• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Thursday, January 26, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home National

Chaos as US House Adjourns Without Choosing Speaker

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
01/04/23
in National
Top view of the US House of Representatives

The US House of Representatives. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

US Republicans will attempt on Wednesday to break a deadlock with far-right members of their own party over the election of a new leader of the House of Representatives, a day after the chamber was thrown into disarray by their blocking of favorite Kevin McCarthy‘s bid for the position.

The California congressman needed a simple majority to be elected as Washington’s top legislator, who presides over House business and is second in line to the presidency, after the vice-president.

But for the first time in a century, the House failed to elect a speaker in a nail-biting first three rounds of voting — given blanket coverage across US television networks.

Rather than celebrating their new control of the House, the Republican party instead faces a drawn-out fight to elect a speaker that could further deepen internal divisions — and put McCarthy’s political career on the line.

The 57-year-old needed 218 votes in the lower chamber, which flipped to a narrow 222-212 Republican majority after last year’s midterm elections.

But he failed to bring into line the party rebels, including several high-profile allies of former president Donald Trump, and he was shocked by 19 “no” votes from his own side in each of the first two rounds, rising to 20 in the third.

His performance was so weak that he lost out to the Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries in each of the opening three ballots — although there remains little doubt a Republican will ultimately claim the speaker’s gavel.

The House is expected to hold further ballots from midday (1700 GMT) on Wednesday until someone emerges with a majority — and it is not out of the question that a new candidate who has not been part of the process could come to the fore.

McCarthy has long coveted the role, having withdrawn from the race in 2015 amid a number of blunders and a right-wing revolt.

‘The Next Steps’

This time he was once again tripped up by far-right rebels, despite bowing to their calls to push aggressive investigations of Democrats including President Joe Biden after taking over the House.

Lawmakers agreed to adjourn until Wednesday amid steadily building momentum among the Republicans to regroup overnight, lick their wounds and formulate a strategy to turn catastrophic defeat into an unlikely face-saving victory.

“The reality is Rep. Kevin McCarthy doesn’t have the votes,” Florida’s Byron Donalds said in a statement ahead of the adjournment, urging fellow members of the party conference to “recess and huddle” in search of a breakthrough.

The last time it took more than one round of voting to pick a speaker at the start of a new Congress was a century ago, in 1923. One speaker selection process that began in December 1855 took 133 rounds of voting over two months. 

McCarthy — who had been trying to avoid small cliques wandering off the floor to hold their own negotiations — initially planned to keep members in the room and voting until he had managed to cudgel his rivals into submission.

Some lawmakers and staffers backing McCarthy had started the day saying that he should bow out if unable to secure the gavel in the second round, US media reported.

Trump Loyalty

One roadblock to McCarthy’s anointment was the perception by some on his party’s far-right that he is insufficiently loyal to Trump, who is running for the White House again after losing to Biden in 2020.

US Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy
US Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy. Photo: AFP

No credible Republican alternative to McCarthy had emerged by the adjournment, although one obvious name would be incoming House majority leader Steve Scalise, a McCarthyite who has nevertheless been clear that he has ambitions of his own.

The “Never Kevin” crowd is likely to see Scalise as more of the same, however.

McCarthy, who defied a subpoena from the House panel probing the 2021 assault on the Capitol, has already promised the hardliners investigations of Biden’s family and administration, as well as of the FBI and CIA. 

But the more he is seen as giving in to the right, the more likely he is to alienate moderates, sparking open war between Senate and House Republicans, where there is already little love lost.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Republicans in Congress.

The Senate also convened for its new term Tuesday, with Mitch McConnell, who heads the Republican minority, breaking the record for the longest-serving Senate leader. 

“There is so much unnecessary turmoil in the Republican party,” Trump posted on Truth Social after the House was adjourned Tuesday evening — making a point of blaming McConnell in particular for the divisions, and without mentioning McCarthy or the House chaos.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York
Opinion

George Santos for Speaker!

by Stephen J. Lyons
January 16, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines
Opinion

Eight Billion and Counting…

by Stephen J. Lyons
November 29, 2022
US President Donald Trump
Opinion

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 17, 2022
Protesters stand with placards in front of the statue of India's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, central London, after a demonstration outside the US Embassy
Featured

Considering the Patience of Gandhi for These Troubled Times

by Stephen J. Lyons
August 5, 2022
US President Donald Trump
Opinion

Owning the Words and the Libs

by Stephen J. Lyons
June 16, 2022
Officers in Uvalde, Texas, stand outside Robb Elementary School near a makeshift memorial for the shooting victims
Opinion

Child Sacrifice Makes a Comeback

by Stephen J. Lyons
June 3, 2022
Next Post
A woman undergoing COVID test in China

Soaring Covid Cases Shine Light on China's Healthcare Gap

Supporters of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with the police during a demonstration

Brazil Patrols Government Buildings Retaken From Rioting Bolsonaro Supporters

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

The Doomsday Clock reads 100 seconds to midnight, a decision made by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, during an announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 23, 2020

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closest Ever to Midnight

January 25, 2023
Police work near the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California

California Lunar New Year Mass Shooter Dead, Motive Unclear: Police

January 23, 2023
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Race on To Replace Ardern as New Zealand Prime Minister

January 20, 2023
Pfizer logo and vaccines

Pfizer to Sell More Drugs at Cost to Poor Nations

January 18, 2023
Rescuers inspect the wreckage at the site of a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal

At Least 67 Killed in Nepal Plane Crash

January 16, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023

Opinion

George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines

Eight Billion and Counting…

November 29, 2022
Mahsa Amini protests

Imagining a Free Iran

October 24, 2022
Vladimir Putin

How 18th Century International Law Clarifies the Situation in Ukraine

September 29, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Falling for Putin

September 15, 2022
US President Donald Trump

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

August 17, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post