US House impasse: Biden urges Republicans to ‘get act together’ | Politics News

Republican leader Kevin McCarthy remains defiant in bid for House speaker as lawmakers prepare for further ballots.

Washington, DC – United States President Joe Biden has called on Republicans to “get their act together” and elect a speaker to the House of Representatives after the GOP majority failed to agree on a new leader to preside over the chamber.

The country is practically without a functioning House for the first time in nearly 100 years after Kevin McCarthy, the top House Republican, fell short of securing a majority to become speaker in three different rounds of voting.

“It’s not a good look. It’s not a good thing. It’s the United States of America, and I hope they get their act together,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday.

The US president also stressed that the crisis is a Republican issue. “That’s not my problem. I just think it’s really embarrassing it’s taking so long.”

The previous House was dismissed on Tuesday. New members elected in the November midterm elections had convened to elect a new speaker, an effort ending with 20 members of the Republican caucus voting against McCarthy in the final ballot Tuesday.

Without a speaker to preside over it, the House is effectively paralysed, and new lawmakers cannot be sworn in; they still hold the title of representative-elect.

Amid Republican infighting, Democrats unanimously united behind their leader, Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday.

Legislators will convene again on Wednesday to try to elect a speaker, but it remains unclear whether Republicans, who hold a narrow majority in the chamber, have agreed on a leader.

 

The House and the Senate make up Congress, the US legislative branch, which passes laws and allocates funds for the federal government amongst other essential tasks.

Many Democrats argued after the vote on Tuesday that the early crisis for the new House majority shows Republicans’ inability to lead.

“The problem is…this isn’t just today. This is going to be everyday in the House Republican majority,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

“It’s not just that they won’t be able to govern. It’s that they are going to be an embarrassing public train wreck while they refuse to govern.”

On Tuesday, Jeffries – with Democrats united behind him – received more votes than McCarthy. In the third ballot, Jeffries had 212 votes, McCarthy 202 and Ohio Republican Jim Jordan 20.

If all 434 members vote, a candidate would need 218 votes to reach the 50 percent to be elected speaker. If members abstain or vote present, then the number to reach a majority could change.

Jordan, a far-right firebrand, has said he is not seeking the speakership and voted for McCarthy himself.

Despite the impasse, McCarthy – a California conservative who served as House minority leader for the past four years – has remained defiant.

Asked by reporters late on Tuesday whether he will drop out of the race, McCarthy said: “I’ll let you know when that happens – okay – but it’s not going to happen.”

McCarthy received a boost ahead of the voting on Wednesday from former President Donald Trump.

“Some really good conversations took place last night, and it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Many of the anti-McCarthy GOP rebels are staunch Trump allies. But they, too, have shown no signs of budging.

Late on Tuesday, Matt Gaetz – one of the leading dissenters – sent a letter to the Capitol architect, who is responsible for the operation of the building, voicing his objection to McCarthy taking the speaker’s office prematurely.

“What is the basis in law, House rule, or precedent to allow someone who has placed second in three successive speaker elections to occupy the Speaker of the House Office? How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?” Gaetz wrote.