Staff Reports
It seems like House Republicans are back to square one as they continue their search for a new Speaker of the House. After weeks of chaos and failed candidacies, the deeply divided Republican conference is still unable to elect a leader. Meanwhile, the House has been left essentially closed for nearly three weeks.
To add to the frustration, nine Republicans announced over the weekend that they would be throwing their hats into the ring for the speakership. This includes names like Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Rep. Mike Johnson, and Rep. Byron Donalds, among others. But with no clear frontrunner and tensions flaring among GOP members, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to come to a resolution.
The impatience is palpable among Republicans who are eager to get back to work. With important matters like President Joe Biden’s request for wartime support to Ukraine and Israel, the unfinished appropriations process, and the security of the southern border on the table, there is a sense of urgency to find a leader who can address these issues. As Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Michael McCaul put it, “If we don’t have a Speaker of the House, we can’t govern. And every day that goes by, we’re essentially shut down as a government.”
Even Senate Republicans are expressing their impatience, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell saying, “I have my hands full here in the Senate, and we’re going to do our job and hope the House can get functional here sometime soon.”
House Republicans Go Back to Drawing Board as Speaker Search Nears 3-Week Mark https://t.co/YrWJ9WIryR
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) October 23, 2023
The American people are also growing frustrated with the situation. According to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll, more than two-thirds of Americans believe that the House should elect a speaker as soon as possible. And in a CNN/SSRS poll, 74 percent of respondents expressed their disapproval of how Republican leaders in Congress are handling their jobs.
While there were briefly talks of a workaround to open the House for business while the speaker race continues, the idea was ultimately dropped after facing opposition from a large number of Republicans. The question now is whether any speaker can bring the deeply divided Republican conference together and provide stability and leadership.
All eyes are now on the upcoming candidate forum and conference vote, with hopes that a new speaker will be elected by the end of the month. Until then, the House will remain at a standstill, unable to conduct the nation’s business.
