McCarthy, eight Republican hardliners fired in half term
If Congressional disruption continues, the crisis of a federal government shutdown reignites.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution to dismiss House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the 3rd (local time). This is the first time in American history that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, third in the line of succession to power, has been dismissed. As the collapse of the U.S. Congress becomes inevitable, confusion surrounding pending issues such as the federal government shutdown (temporary business suspension) and the war in Ukraine is expected to increase.
On this day, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution to dismiss Speaker McCarthy by a vote of 216 to 210. This vote followed Rep. Matt Gates, a hard-line Republican, who submitted a resolution to dismiss Speaker McCarthy in protest at his passage of a temporary budget bill to avoid a federal government shutdown. In the vote that day, 208 Democratic lawmakers and 8 Republican lawmakers, including Gates, voted in favor of dismissal. While the Democratic Party announced its support for dismissal based on party lines, a small number of hard-line Republican lawmakers who held the casting vote effectively ousted the chairman from the same party.
Accordingly, Speaker McCarthy, who was elected Speaker of the House in January of this year, was suddenly dismissed from his position as Speaker after 269 days. This is the first time that a speaker has been dismissed from the U.S. House of Representatives. The last time the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a resolution to dismiss the Speaker was in 1910, when former Speaker Joe Cannon was in office, and the resolution was rejected at that time.
The dismissal of Chairman McCarthy is expected to further intensify the confusion in the U.S. political world. The U.S. House of Representatives appointed Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry (North Carolina) as interim chairman. However, it is pointed out that the U.S. Congress will be virtually paralyzed, with voting on bills coming to an ‘all halt’ until a new chairman is elected. Chairman McCarthy was also elected as chairman only after 15 votes due to opposition from hardliners in the Republican Party.
If the disruption in Congress continues, the confusion in American politics surrounding next year’s budget is expected to intensify further. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives temporarily postponed the federal government shutdown by passing a 45-day temporary budget on the 30th of last month, but as the Republican hardliners’ revolt succeeded due to the unprecedented dismissal of the Speaker of the House, it is more likely that the Democratic Party and the Republican Party will reach an agreement in the main budget negotiations. It is pointed out that it has decreased. Congressman Gates, who led the dismissal of Chairman McCarthy, is calling for a drastic reduction in next year’s budget, including a complete cut in the budget for supporting the war in Ukraine.
There are observations that the Republican Party’s internal strife may accelerate ahead of next year’s presidential election. Immediately after the vote, some Republican lawmakers protested, shouting at the hard-liners, “What are we going to do now?” Former Mike Pence urged the re-election of McCarthy, who was dismissed, as the new Speaker of the House, saying, “Chaos will never be acceptable.” Former President Donald Trump also criticized the dismissal vote in a post on social media while voting, saying, “Why do Republicans always fight among themselves instead of Democrats?”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.