The radical Republican rebellion and the dismissal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have plunged Congress into paralysis, endangering the actions of Joe Biden’s administration. The President of the United States appeared at the White House this Wednesday and delivered a message of unity: “We must change the toxic atmosphere in Washington.” We have strong differences of opinion, but we must stop seeing each other as enemies, we must talk to each other , listening to each other and working together,” he said.
Biden has offered Republicans to work together across party lines. He recalled that there were two agreements between both parties that allowed the United States to avoid a default and a partial government shutdown, and he thanked McCarthy for doing “the right thing” in both cases . On the other hand, that’s what cost him his position. The president has insisted that the budget extension is temporary until mid-November, and he has warned that deals must be reached to pass the budget legislation and not stare again into the abyss of a government shutdown.
As he left the Roosevelt Room where he had appeared, Biden was asked if he had any advice for choosing the new president: “That’s above my salary level,” he joked. In his speech, he also announced that he would give a speech on Ukraine “soon” and that there are other ways to support Ukraine if it does not receive further funding from Congress, but he did not want to go into details.
Meanwhile, the battle to succeed McCarthy as Speaker of the House of Representatives has begun. There is still no favorite to fill the office who can attract the votes of the entire Republican faction; The first to take the step of running for office was Congressman Jim Jordan from Ohio. Jordan is an avowed Trumpist, one of the radicals who made McCarthy’s life impossible. He is a co-founder of the Freedom Caucus, which includes twenty members of the party’s hardline wing in Congress, although he was not among the eight who voted for the historic dismissal of the House president. He has little chance of getting support from moderate Republicans and no chance of Democrats voting for him.
In statements to reporters in the Capitol hallways, Jordan offered a message of unity — within his party, not with Democrats — and suggested he had received many messages and calls encouraging him to take the step. “We have to unite the group. “I think I can do it, and my colleagues who have approached me seem to think the same,” he said. One of those supporting him is Matt Gaetz, the sponsor of the no-confidence motion that brought down McCarthy. “My mentor Jim Jordan would be amazing,” he wrote on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.
His candidacy was also announced this Wednesday by Steve Scalise, currently number two in the Republican hierarchy in the House of Representatives, who is being treated with chemotherapy for leukemia, which raised doubts about his candidacy. “I firmly believe that this group is a family,” he wrote in a letter to Republican members of Congress, recalling the time he was shot in 2017 and feared for his life. “God has already given me another chance to live.” I believe we were all put here for a reason. The next chapter won’t be easy, but I know what it takes to fight and I’m prepared for the battles ahead. “I humbly ask for your support in this mission to be your President of the Chamber,” he added.
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In any case, the battle for the successor has only just begun. Although the riots at the Capitol continue, the House of Representatives has adjourned until further notice, which is not expected to happen until next week. Meanwhile, acting House Speaker Patrick McHenry expelled Nancy Pelosi, McCarthy’s predecessor, from the courtesy office she held at the Capitol to take up residence there.
Donald Trump spoke to the media yesterday in New York, where he attended the civil fraud trial for the third time in a row. PETER FOLEY (EFE)
Donald Trump, for his part, made passing reference to the crisis in Congress as he arrived for the third day in a row for the civil trial on fraud charges in a court in Manhattan, New York. When asked by journalists about the proposal of some Republican lawmakers to replace McCarthy, the favorite candidate in the Republican primaries for the 2024 presidential election expressed his love and declared that he would do “what is best for the country and the Republican Party.” “A lot of people have asked me,” Trump said. However, he added that there were other “great people” in the party who could take on the job. “My entire focus is on being president,” he emphasized.
The tycoon appeared again this Wednesday before Judge Arthur Engoron, a day after he strictly banned him from making public comments about court officials. During Tuesday’s hearing, Trump attacked Engoron’s top aide on social media, calling her “Schumer’s girlfriend,” a reference to the Democratic senator who leads his Senate caucus.
Like other colleagues before him, Engoron imposed a “gag order” on the defendant and threatened him with sanctions if he did not keep his mouth shut. Trump released a photo of the woman with Schumer, which would prove to the former president that the trial is politically motivated. Engoron admonished Trump and assured that his comments were “unacceptable and inappropriate and will not be tolerated under any circumstances.” But Trump’s spirit does not falter; On the contrary, he uses the swarm of cameras that his every appearance attracts to turn the hearings into campaign events. His candidacy is 40 points ahead of his most immediate rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
This Tuesday, Trump suffered another minor setback: his name disappeared from Forbes’ list of the 400 richest Americans for the second time in three years. With an estimated fortune of $2.6 billion, he is $300 million below the established criteria for inclusion in the Forbes 400 classification, which is a blow for the tycoon since, according to the publication, he is “obsessed” with the list was for decades.
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