Marking the 20th day that the US House of Representatives is out of office, Republicans on Monday found themselves starting from scratch: debating who should lead them, what their priorities should be. and when Congress will resume normal functions.
Nine Republicans are running for office – speaker of the House of Representatives and second in the chain of command for the president of the country – although there is no clear chance of winning. The oldest of them is Representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota, a former campaign manager who is now a disciplinarian. But the former hockey coach does not have the support of Donald Trump, which could mean the end of his candidacy.
On Monday night, as they have done almost every day since Kevin McCarthy was ousted from office, Republicans will meet behind closed doors to hear from the candidate before voting.
McCarthy himself described the situation as “embarrassing” for Republicans, whose majority in the lower house was squandered, and for the government as a whole, which was not functioning at all.
What started as a breakout of a section of radical Republicans led by Rep. Florida’s Matt Gaetz to remove McCarthy at the beginning of the month has become a full crisis of dysfunction and dangerous fighting that hinders normal operations. Legislative Branch.
The federal government is again at risk of a shutdown within weeks if Congress does not pass legislation by Nov. 17 to resume shipments and services. And immediately, President Joe Biden asked Congress to approve $105 billion in aid for Israel, Ukraine and to strengthen the US border with Mexico. Federal aviation and agriculture programs could be paralyzed if new funding is not approved.
Despite this, the bickering among the lawmakers grew stronger than any desire to resolve the crisis, as the Republicans continued to attack each other: first by firing McCarthy and then by rejecting the candidates who were next nominees to replace him, such as majority leader Steve Scalise and head of the Legal Affairs Commission Jim Jordan.
What began as a series of complaints from right-wingers against McCarthy’s positions in budget negotiations turned into a chain of political and personal grudges against various leaders, factions and personalities.
“Can someone fix this? I don’t think so,” said Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas, who suggested giving the job to Trump
