It took a while, but after fifteen rounds of voting, between Friday and Saturday night, Kevin McCarthy was finally elected the new Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He succeeds Nancy Pelosi, who announced her resignation in late November after Republicans won the House majority in the midterm elections. What can we expect from McCarthy as president?
Usually, the leader of the largest party is designated president after a vote. The fact that it took fifteen rounds of voting before McCarthy was finally elected president was due to a group of twenty radical right-wing Republicans blocking his nomination.
According to McCarthy, this makes one thing clear: that he doesn’t give up. On Twitter, she wrote, “I will never give up for you, the American people.”
But the American media is much more negative about the tug of war in the House of Representatives. The New York Times he called it the “most painful and important week of McCarthy’s political career”. According to the newspaper, last week it became clear what kind of person McCarthy is: a kind man who is better at patting the back than leading politics.
McCarthy made major concessions to become president
The Speaker of the House is second in line to become Speaker after the Vice Speaker. The president sets the agenda for the House and oversees other matters related to the passage or rejection of new legislation. McCarthy had to give up much of the power to him as the new president last week. He had to make some promises and concessions to get the group of ultra-conservative Republicans involved.
One of the group’s demands was that only one MP be needed for an official vote on the president’s position. In the past, this required at least five MPs. This “motion to leave” will hang over McCarthy’s head like a sword of Damocles. It means that he can be deleted at any time.
Another concession McCarthy made concerns the voting process in the House. It was once much more transparent than it is today. Conservatives want fewer decisions made behind closed doors. Individual MPs will then have more say in what goes through the lower house, but the voting process will also become much slower.
McCarthy has also pledged ultra-conservative Republican seats on key committees. This gives them much more power. Greater attention will also be paid to topics they consider important, such as border policy and immigration.
His willingness to compromise earned McCarthy the presidency. But there are also many criticisms. According to various media, the fact that McCarthy has given up so much for a radical group within his own party shows that his position has already weakened. McCarthy is likely to have trouble keeping order in the House, so there’s a chance the next couple of years will look a lot like last week.
