The US House of Representatives was leaderless yesterday, after some Republicans narrowly won a vote to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, a historic move that triggered what would be a lengthy and likely messy battle to find a replacement.
It was the first time that the House has removed a speaker — a position that is second in line to the president after the vice president.
Republican lawmakers signaled they would need a week to regroup, planning to meet on Tuesday to discuss possible candidates to replace McCarthy — who said he would not run again — with votes on Wednesday next week at the earliest.
Photo: AFP
The leadership fight is eating into the time lawmakers have to avert a looming partial government shutdown, which would begin on Nov. 18 if the US Congress fails to pass legislation providing more funding.
“We’re in uncharted waters,” US Representative Byron Donalds, a Republican, told reporters on Tuesday after supporting McCarthy in a vote the speaker lost 216-210.
It was not clear who might seek to succeed McCarthy in a job that has proven challenging for Republicans in the past few years. The previous two Republican speakers, Paul Ryan and John Boehner, retired from Congress after clashes with their right wing.
McCarthy, who led a narrow 221-212 majority, made the job even more difficult for himself. During 15 grueling rounds of voting on his bid for the speakership in January, he agreed to changes to House rules that allowed any one member of Congress to call for the speaker’s ouster, setting the stage for US Representative Matt Gaetz to do just that.
“I don’t envy anyone this job,” said US Representative Mike Garcia, a Republican.
He described the rule change as “like handing 220 matches out to people in your party and dousing yourself in fuel and hoping none of them are crazy.”
McCarthy said his only advice to the next speaker was: “Change the rules.”
US Representative Dusty Johnson, asked about the prospect of picking a new speaker, told reporters that “frankly, one has to wonder whether or not the House is governable at all.”
Even though many lawmakers saw this day coming, given McCarthy’s tenuous hold on the speakership, they nonetheless were stunned that Republicans actually dumped their own leader.
“I’ve been here for a while, and I’ve seen a lot, but I’ve never seen this,” said US Representative Jim McGovern, a Democrat.
The names being mentioned as replacements for McCarthy include House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Republican Whip Tom Emmer. US Representative Patrick McHenry, who was named speaker pro tempore after McCarthy’s removal, could also become a candidate.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
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