McCarthy had repeatedly missed the necessary majority in 14 rounds divided over four days since Tuesday because rebels in his own party had refused to follow him. At the 14th attempt on Friday he was still missing a single vote. He won the last vote with a simple majority of 216 votes to 211 for Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, who in the days before had more and more votes than McCarthy.
In Friday’s first ballot, McCarthy was able to win over 14 of the 21 ultra-right Republicans. Despite the election being successful in the end, McCarthy took office weakened. US President Joe Biden congratulated McCarthy on his election and said he would work with Republicans if he could.
More and more concessions
The 57-year-old has recently been more and more accommodating to his opponents and has thus made himself open to blackmail. The radical party rebels, many of whom are ardent supporters of former President Donald Trump, have called, among other things, for internal rules of procedure in Congress to be changed. During the session on Saturday night, dramatic and chaotic scenes took place in the plenary hall: heated arguments and desperate last-minute negotiations.
The Republican faction leader repeatedly downplayed the internal revolt against him and rejected allegations that the uprising in his own ranks was weakening him. Noting the historical scope of the drama, he said he enjoys making history. He also holds the record for the longest speech in the House of Representatives.
More ballots last 1859/1860
The choice of speaker is actually considered a formality. It has been 100 years since a candidate for the House of Representatives vote did not win the necessary majority on the first ballot: in 1923 it took nine ballots to choose a leader. Only in 1859/1860 were there more ballots than this time. At that time, Republican William Pennington was only elected chairman of the Chamber of Congress in the 44th ballot. The process took several weeks at the time.
The powerful post of “speaker of the house” comes third in the state rankings in the United States after the president and his vice president.
Anniversary: Storming of the Capitol
The chaotic conditions in American democracy come at a time when the country is remembering the unprecedented attack on the US Capitol. January 6 marks the second anniversary of the brutal attack on the seat of parliament.
On the same day in 2021, supporters of then President Trump violently stormed the Congress building in the capital Washington. Congress met there to formally confirm the victory of Democrat Biden in the presidential election. Trump had previously incited his supporters in a speech that he had been deprived of a victory by electoral fraud. Five people died as a result of the riots.
Commemoration without Republican leadership
At a memorial service to mark the second anniversary, House Democrat leader Jeffries commemorated the victims of the Capitol storm. “We are gathered here to honor their memory and to acknowledge with deep gratitude the tremendous bravery of hundreds of officials,” Jeffries said Friday on the steps of the US Capitol.
Relatives of the victims had also gathered in front of the congress. The uprising has shaken the US to the core — that goes for many people in the country and members of Congress, added Jeffrie’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi. Members of the Republican leadership did not attend the memorial service.
In the White House, US President Biden honored several police officers for their service on January 6, 2021. Biden awarded the Citizen’s Medal for the first time in his presidency.
