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Kevin McCarthy is not elected Speaker of the House in the first round, a challenge for Republicans (Photo by Kevin McCarthy, taken September 2022)
UNITED STATES — Elected members of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, January 3, failed to elect a president in the first round after Republican Kevin McCarthy failed for the first time in 100 years.
The 50-year-old, the big favorite to succeed Nancy Pelosi, was unable to calm the revolt of a group of Trumpists who did not think he was conservative enough – an example of discord within the opposition party towards Joe Biden.
Representatives of the House of Representatives will continue to vote until a “speaker” is elected. In any case, the second round has not made it possible to appoint a chair at this point in time. The third round is running.
Do anything to sink Joe Biden
Republicans, who won a majority in the House of Commons in November’s election, have promised to use their new countervailing power by launching a series of investigations into the American president, focusing, for example, on his management of the pandemic.
But before they start such hostilities, they must agree at all costs to elect the speaker of the House of Representatives.
The election of the “Speaker”, the third most important figure in American politics after the President and Vice President, requires a majority of 218 votes.
From a few hours to several months to decide
In the first round, Kevin McCarthy, a Republican staffer for more than 10 years, rallied just 203, 19 elected Trumpists who chose to play spoilsport. “Kevin doesn’t believe in anything, he has no ideology,” attacked Matt Gaetz, a turbulent Florida elected official.
However, Kevin McCarthy’s candidacy has broad support within his party: the announcement of his nomination in the Chamber on Tuesday was met with great applause from the Republican ranks. But the California elected representative has been weakened by the Republicans’ poor performance in the midterm elections.
The election of a President of the House of Representatives can be a matter of a few hours … or of several weeks: in 1856 the elected members of Congress took two months and 133 ballots to reach an agreement.
No credible competition
Kevin McCarthy seems to want to make promises to this conservative fringe group so that history doesn’t stutter: in 2015 he narrowly failed in a slingshot from the party’s right wing as speaker of the House of Representatives.
But he also can’t afford to go overboard and alienate moderate Republicans.
Although its room for maneuver is limited, it currently has no credible competitor. Only the name of the group leader Steve Scalise circulates as a possible alternative, without his chances appearing serious.
Boon for Biden?
Since the Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives, Joe Biden and the Democrats will not be able to push through any major new projects. But with a Senate in the hands of the Democrats, neither will their rivals.
Will they entrench themselves in a systematic opposition? To do that, they would have to get together while some of their elected officials are voting with Democrats, as they did in the budget vote before Christmas. The choice of “speaker” will therefore also serve to gauge their ability to harm the President.
Confronting a hostile House could prove a political boon for Joe Biden if he confirms his intention to run again in 2024 – a decision he is scheduled to announce earlier this year.
In the event of legislative paralysis, he will no doubt blame the deadlock on weakened Republicans in hopes of turning the situation to his advantage.
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