The favorite, Kevin McCarthy, was unable to take office after a third consecutive day of deliberations and a total of 11 votes, with no result. The work of the body resumes today at noon (local time; at 19:00 Greek time).
The House of Representatives finished its work yesterday Thursday without being able to elect a new president of the body, paralyzed by the discord of the Republicans.
The favorite, Kevin McCarthy, was unable to take office after a third consecutive day of deliberations and a total of 11 votes, with no result. The work of the body resumes today at noon (local time; at 19:00 Greek time).
The Californian politician reached out to the roughly two dozen Trump-leaning lawmakers in his faction, offering them broad concessions in negotiations in the halls and hallways.
In vain.
This group, which has no confidence in him, refusing to follow the party line, left the body without a president for one more day, a scenario unprecedented in 160 years.
The impasse has very tangible implications: without a president, parliamentarians cannot be sworn in and therefore cannot approve any bill.
“Faulty system”
Members of the more conservative wing of the Grand Old Party, these MPs benefit from the narrow majority (222-212) secured by the party in the November 2022 mid-term elections to set their terms — without them Kevin McCarthy simply cannot to be elected.
“We need to fix this flawed system,” Montana Rep. Matt Rosedale said at the semi.
Mr. McCarthy has already accepted one of the main demands of the “rebels”, which was to make it easier to remove the “speaker”, the president of the House, from office. But opposition to his candidacy seems to have crystallized.
Will the crisis prove “less severe” than in 1856?
A majority of 218 votes is required to elect the speaker of the lower house, the third most important official in the American political system after the president and vice president. After eleven votes, Mr McCarthy only secured 203 at best. Yesterday, it didn’t go above 201.
The question is now whether, and for how long, his candidacy is viable.
A member of the Republican staff for more than ten years, Mr. McCarthy has, for now, no formidable opponent. Only Trump faction leader Steve Scalise’s name has been floated as a possible alternative, but his chances don’t look serious. Yesterday the name of… Donald Trump, who is not even a member of the body, was suggested.
Voting in the House of Representatives will continue until a new president of the body is elected. The process that would normally take only hours is not excluded to take weeks: in 1856, it had taken two months and 133 votes.
The Democratic president, Joe Biden, last Wednesday described the situation in the House of Representatives as “shameful”, pointing out that “the rest of the world” is closely following the developments in Congress.
Facing a hostile but disorganized Congress may prove to be a hopeless political gift for President Biden, especially if he confirms that he will run for office again in 2024 — he has said he will announce his decision early this year.
RES-EMP
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
