(Washington) Republicans in the US House of Representatives designated elected representative Mike Johnson as the new candidate for the post of “speaker” on Tuesday evening, at the end of an incredible day illustrating the chaos in which the Congress of the United States is plunged. United.
Louisiana elected official Mike Johnson won an internal vote held in the evening, announced Republican elected official Elise Stefanik.
However, it would have to have a certain number of obstacles left before it can access the perch.
After trying for weeks to find a new president for the lower house, the Republicans initially agreed on Tuesday on the name of Tom Emmer, the party’s number three in the House.
PHOTO JONATHAN ERNST, REUTERS
Tom Emmer
The candidacy of this elected representative from Minnesota, voice of the party establishment, however, very quickly seemed doomed to failure.
More than twenty Trumpist elected officials had in fact quickly indicated that they would never support him during the vote in plenary session, even though the Republicans only have a very slim majority in the House of Representatives.
Paralysis
Nearly three weeks after the impeachment of former Speaker of the Lower House Kevin McCarthy, Republicans’ infighting continues to come to light.
However, the challenges of finding a new “speaker” are high. Without him, it is impossible to hold a vote on a bill; and in the absence of a vote on the budget, the threat of a paralysis of the federal administration in mid-November only gains credibility.
PHOTO JOSE LUIS MAGANA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Without a speaker, the House is also unable to grant President Joe Biden’s request to send emergency aid to Israel and Ukraine.
“It’s probably one of the most embarrassing things I’ve seen,” the Republican head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, told ABC News on Sunday.
“Because if we don’t have a Speaker of the House, we can’t govern.” And every day that goes by, we are basically shut down as a government,” he added.
Last week, Judiciary Committee head Jim Jordan, an ally of former President Donald Trump, appeared poised to put an end to this increasingly troublesome quest for the party.
He ended up suffering three failures in as many votes. Then the Republicans withdrew their support, announcing that they would meet on Monday to nominate a new candidate for the post of “speaker”.
Leadership
These dysfunctions within the Republican Party are preventing Congress from responding to Joe Biden’s demand for more than $100 billion in emergency funds, primarily military aid for Ukraine and Israel in their wars against, respectively , Russia and Hamas.
“At a critical time when our allies are counting on us to show leadership […]House Republicans are making a mockery of our government and embarrassing the country on the world stage,” denounced Democratic National Committee spokesperson Sarafina Chitika.
And unless elected officials approve the 2024 federal budget by November 17, the federal administration will be paralyzed, with hundreds of thousands of workers temporarily sent home without pay.
As for three weeks, confusion reigns in Congress on the procedure to follow and the parliamentary soap opera promises new twists and turns in the days and weeks to come.