New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay suggested on Thursday that some of the Republicans opposing Kevin McCarthy's bid for the House speakership were elected due to racism.

During an appearance on MSNBC, Gay claimed that some of the Republican figures were "elected based on a litmus test to stop the tide of diversity in the country, the browning of America, the fears that surround that."

Earlier in the segment, host Nicolle Wallace had described the deadlock as a "tragedy for American democracy."

While a significant majority of the House GOP has been backing McCarthy, more than a dozen Republicans have been been opposing him, preventing McCarthy from gaining the speaker's gavel. So far, McCarthy has come up short in a whopping 11 votes, including three on Tuesday, three on Wednesday, and five on Thursday. Democrats have been voting for Hakeem Jeffries of New York.