The process was characterized by very strong tensions in the republican ranks until the end.
The end of the stalemate? Kevin McCarthy finally won the votes needed to be elected president of the US House of Representatives on the night between Friday and Saturday, ending a process characterized to the end by very strong tensions in the Republican ranks.
With the help of negotiations, the group of Trumpists who paralyzed the nomination of the 50-year-old from California finally gave in and put an end to a mess in Congress, unprecedented in more than 160 years, which heralds very heated debates in the US Congress over the next two years.
Mess in the half bike
These free electrons made the tension last until the end and blocked the candidacy of the elected official in the 14th ballot for the last time, causing a real mess in the semicircle.
Kevin McCarthy then walked towards the group of Trumpists, fingers pointed accusingly. In the midst of the noise, the congress secretary called on elected officials to remain calm.
All week long, this hard core of elected conservatives, who accuse the elected officials of pandering to establishment interests in Washington, took advantage of the very thin Republican majority won in the November midterm elections to play spoilsport.
They eased the pressure only after obtaining significant guarantees – including a procedure precisely aimed at facilitating the eviction of the “speaker”.
Finally elected, Kevin McCarthy replaces Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker. And comes out of this election weakened, which portends a very difficult mandate.
On the menu for the next few months, negotiations to raise the ceiling of the US public debt, the financing of the federal state and potentially on the release of additional envelopes for the war in Ukraine.
With their new control of the House, Republicans have also promised to launch a series of investigations into Joe Biden’s handling of the pandemic or the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
But after exposing their divisions to the light of day, will their investigations have the same echo?
Facing a hostile but messy House could prove a political boon for Joe Biden if he confirms his intention to run again in 2024 – a decision he is expected to announce earlier this year.
Failing to control the two chambers – which has been the case since his inauguration in January 2021, albeit with a very thin majority in the Senate – the US president can no longer hope to pass major legislation.
But with a Senate in the hands of the Democrats, neither are the Republicans.