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USA: Paralyzed House of Representatives remains without a president

THE House of Representatives at USA completed its work yesterday Thursday (5/1) without being able to elect a new president of the body, paralyzed due to the discord of Republicans.

The favorite, Kevin McCarthy, was unable to take office after a third consecutive day of deliberations and a total of 11 votes, with no result. The work of the body is repeated today (6/1) at noon (at 19:00 Greek time).

The Californian politician reached out to the approximately twenty congressmen of his party who are supporters of the former president Donald Trump, offering them wide concessions in negotiations in halls and corridors. In vain.

This group, which has no confidence in him, refusing to follow the party line, left the body without a president for one more day, a scenario unprecedented in 160 years..

The impasse has very tangible implications: without a president, parliamentarians cannot be sworn in and therefore cannot approve any bill.

“Faulty System”

Members of the more conservative wing of the Grand Old Party, these MPs benefit from the narrow majority (222-212) secured by the party in the November 2022 by-elections to set their terms – without them Kevin McCarthy simply cannot to be elected.

“We need to fix this flawed system,” Montana Rep. Matt Rosedale said in the semi-circle.

Mr. McCarthy has already accepted one of the main demands of the “rebels”, which was to make it easier to remove the “speaker”, the president of the House, from office. But opposition to his candidacy seems to have crystallized.

Will the crisis prove “less severe” than in 1856?

A majority of 218 votes is required to elect the speaker of the lower house, the third most important official in the American political system after the president and vice president. After eleven votes, Mr McCarthy only secured 203 at best. Yesterday, he did not exceed 201. The question is now whether, and for how long, his candidacy is viable.

A member of the Republican staff for more than ten years, Mr. McCarthy has, for now, no formidable opponent. Only Trump faction leader Steve Scalise’s name has been floated as a possible alternative, but his chances don’t look serious. Yesterday the name of … Donald Trump, who is not even a member of the body, was proposed.

Voting in the House of Representatives will continue until a new president of the body is elected. A process that would normally take only hours could take weeks: in 1856, it took two months and 133 votes.

The Democratic president, Joe Biden, last Wednesday described the situation in the House of Representatives as “shameful”, pointing out that “the rest of the world” is closely following the developments in Congress.

Facing a hostile but disorganized Congress may prove to be a hopeless political gift for President Biden, especially if he confirms that he will run for office again in 2024 – he has said he will announce his decision early this year.

Source: News Beast

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