The situation in the House of Representatives in the United States had not yet found a way out on Friday 6 January. Although Republican Kevin McCarthy was able to convince, after thirteen votes, several elected Trumpists to support his candidacy, that was not enough to bring him to the position of speaker. Open at noon (6pm, in Paris), the debates were suspended a few hours later and will not resume until 10pm (4am, in Paris).
Four days after Republicans officially took control, the House is still paralyzed by the revolt of a score of elected Trumpists who are blocking the election. Republican Kevin McCarthy, favored to replace Nancy Pelosi in the job, made significant progress on Friday for the first time in his candidacy in an unprecedented fourth day of talks.
Of the 218 votes needed to win — Republicans have a narrow majority of 222 seats in the House of Representatives — McCarthy had so far garnered just 203. In Friday’s 13th ballot, he garnered 214. California’s elected representative is addicted to goodwill of exponents of the more conservative fringe of his party, who take advantage of the very narrow Republican majority won in the mid-term elections to set their own conditions.
“An Extreme Fringe Prevents Grooming”
The opportunity for Democrats to denounce the grip of Donald Trump’s loyalists – many of whom still refuse to acknowledge his defeat in 2020 – on the Republican Party, two years after the attack carried out by his supporters against the seat of Congress. “The chaos in the House of Representatives is just another example of how extreme the fringe is (…) prevent them from rulingassured the Democratic head of the Senate, Chuck Schumer.
The anniversary of the assault on the Capitol “should serve as a signal to the Republican Party to reject the Trumpism that is taking it from bankruptcy to bankruptcy”he said in a statement. This second anniversary was marked by a minute’s silence on the steps of the United States Congress.
Kevin McCarthy reached out to the freelancers blocking his election, offering them substantial concessions in behind-the-scenes negotiations. This blockade has very concrete repercussions: without a speaker, the elected cannot take the oath or therefore vote on a bill. The 434 members of the House of Representatives, the scene of this singular spectacle, will therefore continue to vote until a president is elected.
“We will surprise you”
“We will make progress, we will surprise you”, had promised Kevin McCarthy to enter the congressional compound on Friday morning. After the suspension of the debates, the elected Republican told CNN ” consider [qu’il] will get the votes to end it forever”. A Republican staffer for more than a decade, the elect currently does not have a credible competitor. Only the name of the group leader, Steve Scalise, circulates as a possible appeal, without his chances appearing serious.
What is generally just a matter of hours could take several weeks: In 1856, elected representatives in Congress agreed after only two months and 133 rounds. The annoyance was palpable among members of the Grand Old Party, who largely support Kevin McCarthy’s candidacy, giving rise to very heated debates in the hemicycle. The Republican leadership also knows it cannot afford to overreact and alienate moderate Republicans.
In the democratic ranks, where the elected all stand up en bloc at each vote, as if to accentuate the republican divisions a little more, they do as best they can. Joe Biden’s party may show unity around its leader Hakeem Jeffries, but not even the camp has enough votes to end this paralysis.
