The right wing of the Republican Party this Wednesday again stopped the appointment of Republican Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the US House of Representatives, institution that will remain blocked until a new “speaker” is chosen.
Although former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) had asked his acolytes to close ranks with McCarthy, the Californian politician could not guarantee in the fourth ballot the 218 votes necessary to preside over the Lower Houseas happened on Tuesday in the first three.
The leader of the Republican caucus got only 201 votes because a group of 20 congresswomen from his party put forward the alternative candidacy of Bryon Donalds, from Florida, and the conservative congresswoman Victoria Spartz abstained.
For their part, the 212 Democratic Party legislators voted unanimously for their candidate, Hakeem Jeffries, from New York, who also does not have enough numbers to take office.
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Don’t turn a big win into a giant, embarrassing loss.
The rebellious Republicans grouped in the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus ignored the words of Trump, who hours before the plenary session had asked his supporters to close ranks with McCarthy.
“Republicans, don’t turn a great victory into a giant and embarrassing defeat,” said the former president, who trusted that McCarthy can do “a great job” replacing Democrat Nancy Pelosi as head of the Lower House.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, also expressed himself in this regard, calling the blockade of the Lower House “shameful” due to divisions between Republicans and warning conservatives that “the rest of the world is watching them.”
On Tuesday, at the opening of the 118th legislature, McCarthy lost three votes to become Speaker of the House of Representativesdespite the fact that his party has a sufficient parliamentary majority to do so, thanks to the results of the mid-term elections in November.
The regulation does not contemplate any other alternative to continuing to repeat votes until someone achieves the necessary majority.
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The leader of the House of Representatives is the third authority in the countryafter the president of the United States, Joe Biden, and the vice president, Kamala Harris, who also presides over the Senate.
The ultraconservatives criticize McCarthy for not having negotiated with them a reform of the debate rules or the names to lead the congressional committees in the new legislature.
McCarthy, until now the leader of the Republican opposition, has lashed out at colleagues who think more of “charges for themselves than the country.”
EFE
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