(New York) Even before taking the oath on Tuesday, the elected members of the House of Representatives will begin the first working session of the 118e Congress by electing a president (speaker in English). The latter will then become the third person in the American state after President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.
From the outset, at least two candidates will be running, one for each party represented in the House: California Republican Kevin McCarthy and New York State Democrat Hakeem Jeffries.
In normal times, the election of Representative McCarthy should not be in doubt: thanks to their results in the midterm elections, the Republicans enjoy a majority of four seats in the House.
But times are not normal, and electing Nancy Pelosi’s successor may require more than one vote, something not seen since January 3, 1923, exactly 100 years ago.
And if Kevin McCarthy does end up winning, after one or more ballots, he may owe it to an impostor, in this case New York State Representative-elect George Santos, who is already the subject of two investigations because of the multiple lies he told about almost every aspect of his life during his election campaign.
It would start his term well.
But before getting there, Kevin McCarthy will first have to quell the rebellion simmering within his group.
In recent weeks, at least five Republican representatives have announced that they will not vote for him, which could deprive him of the simple majority he needs to realize his life’s dream.
One of the rebels, Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, made a prediction in an op-ed published Dec. 21 on the conservative news site The Daily Caller: “The election [du président de la Chambre] will require several ballots and possibly several days. After internal debate, Republicans will come together and choose the right leader for this role, and it shouldn’t be Kevin McCarthy. »
In the same forum, the Florida representative wrote that Kevin McCarthy was the “pocket dog of interest groups”, including those who wanted to impose the vaccination obligation to fight COVID-19.
“All Republicans in Congress know that Kevin doesn’t believe in anything. It has no ideology,” he added.
extremist faction
Like Matt Gaetz, the four other representatives who have promised not to vote for Kevin McCarthy belong to the Freedom Caucus, which brings together the most conservative or extremist elected officials in the House. They are Andy Biggs (Arizona), Bob Good (Virginia), Ralph Norman (South Carolina) and Matt Rosendale (Montana).
Several other Republican representatives declined to disclose how they will vote.
Kevin McCarthy has a number of assets in his game. He notably enjoys the support of Donald Trump and two influential representatives among the most conservative within the Republican group, Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia) . These two are expected to hold important positions on the commissions that will investigate the Biden administration and launch possible impeachment proceedings against the president or members of his cabinet.
But Kevin McCarthy is also at the mercy of colleagues who want to take advantage of his vulnerability to extract concessions from him or even to weaken him further. Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert is among that group. In exchange for her support, she notably demanded that the representative of California authorize the use of an old rule allowing any representative to force a vote to remove the speaker of the House from office.
We need to have an accountability mechanism for the Speaker of the House. He is the second in the order of presidential succession. And we’re going to remove the only means of control available to members of Congress?
Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert
A public spat between Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene followed this statement, which reflects the divisions even within the ultraconservative fringe of the Republican group.
Divisions that could cause many headaches for the next Speaker of the House of Representatives, whoever he is.
The thorny file of George Santos
In the meantime, Kevin McCarthy’s wiggle room is minimal. Hence his deafening silence on the implausible controversies surrounding George Santos. An openly gay candidate, the son of Brazilian immigrants born in the borough of Queens, this 34-year-old New Yorker was elected after lying about his academic background, his professional career, his real estate assets, his charitable activities and his confession. religious, among others (he said he was Jewish through his maternal grandparents, whom he falsely presented as survivors of the Holocaust who had taken refuge in Brazil).
PHOTO WADE VANDERVORT, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Republican Representative-elect George Santos, who admitted lying about his education and work experience.
The Nassau County, Long Island district attorney last week announced an investigation into George Santos’ “inventions and inconsistencies” that “are nothing less than staggering.” The Brooklyn federal prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation, in part, into the financial statements of the designated representative, whose income would have increased from $ 55,000 to at least $ 3.5 million from 2021 to 2022.
Democrats have claimed that George Santos is unfit to sit in the House of Representatives. The Republican majority could itself come to this conclusion in due course. But first, the impostor will have a say in the election of the next “speaker”.
And his vote could make the difference and allow Kevin McCarthy to finally grab the gavel of the Speaker of the House.