2023-10-11 19:40:02
In a closed-door vote on Wednesday, they nominated 58-year-old Steve Scalise. However, the vote on the new chairmanship has been delayed indefinitely. The Chamber of Parliament formally met briefly on Wednesday and adjourned the session. A new date was not given.
According to the media, it is unlikely that MPs will vote on the top job on Wednesday. Since the Republicans only have a narrow majority in the chamber, Scalise can hardly afford any dissidents in his own ranks when elected chairman. It was unclear how many of his party colleagues would actually support him and vote for him. Scalise is the previous Republican number two in the US House of Representatives and reportedly won the party’s internal vote by 113 votes to 99.
Support for Israel
Work in the chamber is suspended until a new chairman is elected. Accordingly, the USA cannot provide Israel with any additional help in the Gaza conflict. Scalise made his support for Israel clear following his internal party nomination. If he is elected, a resolution in support of the partner would be first on the agenda, Scalise said on Wednesday followingnoon local time in Washington. The parliamentary chamber must now quickly become functional once more and approve further military aid for Israel following the Hamas attacks. “We need to make sure we send a message to people around the world that the U.S. House of Representatives is open and doing the business of the people.”
Only barely survived the assassination attempt
The previous speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was overthrown by ultra-conservative party colleagues on October 3rd in an internal power struggle. They punished him because he had relied on the support of President Joe Biden’s Democrats to avert a budget freeze. Scalise has served in Congress since 2008. He narrowly survived a gun attack in 2017, but is still considered a strong advocate of liberal gun rights. Last year he was elected majority leader in the House of Representatives. “It is very, very important that Congress gets back to work,” he said recently.
Only a small majority in the chamber
In addition to Scalise, an ally of former President Donald Trump, Jim Jordan, also applied. It remained unclear whether his supporters would support Scalise in the actual vote. The Republicans have a comparatively small majority of 221 votes to 212 in the chamber. McCarthy was appointed in January following 15 rounds of voting. However, the Republicans are not only under pressure because of the Gaza conflict. If the House of Representatives does not reach an agreement with the Senate on a new budget by November 17th, there will be a shutdown, which McCarthy had prevented with interim funding. Next year, not the president will be elected in the USA, but also the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate.
1697061986
#Republicans #agree #candidates #congressional #leadership #post
