Republicans have only a four-vote lead, 219 to 215, and it is not unusual for members of a party to vote against a presidential candidate from their own ranks.
The current Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Michael Johnsonis seeking re-election in a vote that will be decided by very few votes as Republicans, who will control both chambers for the next two years in a legislative session that begins next Friday, most tight at the beginning of a parliamentary term of the last century.
According to the Constitution of the United States every January 3after the elections, the country’s new Congress must take office. For the next two years, the House of Representatives and the Senate will be under Republican control, something that has not happened since 2017, when Donald Trump first came to power.
But to establish itself, The lower house must choose who will be its president or ‘speaker’ (the meaning in English), who will be third in line for power, behind only the vice president.
Johnson, who has been Speaker of the House since October 2023, hopes to be re-elected for the next term, but the very narrow vote margin puts his nomination at risk, even if received public support from newly elected President Donald Trump.
After the elections on November 5, Trump’s Republicans came They won 220 seats, compared to 215 for the Democratsbut the future president has signed two of the congressmen who won to positions in his Cabinet.
To these two votes, which Trump must no longer count on once they are ratified by the Senate for their positions and until they can be replaced, Republicans must add another loss as Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz has resigned from office after he was involved. in a scandal for inappropriate sexual conduct involving a minor.
So if Gaetz, as he said he would, doesn’t collect his record in Congress, Republicans will have a problem. advantage of only four votes (219-215).
In the event that the rest of the members of the House of Representatives attend the vote and all Democrats vote for Hakeem Jeffries, their current leader, Johnson has few possible scenarios and his fellow partisans could force a new candidate for the conservative bench.
Lawmakers who do not want to vote for Johnson will be able to vote for any other member of the House of Representatives with the aim of forcing a new vote to elect a different candidate.
If there are enough abstentions, the majority needed to win would change would unleash a first crisis among Republicans.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
