The House currently has a narrow Republican majority of 220-213, which should be settled at 222-213. This has allowed the Republicans an opportunity to be creative and cast doubt on their ability to arrange something as simple as two-car funerals.
The new House majority faces the same problem as Nancy Pelosi’s outgoing Congress. To pass a bill, it takes 218 votes. Five Republicans can defect and the bill will not pass unless the GOP begins to gather Democrat votes. It is not a good idea to pass a bill that has opposing party votes, just because your members aren’t willing to follow suit.
The GOP needs a Speaker that is respected on both sides of Congress to do the right thing. They chose Kevin McCarthy, who was naturally a natural choice. Arizona Representative Andy Biggs challenged McCarthy for the position, and McCarthy won easily by a vote of 188-31.
Oddly, McCarthy may not be the best choice in this environment. He can likely get 218 GOP votes for most things and has enough rapport to be able, on occasion, to create the illusion of bipartisanship.
McCarthy needed to win the Speaker’s hand. He also required a majority in his caucus. This is where McCarthy’s problem lies.
The House Freedom Caucus wants to trade its support for McCarthy’s guarantee that he will approve a package that will give power to a few McCarthy-related members and allow more representatives to take part. They want the committees’ chairmen to be elected, rather than being appointed by the Speaker.
To prevent the leadership from making deals with Democrats, if a bill is not supported or passed by the Republican House, enact a “majority-of-the majority” rule. This means that legislation passed by the Republican House should be supported and voted on by a majority vote of House Republicans.
You can restore the independence of the committees by electing chairpersons based on their effectiveness and qualifications.
Diversify the Steering Committee to ensure that all House Republicans have an opportunity to contribute to committee assignments
To allow amendments, open the legislative process. Since May 2016, members have been forbidden from voting on any amendment on the House’s floor. The Republican 115th Congress under Paul Ryan (R.WI) broke the record for most bills that were not subject to amendments.
Fiscal responsibility should be ensured by blocking any other bill from being considered until the House has passed an appropriations bill. The Speaker should not be allowed to recess or adjourn until the House passes a spending bill.
According to what I have read, McCarthy pronounced the sixth, third, and second items dead on arrival.
At least five House Republicans, Andy Biggs (AZ), Matt Gaetz(FL), Bob Goods (VA), Ralph Normans (SC), Matt Rosendale (MT), and Chip Roy (TX), have stated that they won’t vote for McCarthy.
Just when you think things are getting worse, the Republican Main Street Partnership comes along with a powerful shout of Leeroy Jenkins
Don Bacon (NE), says his group will work together with Democrats to find an “agreeable Republican” if McCarthy’s Freedom Caucus does not vote for him. He claims that the result will not be as conservative-minded as McCarthy’s.
Rep. Bacon message to HFC: “We’re going to do vote after vote … for Kevin and if they refuse to play ball—that’s why I’m saying we’re willing to work across the aisle to get an agreeable Republican—but we’re not going to get pushed around”
Says back up won’t be who HFC wants
— Jordain Carney (@jordainc) November 30, 2022
We could have a House that has a GOP majority, but a Democrat Speaker who controls legislation and appointments if six members of the House GOP vote in favor of Hakeem Jeffries. It is possible that we will end up with a raging RINO who was elected by a wave of Democrat votes.
With all the talk about McCarthy’s “danger”, no one is paying any attention to the damage this nonsense does to the GOP brand, at least not on our side. The next two years won’t be a golden age for conservative legislation with a House that is barely controlled by Republicans and a Senate that is run by Democrats. The Freedom Caucus’ decision to go to the mat over this was not based on the idea that McCarthy would give in because he needs the votes. It is hard to believe that people who have worked with McCarthy for so long could be caught flat-footed because he refused to budge. The GOP would suffer a devastating defeat if a Speaker was elected with a few Democrat votes. A Democrat elected Speaker would mean they lose their right to be a party.
Unless McCarthy is embarrassed by the requirement of multiple ballots for Speaker in the final game, I don’t know what the endgame is and why we voted for these men.
