POLITICS
US House Paralyzed Without A Speaker As Israel Goes To War
speakermccarthy/Instagram
As Israel fights a war against Hamas militants after a surprise attack over the weekend, the U.S. House of Representatives remains unable to pass any legislation without a speaker after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted last week,
House Republicans were already under pressure to elect a new speaker before a temporary budget extension expires on Nov. 17, threatening a government shutdown, but that pressure intensified over the weekend when fighting broke out in the Middle East.
Without a speaker, the House cannot pass any legislation, including international aid.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) temporarily leads the chamber as speaker pro tempore, and two candidates have emerged: Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, currently the majority leader and second-ranking Republican in the chamber, and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the leaders of the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Jordan for the speakership, but neither has the votes required to win the gavel.
At a press conference Monday, McCarthy indicated he would be open to returning to the leadership post.
“Thats a decision by the conference,” McCarthy said when asked about the possibility. “Ill allow the conference to make whatever decision. Whether Im speaker or not, Im a member of this body … I can lead in any position it is.”
The House GOP is expected to hold a candidates forum Tuesday to hear from Scalise and Jordan.
McCarthy was ousted by just a handful of conservative Republicans after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) filed a motion to vacate the chair, forcing a historic vote on whether to keep McCarthy, which he lost by a vote of 216–210.
McCarthy had struggled to unite House Republicans behind a budget deal to avoid a government shutdown, as the more conservative flank led by Gaetz pushed for deep domestic spending cuts and objected to sending more aid to Ukraine.
Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, a more moderate Republican, called McCarthy’s ouster idiotic in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Doing so as Israel faces an all out attack is dangerous. Uncertainty and chaos in the U.S. breeds vulnerability around the world, Lawler wrote. The House should immediately reinstate McCarthy and stop screwing around.
McCarthy pointed to the fact that so few Republicans voted, along with Democrats, to remove him from the speakership,
“Im going to allow the conference to do their work, McCarthy said, adding, You have 96% of the conference in one place and youre allowing 4% with the Democrats playing politics … That is wrong.”
TMX contributed to this article.
