(Washington) Republican Kevin McCarthy overcame his first test as a “speaker” of the US Congress on Monday with the adoption, without difficulty, of the regulations of the House of Representatives from which he painfully snatched the presidency before the weekend.
The elected members of the lower house, which narrowly fell into the Republican hands in the mid-term elections, adopted in the evening the rules which will govern their action for the next two years.
Only one elected Republican defected, a remarkable score as the party tore itself apart last week.
For four days, a handful of elected Trumpists had indeed blocked the accession to the perch of Kevin McCarthy, who was finally elected only on the 15the round of voting and in an electric atmosphere, a scenario unseen for more than 160 years.
The California elected official welcomed on Twitter the adoption of rules that “encourage elected officials to debate, increase transparency and reopen Congress to the People”.
But his fellow Democrats noted that he had granted large concessions to the slingers to bring them back into line.
“I’m worried about the deals being made behind the scenes,” lawmaker Jim McGovern said. “These rules do not represent a serious attempt to govern, but a ransom demand for America from the far right,” he added.
PHOTO ALEX BRANDON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace voted with her dog on the 11e ballot.
During the weekend, moderate Republican elected officials had expressed the same criticisms. “We have no idea what promises were made […] and it hurts my heart, ”said the elected Nancy Mace, who, despite her reservations, voted with the majority.
“Horrible Idea”
The new regulations require elected officials to be present to vote on legislation, unlike a measure adopted during the pandemic. It also authorizes only one of them – against five so far – to introduce a motion of no confidence against the Speaker.
Then, it provides for the creation of a commission of inquiry into the “instrumentalization” by the Democrats of the Department of Justice – a means of discrediting the investigations targeting ex-President Donald Trump.
Finally, the project includes measures “to solve our problem of uncontrollable debt”, explained the elected official Tom Cole. In particular, it requires that each new expenditure be financed by a cut elsewhere in the budget, and plans to cancel 72 billion dollars allocated to tax officials.
The White House has let it be known that President Biden would veto if the latter proposal were to pass outright, on the grounds that it would cause $115 billion in deficits by allowing “wealthy cheaters to evade taxes.”
According to the American media, Kevin McCarthy has made other promises, which will manifest themselves in particular during the votes on the debt ceiling.
In particular, he would have agreed to freeze the amount of the budget for ten years and to reduce military spending by 10%.
“It has been proposed to cut billions of dollars in the defense budget, I think it’s a horrible idea”, commented on Sunday the elected Republican Tony Gonzales who finally joined the Democrats on Monday.
“With Russian aggression in Ukraine, the growing Chinese threat in the Pacific […], how are we going to be able to look our allies in the eye and ask them to increase their military budget if America reduces its own? “, he explained.
Especially since these cuts could weigh on aid in Kyiv. “Everything is on the table,” admitted Jim Jordan, a loyal lieutenant of ex-President Donald Trump and rallied to Kevin McCarthy. “Honestly, we have to look at the money being sent to Ukraine and wonder if there’s a better way to protect America. »
The scope of these measures, however, is largely symbolic: laws passed in the House have no chance of being passed in the Senate, which the Democrats retain control of.
The Republicans will therefore above all have a power of nuisance, through their power to investigate or block bills brought by the government of Joe Biden.