This Tuesday, Republicans elected their fourth candidate in just two weeks to replace the ousted speaker of the House of Representatives. of the United States, underscoring the chaos in which the fragmented party is mired after three previous candidates failed to position themselves.
Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson won an internal party vote, according to the president of the conference, Elise Stefanik.
The House of Representatives has been paralyzed since the October 3 impeachment of the previous leader, Kevin McCarthy, due to a rebellion by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
In an attempt to end the crisis, This Tuesday the Republicans, with a majority in the lower house, agreed to appoint Tom Emmer, the most moderate of those running for office, but he, aware of the reluctance of some Trump supporters to support him in a plenary session, preferred to resign after a few hours.
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So things are, Congress, supposedly one of the most powerful in the world, has not been able to vote on any bills since October 3.
And this in a tense context: they have until November 17 to agree on a budget if they want to avoid the partial closure of the United States federal administration, which would force hundreds of thousands of workers to temporarily stay at home without pay. .
Republican Representative Tom Emmer of Minnesota preferred to resign after a few hours.
On the international front they have two pending issues. Without a leader, The House of Representatives cannot agree to President Joe Biden’s request to unlock more than $100 billion in emergency funds, especially for military aid for Israel and Ukraine.
“This is probably one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever seen,” Republican Foreign Relations Committee leader Michael McCaul told ABC News on Sunday.
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“Because if we don’t have a Speaker of the House, we can’t govern. And with each passing day, we are basically closed as a Government,” he added.
Everything seems to indicate that Johnson will be plagued by the same internal divisions that have left the party unable to unite around a leader.
![Michael Johnson](https://www.eltiempo.com/files/article_content_new/uploads/2023/10/25/65391dcae73f1.jpeg)
Johnson will be affected by the same internal divisions that have prevented the election of a candidate.
Johnson, vice president of the conference but a relative political novice, lost to Emmer earlier in the day, but he quickly threw himself back into the ring after the withdrawal of his leadership colleague.
None of the candidates competing for the nomination this Tuesday had much leadership experience.
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Emmer is a Trump supporter but some Trumpists consider him disloyal for having voted in favor of certifying Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
Only 117 colleagues voted for him in the final round this Tuesday, according to the American press, and 97 preferred his rival Mike Johnson.
![Jim Jordan](https://www.eltiempo.com/files/article_content_new/uploads/2023/10/20/6532a95c954b3.jpeg)
Ohio Republican legislator Jim Jordan.
After his expulsion on October 3, Congressman Steve Scalise ran for the position, who was nominated but was never put to a vote in the plenary session due to lack of support.
Another candidate, Jim Jordan, withdrew from the race on Friday after losing three votes in the chamber in which several legislators from his own ranks turned their backs on him.
Johnson, from Louisiana, will face a closed-door vote this Wednesday to see if he can achieve the 217 votes necessary to emerge victorious in the chamber.
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If Johnson were to succeed where his colleagues have failed, he would be the least experienced spokesman in more than a century. as he has never chaired a committee or played a leadership role.
And he could find himself presiding over a government shutdown in three weeks.unless he can reach a deal on the 2024 budget with much more experienced negotiators in the White House that is acceptable to his party.
Republicans have a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, so the candidate can only afford to have a maximum of four colleagues turn their backs on him in the plenary session vote.
McCarthy, who from the beginning faced resistance from the party’s most right-wing group of legislators, grouped under the “Freedom Caucus,” managed to win the position in January after 15 votes in the House. He was in office for 9 months.
AFP and EFE
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