The new speaker of the US House of Representatives to succeed Mr Newt Gingrich is virtually certain to be Mr Bob Livingston of Louisiana following the withdrawal of his chief rival from the succession race.
Mr Christopher Cox from California yesterday conceded that he did not have the support to defeat Mr Livingston when the Republican conference meets to elect its leadership team on November 18th. Mr Gingrich, who announced his surprise resignation after the disappointing results for the Republicans in the mid-term elections, will remain in office until the 106th Congress meets on January 6th.
Mr Livingston, who was a political protege of Mr Gingrich, helped to bring about his downfall by announcing he would challenge him for the speaker post soon after last week's election. Within hours Mr Gingrich announced he would step down as Speaker in the new Congress and give up his seat.
Mr Livingston's daring move to challenge Mr Gingrich paid off as rivals scrambled to throw their hats in the ring. But Mr Livingston had already received pledges from more than 100 of the 223 Republican members of the next House so Mr Cox's challenge quickly died.
Mr Livingston has been the chairman of the important Appropriations Committee which has a key role in the Budget process, but last February he was considering leaving Congress after 21 years. Ironically, Mr Gingrich who had appointed him to the position persuaded him to stay on.
Mr Livingston is descended from one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence, but his own background is fairly humble.
With his parents divorcing when he was six, he ended up working at menial jobs. After service in the navy, he studied law, became a federal prosecutor and was elected to Congress in 1977.
He has promised to be a "managerial" speaker in contrast to the "revolutionary" style of Mr Gingrich.
Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee yesterday held its first hearing in the impeachment process of President Clinton. The committee heard the views of about 20 historians and constitutional experts on what constitutes an impeachable offence.
US Justice Department lawyers questioned President Clinton yesterday about alleged campaign finance abuses from his 1996 re-election campaign. One of Mr Clinton's private lawyers, Mr David Kendall, said the interview was conducted in connection with the attorney general, Ms Janet Reno's preliminary investigation into whether an independent counsel should be appointed to investigate Democratic fund-raising from the 1996 campaign.