Three weeks after Speaker Kevin McCarthy was toppled in an intra-party coup, the second-most powerful job in Washington remains vacant.
As a result, no legislation can pass and members of the House of Representatives cannot vote on anything, except for a replacement.
And instead of the field of potential candidates being winnowed, it has only widened.
What does a speaker do?
The speaker of the House of Representatives is very different in the US to in Australia.
In Canberra, the speaker maintains order and scolds MPs for making too much noise or asking inappropriate questions.
In Washington, the speaker operates as the majority party leader and decides what legislation makes it to the floor for a vote.
They are also second in line to the presidency.
The Republican predicament
Typically elections for speakers work similarly to how prime ministers are chosen in Australia - the majority party votes internally, and then they all vote for the winning candidate.
But that's a tradition rather than a rule.
Republicans hold a majority in Congress by a mere handful of votes, which means a successful speaker candidate needs to win all but three of them when it comes to a vote on the House floor.
No consensus
Since McCarthy was toppled, no candidate has been able to win a majority.
Eleven Republicans sided with the opposition to oust McCarthy. Democrats said he was too conservative, and most of the defectors said he was not conservative enough.
In the following days they have been unable to find a consensus candidate.
Steve Scalise was rejected by the far-right of the caucus. Jim Jordan was rejected by the centrist wing.
Nine candidates have now put their hands up - but it appears that none of them have the potential to unite all 221 Republicans.
An ineffective kingmaker
Getting elected speaker involves making a lot of phone calls, but there is one that is more important than any other.
The blessing of Donald Trump is the most valuable thing a Republican can receive.
But it does not guarantee victory for a speaker candidate. Jordan received Trump's endorsement in the first ballot, but he lost to Scalise anyway.
After that rejection, Trump is staying out of the race.
"If Jesus came down and said, 'I want to be Speaker,' he would do it," Trump said.
"Other than that, I haven't seen, I haven't seen anybody that can guarantee it."
Things get nasty
When Jim Jordan was struggling to wrangle votes, the holdouts were copping it from all sides.
Colorado representative Ken Buck was evicted from his office because he would not back his colleague.
"Right now is this constant barrage of phone calls, we have — I have six full-time people answering the phones," he said.
"So far I've had four death threats."
Buck was not the only representative who reported threats for not supporting Jordan.
But facing a backlash for his aggressive wrangling of votes, Jordan withdrew from the race.
What happens with no speaker
Being unable to pass any legislation is a big problem for Congress. But on November 17, it becomes a huge issue.
On that day, the government runs out of money and millions of people will lose their jobs.
Before then, a continuing resolution will need to be passed to keep the government funded and avert a shutdown.
Because of that, some representatives are talking about finding a way to empower the speaker pro tempore (literally: temporary speaker) to pass legislation.
But such a move is a constitutionally shaky one.
Where is the contest at?
There are nine Republicans who have thrown their hat into the ring this time around.
The nine men will speak to their caucus and attempt to gain a majority of their votes.
Then they will head to the House floor if they think they have the necessary 218 votes to become speaker.
Thus far, few believe any have enough support to do so.
The unlikely option
To this point, every Democrat has voted in unison for House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries.
But the Democrats are hoping that after enough chaos, they might be able to peel off a handful of exasperated Republicans.
This would be a remarkable development, but far from unheard of.
In the Ohio legislature, a Republican speaker was elected this year with the support of a third of his own party and every Democrat.
For now, Democrats in Washington seem to be enjoying watching the opposition tear itself apart.
With the chair still vacant, President Joe Biden was asked if he had any advice for an incoming speaker.
"That's above my paygrade," he said with a laugh.
