House Republicans are divided over who should be the next speaker but are pressing ahead anyway with an internal vote on Wednesday morning to determine who – if anyone – can garner enough support to replace Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from the post in a historic defeat last week.
Two House Republicans, majority whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana and judiciary committee chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, have launched formal campaigns for the speakership, and they have each received dozens of endorsements from fellow conference members.
House speakership battle underscores election-denying Republicans’ powerRead more
But hours after Scalise and Jordan presented their vision for the role to the caucus in a candidate forum on Tuesday night, it remains very unclear whether either man can secure the support of a majority of the House, given Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the lower chamber. If all 433 current House members participate in the vote, Scalise or Jordan can only afford four defections within the Republican conference and still win the speakership.
Some members on Tuesday suggested they would prefer an alternative – or McCarthy. But McCarthy, who recently suggested he would be open to reclaiming the gavel, said on Tuesday that he asked his caucus not to re-nominate him for the job.
“It’s important whoever takes that job is willing to risk the job for doing what’s right for the American public,” McCarthy said.
Republicans’ tenuous grasp on power was on full display last week, when McCarthy became the first House speaker in US history to be ejected from office. Eight Republicans, led by the hard-right congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, joined with House Democrats to remove McCarthy as speaker.
Now House Republicans, many of whom remain outraged at Gaetz and his allies over McCarthy’s removal, must unite around one speaker candidate. Until a new leader is chosen, the Republican congressman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina will continue serving as the acting speaker as the House remains unable to conduct other business.
No chamber-wide vote on the speakership has yet been scheduled. Asked whether Republicans would be able to hold a full House vote on Wednesday, McHenry said on Monday: “That’s my goal.”
Republicans hope they can choose a speaker by the end of the week and avoid the spectacle that unfolded in January, when McCarthy required 15 rounds of voting to win the gavel. A quick election would allow Republicans to turn their full attention to the situation in Israel, following this weekend’s attacks staged by Hamas. Many House Republicans are anxious to pass a bill providing aid to Israel, but they cannot do so until a new speaker is chosen.
On Tuesday, the Republican chair of the House foreign affairs committee, Michael McCaul of Texas, and the panel’s top Democrat, Gregory Meeks of New York, introduced a bipartisan resolution expressing support for Israel.
“I expect this bipartisan resolution to be one of the…
2023-10-11 10:03:25
Original from www.theguardian.com
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