“It is a little embarrassing that it is taking so long. And the rest of the world is looking... we need to get our act together,” US president Joe Biden proclaimed as the House of Representatives in Washington again failed to elect a speaker for its new session.
The White House is one of the most powerful institutions on the planet but it has little or no influence in addressing the infighting within the Republican Party over who should secure the top role of speaker which has essentially paralysed the operation of the House for two days.
Following the midterm elections in November, Republicans secured a slender majority in the House while Biden’s Democratic Party retained control of the Senate.
Usually the leader of the majority party in the House is elected as speaker – a hugely important role in the US political system which is directly in the line of succession to the White House after the vice-president.
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However, a group of right-wing Republicans have adamantly refused to back the party’s official nominee for the post, Kevin McCarthy from California.
The vast majority of Republicans have supported McCarthy but given the party’s thin majority he needs virtually all of its members in the House to get him over the line to become speaker.
On six separate occasions since the new House members convened for the first time following the midterm elections on Tuesday, McCarthy has failed to be elected.
About 20 Republicans have consistently voted for others within the party for the speakership as an alternative to McCarthy.
The saga has left the House – one of the key branches of the US government – essentially frozen. The first role of the new House following an election is to vote on a speaker. Without a speaker being elected, the members cannot be officially sworn in and the process of legislating cannot start.
Talks between McCarthy’s allies and the rebels within the Republican Party took place on Wednesday night. However, no immediate resolution to the impasse appeared to have been reached.
McCarthy indicated to reporters following the talks that the deadlock continued.
“I don’t think a (seventh) vote tonight will make a difference,” he said. “But a vote in the future will.”
A key issue for McCarthy’s allies is determining what exactly those opposing their man’s bid for the speaker’s post actually want as there does not appear to be a uniform set of demands.
A subset of the rebels – the so-called “Never Kevins” – are implacably opposed to McCarthy and just want someone else to get the job.
Others are fiscal conservatives who want significant changes to the way politics is conducted in Washington and who view McCarthy as part of the “establishment”.
Some of these could potentially be brought on board if new rules are put in place governing how businesses is carried out in the House.
McCarthy put forward a series of concessions last weekend including rules which would make it easier for House members to try oust the speaker.
McCarthy’s allies had previously argued that such a measure would essentially leave the speaker as a hostage to the party’s more extreme wing. However, even this concession was not enough to secure McCarthy sufficient votes to become speaker.
Another key question arising from the current drama is what it means for the influence of former president Donald Trump over the Republican Party in the House.
McCarthy initially criticised Trump over the January 6th attack by his supporters on the US Capitol two years ago but within weeks travelled to Florida to make peace with the former president.
Trump has backed McCarthy for the post of speaker. However, some of Trump’s most fervent supporters in the House are among the fiercest opponents of McCarthy.
Trump on Wednesday on his social media platform said McCarthy would “do a good job, maybe even a great job”. But his support for McCarthy had little sway with the rebels.
Right-wing congresswoman Lauren Boebert from Colorado said: “Even having my favourite president call us and tell us we need to knock this off, I think it actually needs to be reversed. The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that ‘sir, you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw’.”
McCarthy, however, has shown no public sign of pulling out of the contest and the impasse continues.
As the House adjourned on Wednesday for a second night without a speaker two big questions remain: how long could this deadlock continue and what does this infighting with the Republican Party mean for its ability to govern over the next two years?
Over the last two days support for McCarthy has actually gone backwards – albeit by a very small margin. He had two fewer backers in the vote on Wednesday than on Tuesday. If that trend continues, attention may turn to potential alternative candidates as a compromise – Louisiana’s Steve Scalise has been mentioned, for example.
In the end whoever becomes House speaker will likely have to deal with a fractious Republican Party into the future. What this would all mean in trying to marshall votes on highly contentious but hugely important areas such as government spending, the debt limit or support for Ukraine remains to be seen.