By David Morgan and Katharine Jackson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans, whose party infighting has paralyzed the U.S. House of Representatives for three weeks, will begin again on Monday to try to pick a new speaker to lead the chamber and address funding needs for Israel, Ukraine and the federal government.
Factional strife between right-wing hardliners and more mainstream Republicans led to the ouster of former Speaker on Oct. 3 and derailed leadership bids by two would-be successors: No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise and prominent conservative Jim Jordan.
The leadership vacuum has stymied congressional action as it faces a Nov. 17 deadline to avoid a government shutdown by extending federal agency funding, and a request from President to approve military aid for Israel and Ukraine.
“This is probably one of the most embarrassing things I’ve seen,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, a Republican, told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “We’re essentially shut down as a government.”
The task of choosing a new Republican nominee for the job of House speaker begins again on Monday at 6:30 p.m. EST (2230 GMT), when nine declared candidates, including No. 3 House Republican , will appear at a closed-door candidate forum.
McCarthy has endorsed Emmer, highlighting his experience in rallying party votes on major legislation since January, when Republicans gained majority in the House.
“This is not a time to play around and learn on the job,” McCarthy told NBC’s “Meet the Press”, though he acknowledged that it will be challenging.
With a narrow majority of 221-212 in the House, it remains uncertain if any Republican can secure the necessary 217 votes to become the speaker.
Any candidate nominated by the party conference can only afford to lose up to four Republicans when the full House votes, and the conference is divided on spending cuts, Ukraine funding, and other contentious issues.
Matt Gaetz, the Republican who instigated McCarthy’s removal, expressed dissatisfaction that Jordan was eliminated through a secret ballot after the conference voted last week to end his bid for speaker.
Jordan made three unsuccessful attempts to win a floor vote in the House. He had received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who is widely favored to secure the party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential race.
Democrats denounced Jordan as a dangerous extremist, and there was anger among opponents within his own party due to a pressure campaign from his supporters that resulted in death threats.
Seven out of the nine new candidates for speaker – Jack Bergman, Byron Donalds, Kevin Hern, Mike Johnson, Dan Meuser, Gary Palmer, and Pete Sessions – voted to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss to President Joe Biden on the day when Trump supporters attacked Congress on January 6, 2021.
The remaining two candidates, Emmer and Austin Scott, did not vote to block the certification of the election results.
House Republicans have been embroiled in chaos throughout the year. McCarthy had a difficult time securing the speaker’s gavel in January, requiring 15 votes, and had to make concessions that allowed a single member to force a vote for his removal.
That occurred this month when eight Republicans ousted him after he passed legislation with Democratic support, averting a partial government shutdown.
Investors have attributed the chaos to market instability, and Biden has urged Republicans to resolve their issues.
(Reporting by David Morgan and Kat Jackson, writing by Andy Sullivan, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
