International
US political crisis intensifies as McCarthy fails to woo party hardliners
January 06, 2023 | 12:32 AM
The US House of Representatives was plunged deeper into crisis yesterday as Republican favourite Kevin McCarthy failed again to win the speakership – entrenching a three-day stand-off that has paralysed the lower chamber of Congress.A day after a group of hardliners rejected a plea by former president Donald Trump to support McCarthy, the California Republican lawmaker offered to weaken the role of the speaker, a change that political allies cautioned would make doing the job even harder.McCarthy, a favourite of the Republican establishment but a bete noire of the far-right, made sweeping concessions overnight to quell a rebellion of around 20 hardliners in his own camp blocking his bid to be the country’s top lawmaker.However, his overtures appeared to have fallen on deaf ears as he failed to win over a single opponent in yesterday’s opening vote, the seventh since the chamber opened for a new term under a thin Republican majority.The 57-year-old Californian had already been humiliated by failure to secure the gavel across six voting rounds during a chaotic, rollercoaster 48 hours, falling behind each time to his Democratic counterpart Hakeem Jeffries – though neither was able to win the required majority."It’s my hope that today the House Republicans will stop the bickering, stop the backbiting and stop the backstabbing so we can have the backs of the American people," Jeffries told reporters at the US Capitol.McCarthy crossed one of his red lines overnight by agreeing to lower the threshold needed to force a vote ousting a speaker from a majority of either party to just one member – imperilling his chances of a long tenure.He also reportedly signalled that he is willing to give the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus two or three seats on the powerful Rules Committee, the speaker’s mechanism for controlling how floor votes are conducted.His opponents also claim to have extracted a pledge to limit lawmakers to three terms, and for a McCarthy-linked political organisation to stop putting up moderates against far right candidates in safe Republican seats.The 2023 speakership race is the first in a century to require multiple rounds of voting.No House business can take place without its presiding officer in place, meaning lawmakers-elect have to continue voting until someone wins a majority.Until then, the chamber will be unable to swear in members, set up committees, tackle legislation or open any of the investigations Republicans have promised into President Joe Biden.Three Republican lawmakers due to head national security committees also warned in an open letter yesterday that the House is currently unable to conduct oversight of the Pentagon or intelligence community."We cannot let personal politics place the safety and security of the United States at risk," they said.McCarthy has long dreamed of being speaker but Tuesday and Wednesday were among the most humiliating days in his career as he failed to win a majority in vote after vote, despite Republicans controlling the House.In the only significant change in the voting, Trump, who is bidding to return to the White House and does not harbour speakership ambitions, secured his first nod, from Florida congressman Matt Gaetz.McCarthy’s failure is being seen as a further marker of Trump’s weakening hold over the party, however, as the lawmaker’s vote share actually dropped after he was endorsed by the former president on Wednesday.Texas conservative Chip Roy had indicated that McCarthy’s proposed compromises could reduce the so-called "Taliban 20" opposing his speakership bid to around 10 detractors.However, in the end 21 of his 221 Republican colleagues opposed him – the same number as in all three of Wednesday’s votes – and he can only afford to lose four.In many cases, McCarthy’s critics lack specific objections to his policies, but claim instead that they find him untrustworthy, lacking a political philosophy and motivated only by a desire for power.The House can move straight to an eighth vote for the speakership, although the McCarthyites may try to seek an adjournment to continue talks.As speaker, McCarthy would hold a post that shapes the chamber’s agenda and is second in the line of succession to the presidency behind Vice-President Kamala Harris.He would be empowered to frustrate Democratic President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda and launch investigations of Biden’s family and administration.
January 06, 2023 | 12:32 AM