Ahead of another government shutdown deadline next month, the GOP’s third speaker candidate in three weeks dropped out Tuesday just hours after winning the nomination.
WASHINGTON \u2014 Tackling big issues was always going to be difficult in a divided government. But without a speaker, it\u2019s impossible.
Congress has three-and-a-half weeks to fund the government or cause another damaging shutdown. But without a speaker, the House is frozen, unable to conduct business as their to-do list piles up and other key deadlines approach.
And 21 days after House Republicans threw out their last speaker, they’re no closer to replacing him. On Tuesday, their third nominee to replace him, Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, announced within hours of winning the nomination that he was dropping out.
\u201cWe\u2019re wasting time. We\u2019re burning daylight. This has set us back on the approps process, so we\u2019re moving up against the Nov. 17\u201d deadline to fund the government, said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the chair of the powerful Rules Committee, which decides which bills get votes in the House. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ll shut down, but I do think we\u2019ve wasted a lot of time where we could put bills on the floor and made progress.\u201d
The Senate, meanwhile, unlocked a path forward Tuesday to vote on three funding bills, but it can’t avoid a shutdown on its own.
The Biden administration has also sent Congress a request for a $105 billion package that includes aid to Israel amid an escalating war in the Middle East, new funding for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia\u2019s war, international proposals aimed at containing China\u2019s influence and additional funding to bolster U.S. border security.
\u201cThe Senate will act probably this week on the president\u2019s proposal. We need to be in a position to deal with that,” Cole said in an interview on Tuesday. “And if we don\u2019t like what we see \u2014 and I suspect from what I\u2019m hearing, there\u2019ll be things we don\u2019t like \u2014 be in a position to reshape and send back a different package and do the normal congressional ping-pong until we get to an agreement. We can\u2019t do that without a speaker. We have friends around the world that have serious challenges, and we have our own domestic economy. We need to step up.\u201d
Beyond the government funding and aid for foreign allies, Congress must pass a new farm bill, reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and pass a National Defense Authorization Act in order to prevent major disruptions in daily life for Americans.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., one of the Emmer opponents, said he wants a speaker candidate who will advance \u201cconservatism,\u201d and oppose \u201cearmarks\u201d and \u201csupplementals.\u201d
\u201cThis country\u2019s in trouble financially, ladies and gentlemen,\u201d he said, calling for a speaker \u201cthat\u2019s going to be a standard bearer \u2014 not just talk, they\u2019re going to do it \u2014 use the office for speaker to advance that.\u201d
The chaos has produced mistrust and fresh grudges all over the House GOP, which some fear will further complicate the narrow majority\u2019s task of governing once it elects a new speaker.
\u201cWe\u2019re not getting the Israel stuff. Done. We\u2019re not getting appropriations bills done. And we need to move forward,\u201d said Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who represents a swing district based in Omaha. \u201cThere\u2019s bad blood.\u201d
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said House Republicans, by failing to elect a speaker, are \u201cputting themselves in a very weak position\u201d to win concessions in the funding fight from a Senate and White House run by Democrats.
\u201cWhat it means is that the appropriations process will probably have more input from Democrats \u2014 because Democrats do control the Senate and they control the presidency \u2014 than if the House actually had their leadership team put together and could negotiate in good faith,\u201d Rounds said, noting that the House is \u201crunning out of time\u201d to play a significant role in the process.
Many Republicans are furious that a band of eight rebels took out former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who helped many of them get elected and capture the majority. And allies of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., believe he was mistreated after winning the nomination and being forced to drop out.
Right-wing lawmakers feel aggrieved at being labeled bullies for trying to pressure members to vote for Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the subsequent nominee, who was forced out by centrist and institutionalist defections.
\u201cWe have two parties within a party right now,\u201d Bacon said. \u201cWe have the Reagan conservatives. We have a populist wing. And they don\u2019t agree on some issues. And we only have a four-seat majority. That\u2019s what makes it so hard.\u201d
Democrats, who are unified behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for speaker, say the GOP mess has real-world consequences.
“These are dangerous times. And the dysfunction of the Republican conference was tolerable for a few days, but now we’re going into weeks. And the world is on fire. And we are fast approaching the deadline where the government might shut down if we don’t do something,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the ranking member of the Rules Committee. “And so enough of the bulls—. They’ve got to come together and figure out a pathway forward.”
McGovern and other Democrats say they’d favor a bipartisan path forward and would support a Republican for speaker if they commit to changing the way the House works by saying no to far-right demands and bringing bipartisan legislation to a vote.
\u201cI am proud to be part of Team Normal. But they\u2019re Team Out Of Their F—ing Minds. And I\u2019ve never seen anything like this before,” McGovern said. “It\u2019s embarrassing for this country, and they should all be ashamed of themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n