Chaos in the US Congress, Republicans are unable to elect a “president” – 01/04/2023 at 09:41

Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy in the House of Representatives in Washington, January 3, 2023 (AFP/Mandel NGAN)

Elected members of the US House of Representatives must resume voting on Wednesday to elect a president, having failed the day before – for the first time in a hundred years – during a session marked by high tensions among Republicans.

A top candidate to replace Nancy Pelosi, 50-year-old Kevin McCarthy has failed after three consecutive votes to quell an insurrection emanating from a group of Trumpists who regard this elected representative from California as too moderate. Elected officials agreed to hold their vote while negotiating behind the scenes.

The House of Representatives must resume voting from midday (5:00 pm GMT) and it is not ruled out that a new candidate will emerge. The last time Representatives needed more than one vote to appoint a president was in 1923.

The Republicans, who seized the majority in the House of Representatives in the November elections, had promised to use their newfound counter-strength by opening a series of investigations into US President Joe Biden.

The compositions of the United States House of Representatives and Senate when they take office on January 3 and compare them to the compositions of the outgoing chambers (AFP/)

But the launching of such hostilities was paralyzed by these internal dissensions: the elected members of the House of Representatives could not be solemnly sworn in, and thus open any investigation, so long as a president had not been appointed.

Former Republican President Donald Trump slammed at the end of the day for “unnecessary excitement” within a party that wants to secure the nomination in order to reclaim the White House in 2024.

– 218 votes –

The election of the Speaker of the House, the third most important figure in American politics after the president and vice president, requires a majority of 218 votes. The threshold that Kevin McCarthy could not reach, Trump’s twenty elected decided to play spoiler.

“It’s not to be taken personally, but the future of our country depends on it,” said Chip Roy, the troubled Texas elected official.

However, Mr McCarthy’s candidacy has wide support within his own party. The announcement of his appointment on Tuesday in circulation received a standing ovation among Republicans.

At the start of the third round, some discomfort began to be felt, as more moderate Republicans urged their colleagues to rally around Kevin McCarthy. Republican group leader Steve Scales begged the Democrats to laugh: “We came here to get things done.”

And throughout the action, Joe Biden’s party has since united around the candidacy of Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, regularly applauding New York’s elected official to the sounds of “Wise, wise, wise!”.

But the chosen one does not have enough votes to get to the chick either.

Election of the Speaker of the House can take a few hours…or several weeks: In 1856, elected members of Congress approved it only after two months and 133 sessions.

Kevin McCarthy seems to want to make pledges to these conservative parties to prevent history stuttering: In 2015, he had already narrowly failed to become Speaker of the House in the face of swingers from the party’s right wing.

But he can’t afford to go overboard and alienate moderate Republicans.

Although the room for maneuver has been reduced, it currently has no reliable competitor. Only the name of Ohio elected official Jim Jordan is being circulated as a possible replacement, without his chances looking serious.

A boon for Biden? –

With the Republicans in the majority in the House of Representatives, Joe Biden and the Democrats will not be able to move forward on major new projects.

But with the Senate in Democrat hands, their challenger won’t.

US President Joe Biden in early October in Washington (AFP/Nicolas Kamm)

Will they be entrenched in a systematic opposition? That would require them to come together, while some elected officials — as during the pre-Christmas budget vote — voted with the Democrats.

Thus, the election of the “Chairman” also serves to measure his ability to harm the President.

Facing a hostile house could be a political boon for Joe Biden, if he confirms his intention to run again in 2024 — a decision he is set to announce at the start of the year.

The president was also careful not to comment on Republican controversies, and his spokeswoman, Karen Jean-Pierre, confirmed that the Democratic leader would not “interfere with this process.”

In the event of legislative paralysis, he will undoubtedly blame the weak Republicans, hoping to turn the situation in his favor.