there application von McCarthy is now increasingly endangered. The Republican Party is attempting to regroup after a historical defeat and an inauguration of the new Congress never so messy in the last hundred yearswith new members who they cannot swear until the speaker is chosen.
Just before the vote Jim Jordan had asked his party colleagues to support McCarthy, but 20 “dissidents” voted for him anyway. McCarthy’s allies have said they will continue with new rounds of voting pending a way for him to be elected speaker. Until then, the Chamber’s activities will remain frozen.
The New American Congress
Younger (the median age in the chamber is 46 and in the Senate is 50), more diverse (record for Latinos, first native-born senator in almost two decades), but also more divided. The new US Congress, the 118th, took office with the traditional swearing-in ceremony, the salute to the newcomers and the first knot after the era of the iconic Nancy Pelosi, who was greeted back as a mere MP to a standing ovation.
The election of the Speaker of the Chamber
The appointment of his successor after the Grand Old Party recaptured the House of Representatives in Midterm by a narrow majority (222 to 212, one seat vacant), while the Dem retained the Senate with an additional seat. But Republicans have been divided on the election of Speaker, the state’s third office, with a group of congressmen from the more radical and Trumpian wings determined to block the path of 57-year-old California native Kevin McCarthy.
The Dissident Republicans
Five die-hard “No Kevins” who accuse him of not being conservative enough or having personal friction with him. Enough to defeat the quorum of 218 votes, as the 212 Dems supported their flag candidate Hakim Jeffries, the first African-American leader in the House of Representatives. The five voted for Arizona’s ultra-conservative rival Andy Biggs, later endorsed by as many party colleagues, while 9 voted for other candidates.