Kevin McCarthy
The turmoil in the Republican Party continues. Their house is divided from within which indicates why they are unable to govern. The Huffington Posts reports that Kevin McCarthy dropped out of the Speaker’s race.
WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) summed up the feelings of his soon-to-be-former colleagues in one line: “Well, that was a surprise.”
He then moved to adjourn the meeting that had been called to elect a new speaker, a vote that was presumed to be a lock for House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Instead, McCarthy had used his time before the GOP conference to say he was withdrawing his name.
“He asked for the floor, and it was a two-minute speech,” said Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-N.C.). “He said the country is asking for a new face, new leadership, and he said I’m going to pull out. I’m not the right person for this job. I think we’re all in shock.”
McCarthy would have easily defeated his challengers in the conference vote, but still needed 218 votes on the House floor. Typically, whomever a majority party nominates to be speaker gets the near-unanimous support of that party’s members.
But nothing is typical in this Republican Party, which appears to be more like a group of European lawmakers trying to form a coalition. In Europe, if a center-right party fails to reach agreement with an ultra-right party, it searches elsewhere in the center for a small party to align with. But in the current American system, the only path forward for Republicans is to find a consensus speaker candidate.
None was emerging Thursday, though Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) put his name forward.
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