In a surprise to no-one, Kevin McCarthy is first up to be nominated to be Speaker of the House.

In a speech putting forward his candidacy for the 12th time, California Republican Mike Garcia, takes an unconventional approach and says "this isn't about Kevin McCarthy".

Instead, he goes on to lay out key areas Republicans want to address in Congress, such as lowering tax rates and reducing crime rates.

He says the party "must hold this line" because if they don't then "the union is at stake".

Garcia adds Republicans "don't hold this majority for bragging rights", but instead to protect the US constitution and American people.

Franz Strasser
BBC News senior video journalist

Image source, .

After 11 rounds of getting fewer and fewer votes, Kevin McCarthy will hope that his fortunes can change today.

His best results came in the first two rounds when he received 203 votes - just 15 votes shy of being elected House Speaker. But since then, he's lost three more congressmen.

He needs 218 votes to become Speaker.

If you're wondering what's going on in the House right now, they're checking how many politicians are present to work out if there's quorum - or enough people in attendance.

The rules of the House of Representatives state there must be a majority of lawmakers present for proceedings to go ahead, which in the current make-up means 218 members.

Luckily Cheryl Johnson, the clerk currently running the House, confirms there are enough present.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the US Capitol

We're in the gallery overlooking the House floor right now - they've just gavelled in and have just done their customary prayer, and pledge of allegiance.

Colorado's Lauren Boebert is in the back, whispering to a few colleagues.

In the row in front of her, Chip Roy and Matt Gaetz, are having what looks to be an animated conversation.

Stay with us here for more updates.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the US Capitol

It's oddly quiet in the hallways of the House right now - a few lawmakers have trickled in, but it's mostly journalists and young staffers milling about.

Over the last few days these hallways have been packed.

We're almost under way for yet another day of proceedings as Kevin McCarthy fights to become Speaker.

Earlier today, he held a conference call - but it's still unclear whether that helped him gain the votes he needed.

Another representative, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, told reporters a little while ago that he doesn't think that's likely.

Members of the House of Representatives are trickling into the chamber for their 12th attempt to appoint a Speaker of the House.

If you'd like to watch proceedings on the floor of the House, you can click the play button at the top of the page to see a live feed.

Stick with us for updates, be it a Speaker finally being chosen or the stalemate continuing.

Image source, Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Today is the second anniversary of the 6 January riot, when Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol building (where Congress resides) to prevent Joe Biden being certified as victor of the 2020 presidential election.

The scale of the attack on the home of US democracy in 2021 has loomed large in the years since, leading to congressional investigations into the alleged culpability of the former president and criminal charges for many who entered the building violently.

Earlier, to mark the anniversary, the names of people (including Capitol Police officers) who died that day were read out by family on the steps of the Capitol building, after which politicians gathered to hold a moment of silence in tribute.

Later on at around 14:00 EST (21:00 GMT), President Joe Biden will present 12 people who helped defend the Capitol with Presidential Citizens Medals, the second highest civilian honour in US public life.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Let's take a look at three ways the 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 several 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

Three days and 11 votes down and we're still no closer to finding out who the next Speaker of the House of Representatives will be.

Or are we?

The frontrunner, Republican Kevin McCarthy, has suggested that there may be some progress in getting some of hardline Republicans on side, which could help him reach the 218 votes required for election.

“We’ve got some progress going on,” McCarthy said on Thursday.

“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

The Associated Press reports that a deal could be done which would agree to the reinstatement of a House rule that would allow a single lawmaker to call a vote to oust the Speaker.

Another potential proposal for the hardliners could include expanding the number of seats available on the House Rules Committee.

But there have been rumours of deals being brokered throughout this process, so let's just wait and see.

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.

As we await the 12th effort to choose a Speaker of the House of Representatives, here's where things stand at the moment:

• The House will reconvene at 12:00 EST (17:00GMT), after 11 failed attempts to pick a Speaker since Tuesday
• Deadlock in the Republican party is stalling any legislative business from being conducted, as politicians cannot even get sworn in to officially be seated as members of the House without a leader in place
• A new Congress was elected in November, with Republicans holding a small majority in the House while Democrats maintained their own razor-thin control of the Senate

• Kevin McCarthy, who has led the party in the House since 2019, has failed to convince 20 of his 222 colleagues that he is conservative enough to take on Congress's most senior role
• He needs to win 218 votes, as this is a majority of the 435-seat House
• This is an unprecedented situation in modern US politics - the last time a vote for speaker went to multiple ballots was a century ago, in 1923
• Donald Trump has thrown his backing behind McCarthy, but it still has not been enough to convince the so-called 'Never Kevin' rebels - who come from the right of the party
• On Thursday, one of the Republican holdouts even nominated the former president to serve in the role himself
• Meanwhile, Democrats continue to stand uniformly behind their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, using the chaos across the political aisle to criticise and make fun of their political opponents
• President Joe Biden, who for the first time will not control Congress entirely, has described the situation as embarrassing for US domestic and international reputations

Image source, Getty Images

Hello and welcome back to our coverage as attempts by the US House of Representatives to elect its Speaker enter a fourth day.

We have already seen 11 failed votes after a right-wing cohort within the Republican party repeatedly blocked frontrunner, Kevin McCarthy, from getting enough votes (218) to secure his election. This has led to a paralysis of government not seen since the pre-Civil War era.

But McCarthy's team has told reporters there has been progress in his negotiations with the Republican rebels - so we will see if a deal emerges today and what concessions he has made to get it.

Today, 6 January, also marks two years since the deadly attack on the US Capitol and our coverage will reflect how the echoes of the riot are still impacting Congress.

Stay tuned while we keep you updated - and you'll be able to watch the proceedings live at the top of the page from 12:00 EST (17:00GMT).