Opponents of newly elected House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blocked his election for 14 rounds and may continue to cause problems for him in the future. Organizing majorities in the House of Representatives for the legislative process is difficult, even if there is no rivalry within your own faction – with them this could lead to constant new battles.
The House of Representatives is also responsible for approving the budget and must ensure that there is no so-called shutdown. If a closure takes place, some civil servants will be required to go on leave or temporarily work unpaid.
A number of radical opponents of the party refused to follow Kevin McCarthy for days – not only driving the Republican ahead of them, but publicly exposing him. In several ballots, 20 right-wing dissidents voted for other candidates over and over again. Gradually, however, McCarthy succeeded in winning over rebels. In the end, however, six more MPs refused to vote for the Republican. The only concession: in the last 15 ballots you refrained from voting for alternative candidates, thus helping the 57-year-old to a majority.
McCarthy’s opponents are staunch supporters of former President Donald Trump. In addition to their distaste for McCarthy, they combine conspiracy stories, discriminatory remarks about minorities and contempt for the political system.
An overview of the hardcore McCarthy opponents:
Lauren Boebert
The 36-year-old congressman from Colorado took advantage of the stage provided by the chaos surrounding the election of the chamber’s leader. She is a member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus.
Both in parliament and on talk shows, she tried to attract attention with provocative remarks. She made it clear she had no problem blocking Congress’ work by postponing the election. “That’s fine,” Boebert said, at least then the government couldn’t spend money and send it to Ukraine.
She herself is lucky to be back in Congress at all. Boebert, who has made a name for herself with racial slurs or brandishing handguns in election ads in the past, won her reelection by a razor-thin majority of some 550 votes.
Matt Gaetz
He nominates “President Trump,” the Florida MP said in one of the many votes in the House of Representatives. Gaetz is one of the most prominent figures in the anti-McCarthy movement. The swamp must finally be drained, Gaetz demands as a mantra, adopting a Trump slogan the ex-president used routinely to rail against the “political establishment” in Washington.
Gaetz has made headlines before. The 40-year-old is under investigation for having sex with a minor – no charges have been filed so far. Gaetz strongly denies any allegation.
Andy Biggs
Weeks ago, right-wing hardliner Biggs from the state of Arizona positioned himself as McCarthy’s opponent. Biggs explained that he also wanted to break the “establishment”. Biggs wrested 10 votes from McCarthy on the first ballot before voting for Trump loyalist Jim Jordan himself on the second ballot.
Biggs is a far-right winger who chaired the radical Freedom Caucus from 2019-2021. It was unlikely from the start that he would be successful with his candidacy.
Eli Crane
Crane is also from Arizona. With Trump’s support, the 43-year-old ex-soldier of the Navy SEALs, an elite US Navy force, was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time. On his campaign website, he describes himself as a devout family man who supports gun rights and is not afraid to speak out against the “radical left”.
In the power struggle for the presidency in the House of Representatives, he presented himself as a soldier, as a resistance fighter. He came to Washington to represent the people who elected him. They didn’t want him to vote for the establishment and the status quo, he said.
Bo Good
The 57-year-old MP from Virginia called McCarthy part of the “swamp cartel” on American television. He will never vote for him, he said. His enmity with McCarthy goes beyond resentment from Washington’s die-hard political elite, including McCarthy.
The rivalry between the two men is personal. Good criticized McCarthy Goods for supporting incumbent Denver Riggleman in the 2020 election campaign. When Good triumphed in the Republican primary, McCarthy didn’t even congratulate him, he told Politico.
Matt Rosendale
Like the other rebels, the congressman is spreading Trump’s lie about the stolen 2020 presidential election. The 62-year-old father of three sons lives with his wife on a farm in eastern Montana, according to his website.
Like many of his fellow campaigners, Rosendale blames McCarthy for the high state spending of recent years, for which he holds McCarthy largely responsible as a senior Republican member of Congress. In former Trump strategist Steve Bannon’s podcast “The War Room,” he said of McCarthy that he had “led our country’s decline” for the past decade.
With material from press agency dpa
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
