Republicans remain divided over the name of the next speaker

First Amendment: 10/12/2023 – 11:02

2 minutes

With our correspondents Cristobal Vázquez, David Thompson and AFP

After more than a week without a speaker of Congress, Republicans, who constitute the majority in the House of Representatives, nominated Steve Scalise, a conservative congressman from Louisiana, as a candidate to replace Kevin McCarthy. They chose him over Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Internal opposition

Barely nominated as the majority candidate for the position, after an internal Republican vote conducted behind closed doors, Steve Scalise is facing a rebellion within his camp. Many influential members of the majority oppose his nomination and have declared that they will not respect the voting instructions.

This is the case of Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose authenticity is questioned. A popular Trump representative from Georgia believes the cancer treatment the 50-year-old candidate is receiving is not compatible with the office.

Nancy Mace, one of the eight representatives-elect who ousted House Speaker McCarthy last week, will not vote for Scalise either. He berates him for his shadowy connections with fanatical circles in his Louisiana fiefdom.

paralysis

Divisions within the Republican Party are more prominent than ever, raising fears of a chaotic vote to find a new speaker and bring the House out of paralysis. To be elected without Democratic votes, the new Speaker of the House would need all Republican votes.

This is far from the case today. Therefore, many elected representatives are calling for the vote to be postponed while negotiations take place behind the scenes in the hope of presenting a more united front in the plenary session in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of the House’s powers were suspended due to the surprise ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on October 3, a victim of divisions between moderates and Trump supporters in the Republican Party.

Without a Speaker of Congress, the necessary laws cannot be passed to guarantee the aid that the White House intends to send to Israel and Ukraine. In addition, the US government’s budget cannot be approved to continue operating beyond the extension until the second week of November.