House Speaker McCarthy faces tough first week in trying to unify Republicans
Kevin McCarthy will face a tough first week in his new job as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
Republican McCarthy, Speakers elected in dramatic fashion Early Saturday morning, after several days of bargaining and bargaining to gain the support of a small but strong group of conservative supporters.
After agreeing to a series of changes in House procedure demanded by the rebels, there were suspicions within the party that McCarthy had severely weakened his own hand by sacrificing too much power to pursue the job. Some are skeptical.
Over the weekend there were concerns that the overarching package of rules that would set the parameters for a new session of parliament itself could be withheld by a minority of opponents when it was put to a vote on Monday.
Nancy Mace, a moderate Republican congressman from South Carolina, told CBS News on Sunday she was “on the fence” about whether to vote for the package. He said he wanted to know more about the backroom deal he made to gain the support of members of the House of Representatives.
“I like the rules package…I support it. But what I don’t support is the few people who privately and secretly try to get the deal done…I don’t support it.” I don’t support ,” Mace said. “I’m at a loss about voting for rule packages right now… for that reason.”
Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez also threatened to vote against the bill. Said he objected – what he called a “terrifying idea.”
“When you have an aggressive Russia [in] Ukraine, you are increasing the Chinese threat in the Pacific. . . How can we look in the eyes of our allies and say that America is going to cut ours when we need to increase our defense budgets?” he said.
The changes include a provision allowing any member of parliament to cause a vote of no confidence in the speaker and requiring the bill to be published at least 72 hours before the vote. The package also includes rules aimed at limiting federal spending and ensuring that certain parts of the bill to crack down on immigration and access to abortion get voted on.
But McCarthy’s allies expressed confidence they could secure enough votes to pass the package of rules with a simple majority. Jim Jordan, a Republican congressman from Ohio who is poised to become chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News on Sunday: But . I think he can get the 218 votes needed to pass the regulation package. “
When asked by reporters in the Capitol on Saturday if he had the vote to pass the rules package, McCarthy only responded: let me rest “
McCarthy leads the House of Representatives, which is dominated by a very narrow margin. triumph in the midterm elections in November. A margin means that a handful of Republican rebels could stand in the way of a single law.
The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden called McCarthy on Saturday afternoon to congratulate him on his election as chairman. Yes, but warned he opposes efforts to cut federal funding for Social Security, Medicare and the military.
Democratic House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Republican infighting portends more dysfunction in the years to come.
“Our general concern is that the historic dysfunction we’ve seen this week isn’t over. It’s just the beginning,” Jeffries told NBC News.
https://www.ft.com/content/add12da0-2e7b-441f-bafb-18fc1576586d House Speaker McCarthy faces tough first week in trying to unify Republicans