The House of Representatives returns to chaos: Trumpists force Tom Emmer to withdraw his candidacy | International

The Republican Party congressmen in the House of Representatives have settled into chaos. Just hours after Tom Emmer was named as a candidate to replace the dismissed Kevin McCarthy as speaker, The hardline wing of the party, under the long shadow of Donald Trump, has forced him to withdraw his candidacy. The commitments of the rest of the candidates to support the winner in the internal votes have been of no use. The most extreme are not willing to accept the majority's decision if they do not like it.

Thus, three weeks after the vote of no confidence against McCarthy was successful, the House of Representatives remains without a president, with legislative activity paralyzed and in a dead end. The Republicans have 221 congressmen and 217 votes are needed to guarantee the election, so a handful of them are enough to impose their veto.

The permanent drama in which the Republicans have settled shows a parliamentary group deeply divided and with the atmosphere poisoned. The radical wing of the party takes revenge for the rejection of its candidate, Jim Jordan, who received the simultaneous support of Donald Trump and McCarthy himself, the two people with the greatest leadership within the party, but who was rejected by the moderate congressmen.

Among moderate Republicans there was discontent over the way Jordan's candidacy had made its way. In a first internal vote of the parliamentary group to find McCarthy's successor, the winner had been Steve Scalise, but Jordan's supporters made it clear, in what moderates consider a stab in the back, that they would not bow to McCarthy's decision. most and would block his appointment, so he threw in the towel before starting.

Then the nominee was Jordan, but after the third lost vote, the Republicans voted on Friday to withdraw his nomination and return to square one in search of an alternative. During the weekend, nine congressmen expressed their interest in running for the position, although one did not formalize his candidacy and another withdrew at the last minute. This Tuesday, the parliamentary group met behind closed doors and, after several rounds of voting in which the candidates with the least support have been left out, the chosen one was Emmer, who obtained 117 votes among the 221 members of his group, for the 97 of the ultraconservative Mike Johnson.

Then, however, the designated candidate found that there was no way to convince the members of the radical wing of the parliamentary group to support him. Former President Donald Trump, while attacking him from his social networks and saying that his election would be “a tragic mistake.”

[Noticia de última hora. Habrá ampliación en breve]

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