Congressional election thriller – Another defeat for Kevin McCarthy – you need to know that – News

Even in the third attempt in the US Congress, the Republican did not achieve a majority. Today he is making a new attempt.

That happened: After five more unsuccessful rounds of voting on the speaker of the House of Representatives – the Speaker – the House of Representatives voted to adjourn the session until noon today (local time/18:00 CET). Republican candidate Kevin McCarthy has already failed eleven ballots in the past few days due to an internal party rebellion. The election drama is paralyzing Congress and is a historical embarrassment for the 57-year-old.

It’s all about this: After the parliamentary elections in November, the congress met for the first time on Tuesday in a new constellation for the constituent session. Republicans have a slim majority and take control of the House of Representatives. The party’s faction leader, Kevin McCarthy, wants to be elected chairman. The post of speaker, which the Democrat Nancy Pelosi has held in recent years, is third in the US government rankings – after the president and his vice president.

That’s the problem: The Republican faction in the House of Representatives, like the party as a whole, is torn between right-wing supporters of ex-President Donald Trump and more moderate party members. Given the slim majority, McCarthy would need to unite the various wings behind him and even recruit members from the very fringes of his faction. But even before the first ballot on Tuesday, several Republicans had criticized McCarthy.

The Republican Rebels

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Legend:

Republican Matt Gaetz gave his vote to former US President Donald Trump in the seventh round. Sitting to his right is Marjorie Taylor Greene, another figurehead of the party’s right wing.

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

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Legend:

In the election, McCarthy needs every vote. These five Republican MPs had previously announced that they would not vote for McCarthy.

CNN

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Legend:

Others had already made critical statements before the first ballot.

CNN

This is how it has been chosen so far: McCarthy missed the required majority three times on Tuesday and Wednesday and five times on Thursday because various party colleagues refused to support him. The Republicans have once again nominated opposing candidates. Especially the ultra-conservatives among the Republicans refuse to follow McCarthy because they think he is too moderate. In order to prevent his election, round after round they bring more candidates into play.

Is there a solution in sight? Not so far, despite intensive negotiations behind the scenes. Before the elections on Friday night, McCarthy reportedly took another big step towards his party opponents before the vote to secure their votes and break the deadlock. The 57-year-old is said to have even agreed to further lower the hurdles for the speaker’s dismissal in the House of Representatives. That could be used as a constant means of pressure against him – but even despite this concession, a majority was not secured for him until the end.

Legend:

The Republican faction in the House of Representatives, like the party as a whole, is torn between right-wing supporters of ex-President Donald Trump and more moderate party members.

Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

The seating arrangements are as follows: In the congressional elections in early November, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate were up for grabs. Biden’s Democrats had fared better than expected in the election. A predicted wave of success for the Republicans did not materialize. They failed to gain control of the Senate and only managed a narrow majority of 222 seats in the House of Representatives. The Democrats have 212 seats. One seat remains open after an MP died shortly after the election. A simple majority is required for the election of the President of the Chamber.