When U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted as leader on Tuesday, he became the shortest-serving House speaker since 1875. A handful of far-right Republicans joined Democrats and stripped the California Republican of the presidential nomination with a vote of 216 to 210. , after McCarthy worked with Democrats to pass a short-term funding bill to avoid a government shutdown, writes ‘The Global Times’ from China.
The ousting seems sudden, but is not surprising. It’s no secret that some far-right Republicans have radical ideas and refuse to cooperate in any form with Democrats. Additionally, McCarthy’s position was shaky from the start. Matt Gaetz, who was among the Republicans who forced an affirmative vote to vacate the House seat, repeatedly voted against McCarthy’s bid for president in January. McCarthy finally got the gavel after 15 rounds of voting spread over four days. To win the job, McCarthy had to agree to rules that made it easier to challenge his leadership.
Democrats also considered him untrustworthy. He broke a spending deal in May with President Joe Biden. Although McCarthy worked with Democrats to end the U.S. lockdown, he failed to gain the support of a single Democrat in Tuesday’s vote. Democrats still believe the presence of McCarthy, who in September ordered an impeachment inquiry against Biden, would hamper the Biden administration’s policy agenda. They also believe that ousting McCarthy would trigger chaos within Republicans and thwart Republican actions against Democrats. Overall, McCarthy had already become a “lame” speaker.
Zhang Tengjun, deputy director of the Department of American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that McCarthy’s ouster shows that amid intensifying bipartisan struggles, party loyalty triumphs. of everything, from both parties. ability to compromise and reach consensus in the interest of the American public.
“It doesn’t matter whether you are Speaker of the House or not; what matters is which party he belongs to. This shows how divided the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are,” Zhang noted, adding that American politics is now entering an era of “a crowd of demons dancing in tumultuous revelry.”
McCarthy’s ouster was widely covered by the US media, adding to the frenzy. But in reality, it is the very representation of the so-called democratic politics of the United States. What normal democratic politics means is that the functioning of politics will not be affected by the impeachment of a single politician. But of course, McCarthy’s ouster threw the House into chaos. And McCarthy’s fate reflects the impact of cooperation with the other party on political fortunes.
American democracy faces a serious test as the 2024 presidential election approaches. Republicans must address the current chaos and the latest leadership crisis. Without a powerful House Speaker to bridge differences among Republicans, it will affect the Republican Party’s overall electoral strategy and the advancement of its policy agendas.
Democrats, sitting in the House watching the farce from afar, might mock Republicans and accuse them of being incapable of governing the country and of being the cause of the current political impasse. But they should also be aware that if Republicans refuse to cooperate on any issue, the Biden administration’s policy agenda could also suffer. A chaotic situation next year does not bode well for the Democratic Party, and the outcome of the 2024 elections remains uncertain and unpredictable.