No End in Sight for House Speaker Vacancy, UMD Congressional Expert Says
Professor, Author: Republican Infighting Exposes Party Divisions, Snarls Effort to Resume Governing
One branch of the U.S. government remained out of order for the 16th straight day as U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) debated whether to take a third run at speaker of the House on Thursday on the heels of two failed ballots.
Republicans also dropped a rushed plan to give the interim speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), more powers, extending the delay on bankrolling federal operations as a shutdown looms and on funding other priorities like military aid for Ukraine and Israel.
House Republicans have no clear path to reaching the magic number of 217 “yes” votes to seat a speaker, leaving the nation in a precarious spot, says Kris Miler, an associate professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland who has published a pair of books on the operations of Congress and how politicians represent their constituents.
She talked with Maryland Today on Thursday afternoon about the unprecedented series of events and what comes next.
The lead AP photo of Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio is by Alex Brandon
Published on Wed, Oct 25, 2023 - 2:46PM