WASHINGTON: Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the US House of Representatives early on Saturday after making sweeping concessions to a group of right-wing hardliners that raised questions about the party’s ability to govern.
The 57-year-old Californian suffered the latest humiliation when Rep. Matt Gaetz withheld his vote on the 14th ballot as midnight approached, sparking a scuffle that physically ejected fellow Republican Mike Rogers. Had to take it out.
McCarthy’s victory on the 15th ballot ended the deepest congressional breakdown in more than 160 years. But he made clear the difficulties he would face in leading a narrow and deeply polarized majority.
Read more: Hard-line Republicans rally against McCarthy’s bid for House speaker.
He eventually won by a margin of 216–212. He was elected with less than half the votes of the House members only because six of his own party abstained – not supporting McCarthy as leader, but also not voting for the other contenders. .
“I’m glad it’s over,” McCarthy told reporters shortly after the vote.
McCarthy agreed with hardline demands that any lawmaker could call for his removal at any time. That would erode that power sharply as he tries to legislate on key issues, including funding the government, tackling the country’s growing debt ceiling and other emerging crises.
“We got things that are transformative,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican who voted to support McCarthy after opposing him for most of the week.
Republicans’ weaker-than-expected performance in November’s midterm elections left them with a narrow 222-212 majority, giving a boost to hard-right forces opposed to McCarthy’s leadership.
Those concessions, which include sharp spending cuts and other restrictions under McCarthy’s leadership, could point to more turmoil in the coming months, especially as Congress passes a resolution on the $31.4 trillion U.S. debt. Further additions to the taking authority will need to be signed.
Over the past decade, Republicans have repeatedly shut down large parts of the government and pushed the world’s largest borrower to the brink of default in efforts to pull out steep spending cuts, usually without success.
Several hardliners have questioned McCarthy’s willingness to engage in such obfuscation when negotiating with President Joe Biden, whose Democrats control the Senate. He has been angered in the past when Senate Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell, agreed to compromise on deals.
Hardliners, including Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry and Chip Roy of Texas, said the concessions they won from McCarthy would make it easier to pursue such tactics this year — or if they do. Failing to meet their expectations will force another vote on McCarthy’s leadership.
“We’re making changes to the way we spend and allocate this money that are going to be historic,” said Representative Scott Perry, chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus.
“We don’t want clean debt limits to just go through when Democrats control the White House and control the Senate and just keep paying the bills without some countermeasures to control spending.”
One of those Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, warned that concessions McCarthy made to win the job could backfire.
“Given Kevin McCarthy’s concessions to extremists in his own party, it is more likely that MAGA will cause a Republican-controlled House to cause a government shutdown or default for our country,” Schumer said in a statement. There will be disastrous consequences.”
In stark contrast to the battles between House Republicans this week, Biden and McConnell appeared together in Kentucky on Wednesday to highlight investment in infrastructure.
McCarthy’s belated victory came on January 1, one day after the two-year anniversary. 6, 2021, the attack on the US Capitol, when a violent mob attacked Congress in an attempt to overturn the election defeat of then-President Donald Trump.
This week’s 14 failed votes made it the most for the speakership since 1859, in the tumultuous years before the Civil War.
McCarthy’s last bid for speaker, in 2015, failed in the face of right-wing opposition. The previous two Republican speakers, John Boehner and Paul Ryan, quit after falling out with right-wing colleagues.
Wielding the speaker’s gavel would give McCarthy the power to block Biden’s legislative agenda, vote for Republican priorities on the economy, energy and immigration, and move forward with investigations into Biden, his administration and his family. .