It is currently completely unclear how the party should continue. It is unclear, for example, whether the members of parliament who have so far been loyal to McCarthy will continue to do so. McCarthy himself said on Tuesday that he had no problem setting a record for the most ballots in a presidency vote: “I’m staying until we win. I know the way.” In any case, the Chamber of Congress cannot begin its work without a chair.
There were already intensive negotiations behind the scenes in advance, which will probably continue now. New candidates are also being considered more and more loudly, including Steve Scalise. He is already a member of the party’s leadership and backed McCarthy on Tuesday. Elise Stefanik is also mentioned. She was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2014 as the youngest woman at the time and was considered moderate. She is now one of the iron supporters of ex-President Donald Trump.
The right-wing Trump supporters in the group, however, prefer MP Jim Jordan. He was already up for election on Tuesday and coaxed votes from McCarthy. After the debacle in the vote, Jordan emphasized that he himself did not want to become chairman of the House of Representatives and pleaded for McCarthy to have his back. The right wing should not be a viable compromise candidate for many in the party either.
majority clearly missed
In all three rounds of the election on Tuesday, McCarthy failed to obtain the necessary majority. In the first two attempts, he received 203 votes – in the third round only 202. He got fewer votes than his Democratic competitor Hakeem Jeffries. The faction leader of the Democrats was nominated by his party for the post, but his election is ruled out.
In the simplest scenario, a majority of 218 votes is required for the election of the chairperson – if all 434 newly elected parliamentarians are present. If some of them abstain, the required majority is smaller. The choice of speaker is actually considered a formality.
McCarthy struck out against opponents within the party
Before the votes, McCarthy also said that his opponents only care about personal advancement, not about the country. He revealed that on Monday he was told he would only get the necessary votes if he provided certain members of the group with certain offices and budgets. One of his opponents, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, even said bluntly that he didn’t care if the Democratic candidate won in case of doubt, McCarthy said.
“I will always fight to put the American people first – not a few individuals trying to get their own way.” There may be a “battle” in the plenary chamber, but this is about them entire group and the country, “and that’s okay with me,” said the 57-year-old from California before the start of the meeting.
Republicans heavily divided
The Republican faction in the House of Representatives, like the party as a whole, is torn between right-wing Trump supporters and more moderate party members. Faced with a slim majority, McCarthy had to unite the various wings behind him and even recruit members from the very fringes of his faction. Five Republicans publicly announced early on that they would refuse to vote for McCarthy. Then they registered further resistance.
In recent weeks, McCarthy has tried to appease internal critics with all sorts of concessions. Most recently, he even agreed to significantly lower the hurdles for a possible dismissal of the chairman of the House of Representatives, as reported by several US media, citing internal discussions in the parliamentary group. That could be used as a constant means of pressure against him – but even with this concession, McCarthy’s majority was not secured until the end.
One of McCarthy’s opponents, Republican Congressman and chair of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, Scott Perry, wrote on Twitter Tuesday that McCarthy had rejected many of his group’s demands during the talks. McCarthy had the chance to become chairman. “He rejected her.”
Changed majorities in Congress
In the congressional elections in early November, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate were up for grabs. Both chambers met in separate sessions this Tuesday, for the first time with new members. In the House of Representatives, the Republicans only achieved a narrow majority of 222 seats. The Democrats have 212 seats. One seat is still open as one MP died shortly after the election.
With the changed majority and their new strength in the House of Representatives, the Republicans can make life difficult for Biden in the future. They have already announced parliamentary inquiries into the President and other members of the government, and they can block legislation at will.
