Ask the Expert: First in a Series
On Jan. 7, U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was elected to the position of House Speaker in Congress. This election was unusual due to the number of ballots held before somebody was finally elected.
“It’s not normal to go to the floor with a vote if you don’t already know you’re going to win, and he did,” said Charles Olney, an associate professor in the Political Science Department.
Somebody had to be elected House Speaker, and since there was little competition, McCarthy called for multiple votes until he was elected after the 15th ballot.
“There was a very stubborn minority of about 20 Republicans who refused to vote for him until they got a certain number of concessions,” said Alvaro Corral, an assistant professor in the Political Science Department.
A group in the Republican Party, called the Freedom Caucus Faction, wanted more committee chairships. Since the speaker has a lot of power over the selection of chairships, they tried putting pressure on McCarthy.
However, this term may see a weaker speaker, overall.
“The structure of the House of Representatives is a lot of push and pull,” Olney said. “At the start of every term, every two years, they rewrite the [house] rules. That’s the first thing they did after they finally elected McCarthy as speaker.”
Because of this, the committee members are going to have much more authority and independence over how they operate.
The root cause of McCarthy’s lack of influence is due to the disunity within the Republican Party as well as its small majority, according to Olney.
As a result, there will likely be less legislation and more antagonism toward the Biden administration within the House.
“Raising taxes and then increasing spending is going to be more difficult for the House to do, and that’s done on purpose,” Corral said. “… Congress has the power of oversight and investigation, and so House Republicans will likely lead a couple of investigations into this Democratic president.”
Olney said he anticipates a tumultuous and chaotic next two years.
“I don’t anticipate that political scientists will regard McCarthy as having been a very successful speaker, but you never know,” he said.
Asked for her reaction to the situation, English major Jessica Wilson replied, “I feel that already the House of Representatives has been in quite a strange place, especially since Biden has been elected. I think there’s more divide than ever between Democrats and Republicans. … It’s ultimately going to set the entire country back.”
