US House of Representatives – “Speaker” election postponed again – McCarthy so far without a majority – News

  • The US House of Representatives voted again in the evening to postpone the election to Thursday.
  • Previously, Republican Kevin McCarthy failed to win the House of Representatives election in the fourth, fifth and sixth ballots.
  • Already on Tuesday he had missed the required majority in the election three times because various party colleagues refused to support him.

US Republican Kevin McCarthy, the ally of former President Donald Trump, faces staunch opposition from ultra-conservative Republicans, who make up less than 10 percent of the parliamentary group.

In the fourth, fifth and sixth ballot, the Republicans again nominated an opposing candidate. Republican MP Chip Roy sent his party colleague Byron Donalds as a candidate. He received 20 votes each.

McCarthy was unable to reduce the number of his opponents compared to the votes from the previous day – and brought in the fifth electoral defeat. This resulted from the result of the oral vote on Wednesday, which still had to be formally confirmed by the head of the session in the parliamentary chamber.

Historic election defeat – despite Trump’s encouragement

On Tuesday, McCarthy’s opponents had already put forward several alternative candidates. It is a historic defeat for the 57-year-old, as it is the first time in 100 years that a parliamentary group has refused to support its candidate in the first round of the election.

“More than just a fight over the name Kevin McCarthy”


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Legend:

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What is behind the election thriller in the House of Representatives? USA correspondent Pascal Weber provides the answers:

“What has come to light here is more than just a dispute over the name of Kevin McCarthy. It’s about much more, about something fundamental: namely the dispute within the republican movement about how a state should be managed and equipped. Some conservative hardliners go so far as to question such a state as it presents itself today and hope for fundamental changes. For the next speaker, this means that he or she will find it incredibly difficult in the future to pass spending laws, to push through budgets and thus to keep the state running.”

Trump spoke out in favor of McCarthy in a post on his media platform “Truth Social”. “Now is the time for all of our great Republicans to vote for Kevin, close the deal, take the win.” Trump was confident that McCarthy would do “a good job”. Trump remains influential, particularly on the right wing of the Republicans.

Biden: “Embarrassing” and “not my problem”


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US President Joe Biden has criticized the Republican power struggle for the presidency of the House of Representatives as embarrassing. “It’s not my problem,” Biden said Wednesday at the White House in Washington. But it is “embarrassing” that it is taking so long to determine a new chairman of the Congress Chamber. The rest of the world is watching. “I’m focused on getting things done,” the Democrat said.

The 57-year-old McCarthy is facing allegations, especially from the ultra-conservative wing of the party, that he was not aggressive enough in his time as minority leader in the House of Representatives to have opposed the Democrats under the previous Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Some Republicans also consider him too fickle.

Without a chair, the grand chamber of the US House of Representatives is effectively unable to act. The budget laws for the federal government emanate from the regular 435 MPs. The stalemate also raised questions about whether the House of Representatives will be able to carry out its most basic tasks in the structure of state.

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