WIN MCNAMEE / Getty Images via AFP
In the American Congress, the Republican candidate for “speaker” is already throwing in the towel. The Republican elected to the American Congress Tom Emmer, nominated as candidate a few hours earlier by his peers, preferred to give up even before a vote in plenary session. (Photo by Tom Emmer on October 24, 2023)
UNITED STATES – And it’s another failure. The Republican elected to the American Congress Tom Emmer, designated earlier this Tuesday, October 24 by his peers as a candidate to become “speaker”threw in the towel after only a few hours, reported several American media.
The elected representative from Minnesota in the House of Representatives faced opposition from Trumpist elected officials in particular, and preferred to give up even before a vote in plenary session, with the United States Congress sinking further into crisis.
This Tuesday, after trying for weeks to find a new president for the lower house, the Republicans agreed on the name of Tom Emmer, the party’s number three in the House, after a series of internal votes.
Application doomed to failure
But the candidacy of this elected representative from Minnesota, voice of the party establishment, very quickly seemed doomed to failure.
More than twenty elected officials from his own camp quickly indicated that they would never support him during the vote in plenary session, even though the Republicans only have a very slim majority in the House of Representatives.
Donald Trump’s allies are in fact opposed to him, because he was one of the elected officials who voted in favor of certifying Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. They therefore consider Tom Emmer as lacking loyalty to the former -president.
“ One of the most embarrassing things I’ve seen”
Nearly three weeks after the impeachment of former Speaker of the Lower House Kevin McCarthy, Republicans’ infighting continues to come to light.
The challenges of finding a new “speaker” are however large. Without him, it is impossible to hold a vote on a bill; and in the absence of a vote on the budget, the threat of a paralysis of the federal administration in mid-November is real. Without “speaker”the House is also unable to grant President Joe Biden’s request to send emergency aid to Israel and Ukraine.
“It’s probably one of the most embarrassing things I’ve seen.”the Republican head of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, told ABC News on Sunday. “Because if we don’t have a Speaker of the House, we can’t govern.” And every day that goes by, we’re basically shut down as a government.”he added.
Trump prefers “ hold back for a while »
Last week, Judiciary Committee head Jim Jordan, an ally of former President Donald Trump, appeared poised to put an end to this increasingly troublesome quest for the party.
He ended up suffering three failures in as many votes. Then the Republicans withdrew their support, announcing that they would meet on Monday to nominate a new candidate for the post of “speaker”.
Donald Trump, who endorsed Jim Jordan, told reporters before a campaign event in New Hampshire that he had spoken to Tom Emmer over the weekend but had no plans to endorse him. saying he prefers “hold for a while”.
A ” embarrassment ” has ” worldwide »
These dysfunctions within the Republican Party are preventing Congress from responding to Joe Biden’s demand for more than $100 billion in emergency funds, primarily military aid for Ukraine and Israel in their wars against, respectively , Russia and Hamas.
“At a critical time when our allies are counting on us to show leadership…, House Republicans are making a mockery of our government and embarrassing the country on the world stage”denounced the spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee, Sarafina Chitika.
And unless elected officials approve the 2024 federal budget by November 17, the federal administration will be paralyzed, with hundreds of thousands of workers temporarily sent home without pay.
As for three weeks, confusion now reigns in Congress on the procedure to follow. Will the Republicans pull a name out of their hat on which they can find consensus? Unlikely hypothesis, will the Democrats reach an agreement with a few moderate Republicans? Nothing is less certain, and the parliamentary soap opera promises new twists and turns in the days and weeks to come.
Also see on The HuffPost: