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The United States House of Representatives today elects a new speaker. Normally it’s just a formality, but due to divisions within the Republican Party, it could be quite a spectacle this year. It may well be that multiple ballots are needed for the first time in a hundred years.
In November’s US midterm elections, Republicans won a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. With a majority, the party can vote its own presidential candidate.
That own nominee is California lawmaker Kevin McCarthy. He was chosen by his own party as the presidential candidate. But not everyone in the party is happy about that.
For example, he receives strong criticism from the far right of the party, which supports the line of former President Trump. Because Republicans do not have a large majority (222 of 435 seats), resistance from a small group could already jeopardize McCarthy’s presidency.
If McCarthy, 57, fails to convince the House in one round, more rounds will follow. The latter happened in 1923.
No alternative within the Republican Party
The election of the Speaker is the House’s first task in the new term, which begins today. This happens even before parliamentarians are sworn in. Until there is a president, parliament cannot get to work.
Incidentally, McCarthy can also be elected with less than 218 votes. This is possible, for example, when some parliamentarians are absent from the vote.
The Republican candidate approaches the vote with confidence. “I think it’s going to be a good day,” he said of voting day Monday night.
McCarthy’s advantage is that no other suitable candidate has yet emerged within the Republican Party. That means the party chairman remains the biggest candidate to replace incumbent Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
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