
• The rebels have suggested that McCarthy is too closely aligned with a broken system and will do little to change how Washington is governed
• Late night meetings were reportedly held in which McCarthy offered concessions in exchange for votes - but it is unclear how that will unfold today
• The number required to earn the top job is 218 votes, a majority of the 435-seat chamber
• McCarthy has not yet received the backing of more than 203 colleagues
• Democrats have stood united behind their choice, Hakeem Jeffries, but since they are the minority party there is little chance he will lead

How will this end?

• McCarthy could prevail if he is able to craft some sort of deal - giving up power and influence to his opponents
• Alternatively, he could throw in the towel and a new candidate would be chosen by the Republicans
• Lastly, the two parties could agree on a compromise candidate

Read in full: Three ways the House Speaker stalemate could finally end

• What time do proceedings start? The chamber reconvenes at midday on Capitol Hill (1700 GMT)
• Where can I watch? You can go to the top of this page and click play - we'll be streaming it live
• What’s going to happen today? In a nutshell: we don’t know. Our North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher breaks down three ways the stalemate could finally end here