The beginning of 2023 is going to be very unfortunate for the US political system. The work of the Congress was completely paralyzed. New congressmen elected last November cannot take the oath. Also, no law can be passed yet. This is the first time in 100 years that this has happened.
The representatives of the Republican Party are to blame for everything, who, following the results of the autumn midterm elections, received a majority in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the US Congress. Their faction was unable to elect a new speaker.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives ranks third in the hierarchy of the country’s authorities after the president and vice president. This position was held for several years by Nancy Pelosi. However, due to the fact that the Democrats lost most of the seats in the House, she resigned.
The Republican faction nominated Kevin McCarthy (pictured) for the speaker’s seat, but he failed to get the required number of votes. On Tuesday, January 3, the third round of voting took place, and McCarthy was swept again.
His candidacy was supported by only 202 Republicans. Another 20 voted for Jim Jordan. He stated that he perfectly understands the futility of his nomination and therefore withdraws his candidacy. Jordan urged party members to support McCarthy, but 20 congressmen still intend to vote against.
There is complete unanimity in the Democratic camp - all 212 members of the House of Representatives of this party voted for Hakim Jeffreys. But these voices are not enough for him. In order for a candidate to take over as speaker, he needs at least 218 votes. Republicans will never vote for Jeffreys. Therefore, he lacks 6 and there is nowhere to take them.
McCarthy is 16 votes short. He needs to drag almost the entire opposition G20 to his side.
In 1923, when the same situation arose, the speaker was only elected after the ninth ballot. How many of them will be needed this time, no one can say. The American constitution does not provide for another way to appoint the head of the House of Representatives.
It turns out that McCarthy and his supporters will be able to convince another 16 party members to vote for him, or he will have to withdraw his candidacy. And then the Republicans will urgently need a candidate who will suit the entire faction. However, both options seem to take a long time, during which Congress will remain incapacitated.
Source: Fakty
