House Speaker chaos threatens GOP majority
by Julia Manchester - 10/10/23 6:00 AM ET
The political chaos surrounding the vacant Speakership in the House threatens to upend Republican efforts to hold onto their slim majority in next year’s elections.
Questions over who would succeed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) took on a new urgency this weekend amid an escalating war between Israel and Hamas terrorists.
The air of havoc surrounding the GOP’s ouster of McCarthy at a time when a critical US ally is at war could reverberate through some of the most competitive districts next year, such as in New York.
“Having a Speakership sitting vacant at the moment is obviously not good,” said Tom Doherty, a New York-based GOP strategist. “It doesn’t serve us or our foreign partners any good not to have a Speaker of the House.”
The unprecedented vacancy of the Speakership comes as Israel reacts to the massive surprise attack from Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a terror organization. As of Monday afternoon, over 900 people in Israel and over 500 people in Gaza had been killed as a result of the war.
Without a Speaker, the House cannot greenlight emergency aid to Israel. It’s also unclear whether acting Speaker Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) will be able to receive classified briefings on the matter.
House Republicans plan to meet on Monday night to discuss how to move forward on the vacancy.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4246450-house-speaker-chaos-threatens-gop-majority/
