Chaos in the US parliament: Jordan also loses in the second round

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Republican Jim Jordan (59) also failed in the second attempt to be elected chairman of the House of Congress. Due to dissenting votes from his own group, the confidant of former American President Donald Trump (77) again missed the necessary majority in the vote on Wednesday. The House of Representatives is still largely politically paralyzed for the time being. Because until a new chairman is appointed, legislative work there is largely at a standstill.

Jordan had already failed to obtain the required number of votes in the parliamentary chamber in the first round of voting on Tuesday. In Wednesday’s vote, the 59-year-old received 199 votes from his group, one vote less than the day before. It is unclear whether he will be able to win over enough skeptics from his own ranks.

The Republicans only have a slim majority in the House of Representatives. The parliamentary group currently has 221 seats in the parliamentary chamber, while US President Joe Biden’s Democrats have 212 seats. Jordan can therefore afford very few deviations. He cannot count on support from the Democratic ranks. The group wants to vote again on Thursday afternoon (local time).

The broken faction

The Republican faction is extremely fragmented and difficult to unite. Kevin McCarthy (58) only achieved the presidency in the 15th round of voting in January. After he was voted out, the group initially chose right-wing conservative Steve Scalise as McCarthy’s possible successor. But Scalise failed to secure the necessary majority within his own ranks and withdrew his candidacy before a plenary vote.

The Republicans’ bickering and Parliament’s paralysis come at an inopportune time, given the major international conflicts in Ukraine and Israel, which the US parliament should be dealing with – and not just for the US. The House of Representatives must decide, among other things, on further aid to Kiev, but also on a federal budget as a whole. For the time being, only a transitional budget has been agreed until mid-November, which does not include any aid to Ukraine.

The plan B

For the time being, Republican Patrick McHenry serves as interim leader of the House of Representatives. However, it is really only intended for formal tasks, such as organizing the election of a long-term chairman. Several MPs discussed giving McHenry additional powers for a limited period as the search for McCarthy’s successor continued.

This is intended to allow for legislative work and prevent government operations from coming to a standstill in mid-November, known as a “shutdown,” if a new federal budget has not been approved by then. However, it remains to be seen whether this idea will actually gain a majority. (SDA)

Source: Blick