(Washington) Les républicains ont abandonné vendredi la candidature du représentant Jim Jordan à la présidence de la Chambre, prenant la décision lors d’une séance à huis clos après que l’allié intransigeant de Donald Trump eut échoué à se faire élire au troisième tour.
Par la suite, M. Jordan a simplement dit à propos de ses collègues : « Nous leur avons posé la question, ils ont pris une décision différente. »
Le président du Comité judiciaire a déclaré que les républicains de la Chambre doivent maintenant se rassembler et « déterminer qui sera [le] president “.
The gridlock in the House of Representatives is deepening into a full-blown crisis, with Republicans having no realistic plan to unite the party’s fractured majority, elect a new president and return to work in a Congress that has languished since the Hardliners ousted Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise said they were going to “come back and do it again” on Monday.
PHOTO MANUEL BALCE CENETA, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Representative Steve Scalise
Angry and frustrated Republicans, who saw their majority control descend into chaos, left the private session blaming each other for the divisions they created. The next steps are very uncertain as lawmakers begin to propose new ideas for a possible president. But it appears that no one can currently secure a Republican majority.
“We are in a very bad situation right now,” Mr. McCarthy said earlier.
In a vote Friday morning, Mr. Jordan’s third try, his candidacy was rejected by 25 of his Republican colleagues, a result worse than what he had experienced earlier in the week, and far from the majority needed .
With a 221-212 Republican majority in the House, any candidate can only lose a few detractors. It appears that no Republican can currently secure a clear majority, or 217 votes, to become president.
Many saw the extremism of Mr. Jordan, a founding member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, as disqualifying him for the House speakership, a central seat of American power.
“One thing I cannot tolerate or stand for is a bully,” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Republican of Iowa, who voted against Mr. Jordan in the runoff, said in a statement. having received “credible death threats”.
Biden’s aid plan
An extraordinary idea, giving the acting speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry, more powers for the next few months to at least bring the House back into session and conduct crucial business, was quickly rejected by Ms.’s ultraconservative allies. .Jordan.
PHOTO ALEX BRANDON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Acting Speaker of the House Patrick McHenry
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries reiterated that his party is “ready, willing and able” to partner with more traditional Republicans on the path to reopening the House – especially as Congress is asked to consider the package President Joe Biden’s aid package for Israel, Ukraine and management of the US-Mexico border, among other items.
The tone rose during a closed-door meeting Thursday, with Republican factions blaming each other for plunging their majority into chaos, lawmakers said.
Elevating Mr. McHenry to the rank of expanded Speaker of the House could be a possible way out of the crisis, but it would not be as politically simple as it seems.
Republicans are reluctant to partner with Democrats in a bipartisan manner on this deal, and it is highly unlikely that Republicans could agree to give Mr. McHenry more powers on their own, since this approach displeases their party supporters. the hard line.
Mr. McHenry himself has rejected attempts to hold the position more permanently.