The United States House of Representatives ended the day Thursday without electing a new president, remaining paralyzed by discord in the ranks of the Republican Party, AFP reported on Friday.

Republican front-runner Kevin McCarthy has yet to receive the necessary votes after the third day of negotiations and 11 rounds of elections. The debate is due to resume on Friday at 12:00 (17:00 GMT).

The California representative has tried unsuccessfully to win the support of a group of 20 elected officials close to Republican President Donald Trump, offering significant concessions in backroom negotiations. The group, which says it has no confidence in McCarthy at all, left the House of Representatives for another day without a speaker, the first time in 160 years.

Blocking has very specific consequences. Without a president, elected officials cannot take the oath of office, and therefore cannot pass bills.

Members of the party’s most conservative wing, a group of Republicans close to Donald Trump, are using the slim majority Republicans won in November’s midterm elections to impose their terms. “We have to fix this broken system,” he said. in the Montana House of Representatives, Matt Rosendale, urging other Republicans to join the protest group.

Kevin McCarthy, who can’t be elected without their support, granted one of their requests, aimed specifically at facilitating a replacement for the Speaker of the House.

The third most important figure in American politics after the president and vice president, the speaker of the House of Representatives needs a majority of 218 votes to be elected. Kevin McCarthy currently has 201. Kevin McCarthy, a member of the Republican Party staff for more than a decade, currently has no worthy challenger. Only the name of the group’s leader, Steve Scalise, was floated as a possible alternative, but his chances were slim.

The chamber will continue to vote until the president is elected. What was usually a matter of hours could stretch into weeks. In 1856, elected members of Congress agreed after two months and 133 rounds.

In the ranks of the Republican Party, which mainly supports the candidacy of Kevin McCarthy, anxiety and impatience were felt, which caused very heated discussions. Elected members of the Democratic Party are watching the situation with some amusement. Joe Biden’s party is united around the candidacy of leader Hakeem Jeffries, but he does not have enough support. “Today, I hope that Republicans will stop the controversy, the slander, and the backstabbing to work in the service of the American people. “, he said at a press conference on Thursday.

A hostile but disorganized House of Representatives could prove to be a political advantage for President Joe Biden if he reaffirms his intention to run for a second term in the White House in 2024, a decision he was expected to announce earlier this year.

(Source: Agerpres)