Category Archives: House of Representatives

Chaos in US House as Jordan waffles on third vote and interim speaker plan fails

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House Republicans unable to break impasse as Jim Jordan vows to press on with candidacy despite opposition

The leaderless House was plunged deeper into chaos on Thursday after Republicans refused to coalesce around a speaker and a plan to empower an interim speaker collapsed.

Angry and exhausted, the House Republican conference left a pair of tense closed-door sessions no closer to breaking the impasse that has immobilized the House for a 17th day. The party’s embattled nominee for speaker, congressman Jim Jordan, the Donald Trump loyalist who led the congressional effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and now chairs the House judiciary committee, had vowed to press ahead with his bid to ascend to the post.

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Matt Gaetz sorry for email that blamed other Republicans amid speaker fight

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Fundraising email from Florida congressman said ‘Rinos are working with radical Democrats … to block Jim Jordan’

The Florida Republican representative Matt Gaetz has issued an apology over a fundraising email sent out allegedly without his team’s approval.

On Wednesday, Gaetz apologized for an email “sent by a vendor without my team’s approval” and said that “it should have never been sent”.

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Jim Jordan loses US House speaker vote for second time as support ebbs

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Tally showed 22 members of his own party opposing him, including four Republicans who supported Jordan a day earlier

The House of Representatives again failed to elect a new speaker on Wednesday, after the hard-right congressman Jim Jordan failed to win the gavel in the second round of voting.

The second vote tally showed 199 Republicans supporting Jordan and all 212 Democrats supporting their leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Twenty-two Republicans opposed Jordan on Wednesday, leaving him far short of the 217 votes needed to ascend to the speakership. Because of Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the House, Jordan can only afford four defections within his party and still become speaker.

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Republican says she won’t run for re-election because ‘DC is broken’

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Congresswoman Debbie Lesko, from Arizona, says ‘it is hard to get anything done’

A Republican congresswoman has said she will not run for re-election next year, claiming “DC is broken”.

Debbie Lesko, from Arizona, said in a statement that traveling to Washington each month had also proven difficult.

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House remains without speaker as Jim Jordan falls short of votes in first ballot

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Twenty Republicans oppose hard-right congressman in first round of voting following historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy

The House of Representatives was unable to elect a new speaker on Tuesday, as the hard-right congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio struggled to win the gavel following the historic ouster of the Republican Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.

In the first round of voting, 20 Republicans opposed Jordan, while 200 Republicans supported the judiciary committee chair. The result left Jordan far short of winning the speakership, given that he can only afford four defections within his conference and still capture the gavel. All 212 House Democrats supported Hakeem Jeffries of New York, giving the Democratic leader more votes than Jordan.

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Jim Jordan races to try to change minds of holdouts in bid for House speaker

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Rightwing speakership contender says he thinks he has 217 votes needed to win despite group who say they will not support him

The rightwing congressman Jim Jordan is seeking to shore up support for his bid to succeed Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, with plans to appear on the House floor early this week to try to sway Republican members of Congress who signaled in a secret ballot vote they will not support his bid.

Jordan, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, claimed in a brief interview with Politico he believes he will get the 217 votes required to secure the speakership in a vote he wants to happen on Tuesday.

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Hard-right House Republicans are against Ukraine aid – and they seem to be in charge

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The chaos in the House may have devastating outcomes for the people of Ukraine, some experts warn

As he excoriated Kevin McCarthy over his leadership of the House Republican conference last week, hard-right congressman Matt Gaetz accused the then speaker of cutting a “secret side deal” with Joe Biden to provide additional funding to Ukraine amid its ongoing war against Russia.

“It is becoming increasingly clear who the speaker of the House already works for, and it’s not the Republican conference,” Gaetz, who represents a solidly Republican district in Florida, said in a floor speech at the time.

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‘A dangerous game’: Republican chaos and indecision as crises shake the world

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Israel and Gaza explode, Ukraine asks for more help and other predicaments demand US attention while Republicans quarrel among themselves

The US’s closest ally in the Middle East is reeling from what many call its “9/11” and now a humanitarian disaster looms in Gaza. Winter is approaching in Ukraine, which needs urgent supplies to maintain its counteroffensive against Russia. From China’s expansive ambitions, to coups in Africa, to the climate crisis, the world is crying out for leadership.

But on Capitol Hill in Washington, Republicans can’t find one. Friday marked the 10th day of paralysis as the party struggles to elect a speaker of the House of Representatives to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy. This after majority leader Steve Scalise won a closed-door vote but abandoned his run because he lacked enough support to win on the House floor.

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House speaker saga underscores Republican party’s dramatic evolution

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Party still faces issue of how to reunite their fractious majority and prove to skeptical US public that they are capable of governing

The US House of Representatives will remain leaderless into a second week as Republicans continue to confront a familiar conundrum: how to unite their fractious majority and prove to a skeptical US public that they are a party capable of governing, not just funneling rightwing outrage and culture war rhetoric.

More than a week after a cadre of discontented Republicans deposed their own speaker, Kevin McCarthy, the conference is still deeply divided over who should replace him with no one candidate seemingly able to garner enough support to end the squabbling.

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Republican hardliner Steve Scalise drops out of House speaker race

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House unable to govern, with next steps uncertain, after Louisiana senator fails to secure his party’s support

The Republican congressman Steve Scalise is ending his bid to become the US House speaker after failing to secure enough votes to win the gavel.

“I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for speaker-designee,” Scalise said as he emerged from the closed-door meeting at the Capitol, where he first informed fellow Republican colleagues of his decision.

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House remains without speaker as Republican holdouts block Scalise

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Congressional business at a standstill as House majority leader drops out of speaker race on Thursday

The House of Representatives remained without a speaker on Thursday, as the fractious Republican majority refused to unite behind their party’s chosen nominee, congressman Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

A day after narrowly becoming House Republicans’ candidate for speaker in a secret ballot vote, Scalise moved no closer to overcoming the entrenched divisions on Thursday.

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Republicans to introduce resolution to ‘rid the House of George Santos’

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New York lawmakers aim to expel the accused fraudster, who faces new charges under a superseding federal indictment

New York Republicans in the US House on Wednesday moved to expel one of their own: George Santos, the serial fabulist and accused fraudster who faces new charges under a superseding federal indictment.

“Today, I’ll be introducing an expulsion resolution to rid the People’s House of fraudster George Santos,” the GOP congressman Anthony D’Esposito said in a post on social media.

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Republicans nominate Steve Scalise to replace McCarthy as House speaker

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Scalise defeats Jim Jordan by 113 votes to 99 but falls short of threshold needed to be elected speaker on House floor

House Republicans nominated Steve Scalise to be the next speaker on Wednesday, a week after the unprecedented ouster of Kevin McCarthy. But a handful of objections to Scalise’s nomination left House Republicans unable to move to a final floor vote, making it unclear when a new speaker might be elected.

By a vote of 113 to 99, Scalise, currently the second-ranking House Republican, defeated a challenge from congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the judiciary committee and a far-right firebrand.

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Two US House Republicans make their bid for the speaker’s gavel

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Party members will decide between Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan on Wednesday by secret ballot

Prominent Republican party members Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan made their pitches for the powerful role of speaker of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday amid mounting pressure from a war in the Middle East and another looming government shutdown. Lawmakers exiting a closed-door forum said neither Scalise, the House majority leader, nor Jordan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, will have a clear advantage when Republicans begin to vote for a nominee by secret ballot on Wednesday.

“We’ve got two good leaders within our party, with good perspectives on where the party needs to go and an understanding and an emphasis on reuniting the party,” Mike Garcia told reporters. But before voting for a candidate on Wednesday, Republicans will have to decide whether to keep internal disagreements behind closed doors by requiring any nominee to win 217 Republican votes, enough to elect the next speaker on the House floor over Democratic opposition. Current rules require only a simple majority. “The first order of business is figuring out a rules change that works for the conference,” said congresswoman Kat Cammack.

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Top Republican urges party to end ‘civil war’ and elect House speaker this week

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Texas congressman Mike McCaul calls on House to unify and ‘move quickly’ because ‘we cannot paralyze democracy’

Republicans in Washington need to elect a new speaker “this week” and end the party’s “civil war” in the House that is sending a message to the world of dysfunction, especially amid the conflict unfolding in Israel, a senior GOP figure said on Sunday.

The Texas Republican congressman Mike McCaul, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee, urged his own party in the House to unify because “we have got to move quickly, we cannot paralyze democracy, especially when we have hotspots all over the world… and I’m just worried about the messaging this sends.”

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‘They didn’t stand up to Trump’: how the Republican party descended into disarray

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The GOP was once feared for its ability to unite and win – but Kevin McCarthy’s demise shows a party deeply divided

They are fresh-faced, suited and booted, the National Mall behind them and the world at their feet. Congressmen Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy and Paul Ryan smile out from the cover of Young Guns, their co-authored 2010 book about the next generation of conservatives. “This isn’t your grandfather’s Republican party,” said publicity material at the time.

Thirteen years later, the trio is neither young nor the future. Cantor (“the leader”) became Republican leader in the House of Representatives but lost his seat to a nascent rightwing populism. Ryan (“the thinker”) became speaker but retired early to escape a toxic political relationship with President Donald Trump. And this week McCarthy (“the strategist”) was ousted by some of the extremists he helped elect to Congress but could not tame.

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Former aide to Republican fabulist George Santos pleads guilty to fraud

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Nancy Marks tells court on Long Island she and congressman submitted campaign finance reports embellished with fake loan

The ex-treasurer for US congressman George Santos pleaded guilty Thursday to a fraud conspiracy charge and implicated the indicted New York Republican in a scheme to embellish his campaign finance reports with a fake loan and fake donors.

Nancy Marks, who was a close aide to Santos during his two congressional bids, entered the plea at a federal courthouse on Long Island, where she was a longtime political operative and bookkeeper for multiple candidates.

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Hardline duo emerge as frontrunners to succeed McCarthy as House speaker

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Jim Jordan confirms his run while Steve Scalise, House majority leader, reportedly sounds out support

Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio emerged as leading contenders to succeed Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the US House of Representatives, after the Californian was brutally removed by his own Republican party on Tuesday.

Scalise is House majority leader, Jordan chair of the powerful judiciary committee. In the aftermath of McCarthy’s defeat, both were widely reported to be making calls and sounding out support. On Wednesday morning, speaking to reporters, Jordan confirmed his run.

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Kevin McCarthy ousted as US House speaker by hard-right Republicans

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Now-former speaker confirms he will not run again as Republicans plan to hold a vote for a new speaker next Wednesday

After leading a successful, bipartisan effort to avoid a government shutdown over the weekend, Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday was abruptly removed from his role as US House speaker, ousted by hard-right members of his own Republican party less than a year after his election.

The ousting of McCarthy represented the first time in US history that a speaker of the House has been removed from office, marking an ignominious end to a short and fraught tenure for the California Republican. It comes as Americans’ approval ratings of Congress and the federal government remain near historic lows, with a majority saying they have little or no confidence in the future of the US political system.

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Matt Gaetz introduces motion to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker

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Far-right congressman files motion after expressing outrage at speaker’s bipartisan effort to avoid government shutdown

Congressman Matt Gaetz, a hard-right Republican of Florida, introduced a motion to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker on Monday, expressing outrage over the Republican leader’s successful efforts to avoid a government shutdown this weekend.

“I have enough Republicans where at this point next week, one of two things will happen: Kevin McCarthy won’t be the speaker of the House, or he’ll be the speaker of the House working at the pleasure of the Democrats,” Gaetz told reporters after he filed the motion. “I’m at peace with either result because the American people deserve to know who governs them.”

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