Historical developments in the US House of Representatives

SGGP October 5, 2023 07:01

On October 4, according to CNN news agency, with 216 votes in favor and 210 votes against, the US House of Representatives voted to impeach House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the context of fierce internal competition in the Republican Party, causing the US Congress to face chaos.

Constant pressure

After the vote, House Finance Committee Chairman, Republican Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, will temporarily assume the position of acting Speaker of the House until the legislature elects a new leader. Mr. McCarthy begins his term as Speaker of the House on January 7, 2023. He announced that he will not run for Speaker of the House again.

This is the first time the US House of Representatives has voted to remove its leader. The reason is that a group of Republican members led by Representative Matt Gaetz objected to Mr. McCarthy relying on the votes of the Democratic Party to pass a resolution to extend temporary funding for the government to continue operating for another 45 days (until November 17).

Mr. McCarthy has faced repeated opposition from the group of lawmakers when he compromised with the Democrats on funding and government aid to Ukraine. The Republicans control the House of Representatives with a narrow majority of 221-212, so only five people needing to object would be enough to threaten Mr. McCarthy's power in the event that all Democrats vote to impeach him.

Former US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Fierce legislative battle

Following the developments in the House of Representatives, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden looks forward to working with the new Speaker of the House and the Senate to address the priorities of the American people. The urgent challenges facing the United States remain, so he hopes the House will quickly elect a new Speaker.

The Speaker of the House is the third most powerful position in the US government, after the president and vice president. Choosing the Speaker of the House is an internal job of the majority party. Normally, after the election, all members of the House of Representatives will vote to elect the Speaker after the new term of Congress begins. The candidate needs to win at least 218 votes in favor of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, which can be lower if there are members who do not vote.

According to the US Constitution, the Speaker of the House does not have to be a member of Congress. That is why some Republicans nominated former President Donald Trump for this position. However, Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president and affirmed that he does not want to take up a position in the House. The US House of Representatives is expected to maintain the current status quo for at least a week. Many Republican congressmen said they plan to meet on October 10 to choose a successor to Mr. McCarthy, the vote for the new Speaker is expected to take place on October 11.

Observers say the developments show that the battle between lawmakers in Washington is getting more intense. The vacancy of the House speakership will effectively halt most of the legislative body's activities until a new leader is appointed. This situation takes place in the context that the US Congress has only 40 days to pass spending bills for the 2024 fiscal year; otherwise, the US government is at risk of shutting down.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/dien-bien-lich-su-trong-ha-vien-my-post708425.html