Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise He was elected by a majority of Republicans on Wednesday Candidate for speaker of the House of Representativesa position that has been vacant since last Tuesday extreme rebellion He managed to oust ‘Speaker’ Kevin McCarthy and paralyze Congress. However, it remains unclear whether this paralysis will end soon due to persistent and deep divisions among Republicans.
Inside secret and closed voting this Wednesday Scalise, a conservative since January Republicans’ No. 2 injured in the Lower House, but Survived a gun attack by a left-wing extremist and said he had been receiving chemotherapy for a treatment since August. leukemiaachieved 113 votes in favor and 99 against.. Your candidacy beat Jim Jordan’s, representative far right chairing the Justice Commission and He had the support of Donald Trump.
This Scalise result represents just two votes more than the simple majority he needs to win the nomination in the Republican conference. And her big challenge Now, after voting in the House of Representatives, where the election depends on both Republicans and Democrats, it is necessary to ensure that the necessary votes are obtained. 217 votes required if all members of congress vote.
Uncertainty
That vote could happen as early as Wednesday afternoon, but it could also be delayed if Scalise chooses to make sure he gets those 217 votes, something that is not guaranteed at the time of this writing.
Although some Republicans have tried to ensure that the number 217 must already be achieved at the conference to obtain the nomination, they have tried to prevent the number 217 on paper from being made public. Divisions that embarrassed the party in JanuaryWhen McCarthy had to go through 15 rounds of universal voting to get elected, his change to the rules was rejected. That’s why we’re back in limbo.
Some of the congressmen who wanted Jordan as a candidate did not guarantee that they would support Scalise on the ballot; This is something Jordan didn’t do either. There were also Republicans who wanted time to guarantee unity and openly criticized the fact that the vote in the general assembly was held for three in the afternoon, only an hour and a half after the end of their election. And a new period of feverish negotiations began among conservatives.
Scalise’s priorities
In his first remarks to the press, Scalise sidestepped the complexity of his situation. He chose to focus on: conservative agendawhat he promises to elevate from his current position as a candidate, and the importance of the election. “We need to make sure we send the message to people around the world that the House of Representatives is open and functional.”
Scalise also assured that if he takes office, his first action will be to support a campaign. Resolution confirming commitment to Israel. He also assured me that he wanted to hold a meeting regarding security. border If elected alongside President Joe Biden, he will be second in the line of succession.
Likewise, Scalise said: budget situation, review in the USA. Although an extension was approved with bipartisan support allowing the government to remain in operation (the action that rebels against McCarthy used as justification to remove him from office), this rule only 17 November. And it would be necessary to vote for another extension or seek approval of 12 separate budget bills; This is complicated by control of a divided Congress. Republicans have already approved three of these regulations in the Lower House, but they have no choice in the Democrat-controlled Senate because they involve strong spending cuts that were not agreed upon when the two parties agreed to suspend the debt ceiling.