The struggle for chamber leadership shows the Republican Party confused and divided. Read the review

Republican Representatives have been trying unsuccessfully, since Tuesday 3, to nominate a Speaker for the House of Representatives.. The chaotic and unprecedented start of the opposition’s control of the House of Representatives is an indication of the difficulty the party will face in organizing the basic functions of the legislative process, in the absence of a unified political agenda.

With a slim majority in the House of Representatives, set by November’s midterm elections, Republicans are fighting disorganized to determine their leader, while the party’s most extreme faction flatly rejects Rep. Kevin McCarthy, D-Calif. More than 20 deputies refuse to support him. Without definition, the work of the Council is suspended. New MPs cannot take office and no bill can be debated.

The paralysis reveals the difficulty of the Republican Party: no matter how many concessions are made to the far right, it simply will not accept surrender, even if it is for the good of the party itself and even for the good of the nation. This so-called “fundamentalist” faction will not negotiate until all of its demands have been met – and it probably will not negotiate even if they are accepted.

Kevin McCarthy faces opposition from his party to become mayor take photo: Winning McNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP)

The agenda of this group of 20 deputies, most of whom are parliamentarians who do not recognize President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, consists of disrupting, withdrawing resources, and even boycotting the work of the US government, and not participating in it.

This strategy has a practical result: Whoever emerges from this muddled row will face fierce resistance when trying to agree to any project that involves expenditures essential to maintaining the rule of the American state. The show over the past few days shows that Republican lawmakers have become more adept at legislative subversion than building congressional consensus.

“The insurgents don’t like McCarthy and they don’t seem to find a way to like him,” said John Feehery, a former Republican strategist and House aide. They don’t have the legislative maturity to understand that it can’t be personal. It’s just work. “

The Democrats were enjoying the turmoil somewhat, but they also understood the problems it could cause in the future. Representative Mike Quigley, R-Illinois, said the speakers battle was the culmination of the Republicans’ growing spirit of “take the ball and go home” if they don’t get what they’re asking for.

Other Democrats watched in amazement to see Republicans open their reigns with a struggle that would leave anyone chosen seriously disabled and dent the party’s strength from the start. “What a weak position they’ve put themselves in,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a ranking Democrat from Connecticut, marveled.