Fight for speakership
McCarthy successor: First Republicans take position – and Trump fuels rumors
Former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally
© Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
After the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy, Republicans are looking for a new speaker. The first candidates throw their hat into the ring. And Donald Trump also speaks out.
“The next chapter will not be easy, but I know what it means to fight and I am ready for the battles that lie ahead,” wrote the current No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives. “I humbly ask for your support in this mission to be your leader of the House of Representatives.”
The Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, also threw his hat into the ring. The arch-conservative politician and close ally of former President Donald Trump also wrote a letter to his parliamentary group colleagues and asked for their support: “Our work is not yet done.”
Donald Trump fuels rumors about possible McCarthy successor
The Republicans have a slim majority in the House of Representatives. They are therefore likely to nominate the future chairman after McCarthy is voted out – if they can agree on a candidate with a majority. The Republicans want to discuss the issue next Tuesday.
The name Trump is also popular. The US Constitution does not stipulate that the chairman of the House of Representatives must come from among the elected representatives.
However, the ex-president emphasized on Wednesday on the sidelines of the fraud trial against him in New York that he was “entirely” focused on his presidential bid for 2024. The right-wing populist later published a photo montage on his online platform Truth Social that shows him as chairman of the House of Representatives – with the famous mallet for leading meetings and with a red cap with his campaign slogan “Make America Great Again”.
McCarthy was ousted on Tuesday amid a revolt by the Republicans’ far-right wing. The right-wing hardliner Matt Gaetz had filed a motion to dismiss the 58-year-old in the dispute over budget policy and new aid to Ukraine. In the decisive vote, eight ultra-right Republicans voted against the chairman together with President Joe Biden’s Democrats. This was the first time in US history that a head of the House of Representatives was removed.
US House of Representatives
“The Hateful Eight”: These eight MPs voted against Kevin McCarthy
Deadlock in the US House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is therefore paralyzed for the time being – and this in politically critical times. Not only does Congress have to pass a new budget solution by mid-November to prevent a so-called shutdown. Biden is also pushing for new aid to Ukraine, which is not included in an interim budget passed over the weekend. Otherwise, US military aid to Ukraine could dry up in the coming months.
Biden acknowledged Wednesday that he was “concerned” about aid to Ukraine. But he knows that a majority of members of the Senate and House of Representatives are in favor of further support for Ukraine. The president announced that he would give a speech on the topic soon. He will highlight “why it is extremely important for the United States and our allies to keep our commitments,” Biden said at the White House.
The 80-year-old also complained about a “poisoned atmosphere in Washington.” Democrats and Republicans, despite their deep differences, must stop viewing each other as “enemies.”