New Year, New House Speaker
This week kicked off a new Congress, the 117th. The GOP gained a slim majority in the House of Representatives after a “red wave”, lack-thereof, or maybe red squirt gun earned the party the majority. Both sides of the media spectrum expected a sweeping victory for the Republicans. Historically, the party in power performs poorly in the mid-term election. Political pundits predicted the economy and inflation would dominate voters’ ballots and that Republicans would take the House and the Senate. However, when the dust settled after the election, a different picture was painted.
The Democrats kept their majority in the Senate, even gained a seat in PA thanks to John Fetterman and his campaign. Or thanks to Dr. Oz’s (PA GOP Senate candidate) unconventional and very odd campaign. Reverend Warnock secured a full-term seat in the Senate for Georgia after defeating the GOP candidate Herschel Walker, former football player and pro-choice supporter when it benefits him. The Dems now control a 51-49 majority in the Senate. Before the mid-term, the Senate had a 50-50 split with the Vice President’s vote giving the Dems a tying majority.
New members of Congress eagerly waited to be sworn in after a historic and unexpected mid-term during the months leading up to this week. For new members to be sworn in, Congress needed a new House Speaker to replace long time Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Many in the political arena expected Kevin McCarthy to bid for the Speakership. I know I did. The Speakership had been on McCarthy’s radar for years. Kevin McCarthy did received the required votes to win the position of Speaker of the House…after 15 rounds of voting that ended late Friday night this week. Not in 100 years had it taken more than one round to successfully vote in a House Speaker. The 117th Congress took 15 rounds of voting over four days to elect its new leader. What stood in the way? Was it those pesky Dems? Nope! In fact, it was the Republican party that couldn’t unite. Members of the House Freedom Causes, an ultra-right caucus that includes members like Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, and Paul Gosar, opposed Kevin McCarthy’s bid for House Speaker, blaming him for a failed mid-term and not trusting his position. Matt Gaetz even went so far as to vote for Donald J. Trump for House Speaker, which caused an echo of groans in the chamber.
The Democrats stood united, atypically. Hakeem Jefferies received every House Dem vote for Minority House Speaker. While Dems quietly sat and read during last nigtht’s session, Republican members were seen confronting each other late into the night. One member of the House Republicans had to be pulled away from Matt Gaetz to prevent an altercation. This is the state of the 117th Congress. A divided Congress, inside a divided Republican party that is thirsty for unorganized power. My bet is this will be an unproductive and gridlocked Congress for the next two years. A legislative shitstorm, but this is almost expected every year.