Republican Kevin McCarthy, nominee for “Speaker” in the House of Representatives, January 3 in Washington. ALMOND NGAN / AFP
This is an unprecedented scenario in more than a hundred years: In the United States, the House of Representatives was paralyzed on Wednesday, January 4, disunity within the Republican ranks preventing elected officials from choosing the Speaker. Debates resumed at 12.00 (18.00, Paris) in the hemicycle before being suspended again a few hours later for a sixth vote due to lack of agreement.
Republican Kevin McCarthy, who is at the helm as the big favorite to succeed Nancy Pelosi, is hanging on the goodwill of about twenty elected Trumpists, who accuse him of being too moderate and deliberately spoilsport. Members of the party’s most conservative fringe, these elected officials use the very thin Republican majority won in the midterm elections (222 seats out of 435) to set their terms.
Without their support, Kevin McCarthy cannot be elected. The United States wants “a new face, a new vision, a new leadership,” argued turbulent Texas elected representative Chip Roy. Kevin McCarthy, on the Republican staff for more than a decade, has met many of the group’s demands without breaking an impasse. Worse, opposition to his candidacy seemed to crystallize on Wednesday when Mr McCarthy lost the sixth vote by fewer votes than the first in Paris around 10pm.
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Donald Trump wants to ‘avoid an embarrassing defeat’
Democratic President Joe Biden called the situation “embarrassing” and assured that “the rest of the world” is following this mess closely. Anger gradually spread among the unruly and mostly Republican elected officials, leading to very lively debates in the Chamber. “It all seems chaotic,” admitted Officer-elect Mike Gallagher, a close friend of Kevin McCarthy.
On Wednesday morning, ex-President Donald Trump called on his party on his social network to do everything possible to “avoid an embarrassing defeat”. “Now is the time for our top Republicans in the House to vote for Kevin” McCarthy, who “will do a good job, and maybe even a great job.” However, the former president, whose reputation as a kingmaker has been seriously questioned, has also failed to persuade this conservative group to stick to the line.
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The election of the Speaker, who is the third most important figure in American politics after the President and Vice President, requires a majority of 218 votes. Kevin McCarthy failed to surpass 203 in the first four rounds. Democratic nominee Hakeem Jeffries did even better, winning the 212 votes elected Democrats in the House of Representatives, but under no illusions about his chances of nomination.
1856, two months and 133 turns to choose the speaker
This situation also completely paralyzes the rest of the institution: without a president, elected officials cannot take an oath and therefore cannot pass legislation. Even the Republicans cannot open the numerous promised investigations into Joe Biden. Democrats watch this impasse with a certain amusement, sometimes eliciting derisive laughter and applause from the chamber.
Elected officials will continue to vote until a House Speaker is elected. This can be a matter of a few hours or several weeks: in 1856, the elected members of Congress only reached an agreement after two months and 133 revolutions. Confronting a hostile but disordered House could prove a political boon for Joe Biden if he confirms his intention to run again in 2024 – a decision he will announce earlier this year.
The President of the United States traveled to Kentucky on Wednesday to commend the construction of a new major bridge funded by a pharaonic infrastructure bill he sponsored that had garnered some Republican votes in Congress. It was an opportunity for him to don his favorite compromise-ready center president costume, inherited from his long career as a senator. He happens to be accompanied by Republican leader of the other chamber of the US Congress, Senate tenor Mitch McConnell.
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