New Speaker of the US House of Representatives faces his first big test when voting for a package of rules

The new president of the United States House of Representatives, kevin mccarthyfaces the first test of his ability to lead the riotous House on Monday, when republicans seek to pass a set of rules that determines how they will act on it.

An evening vote on the plan, which has caused alarm for its concessions to the Republican right wing, including a plan to cut defense spending, comes on the heels of one of the most turbulent weeks in the US House of Congress.

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Lawmakers nearly came to blows in the new legislature of this Republican-controlled chamber after McCarthy was forced to go through 15 rounds of voting over four days to overcome a far-right block on his candidacy.

The Democrats complain that the agreements it reached to resolve the vote have severely reduced the authority of the ‘speaker’ – its president – the main legislator in Washington, and have ceded an unhealthy amount of power to the most extreme Republican legislators.

The 55-page rulebook sets out Republican priorities for the remainder of Democratic President Joe Biden’s term – who took office in January 2021 – and the procedures they will adopt to run the House.

A three-page attachment of side deals that McCarthy reportedly negotiated in secret with the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus has unsettled Democrats and some moderate Republicans.

McCarthy’s most controversial concessions reportedly include assuming a 10-year budget that freezes spending at 2022 levels, which would mean funding cuts for federal agencies, and a 10% decrease in defense spending. .

“This is a proposed cut of billions (of dollars) to Defense, which I think is a horrible idea.”Texas Republican Tony Gonzales told CBS on Sunday.

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“When you have Russia and Ukraine in conflict, you have a growing threat from China in the Pacific (…) how am I going to look our allies in the eye and say, I need you to increase your defense budget, but still the United States will ours decrease?”, he explained.

“Everything” on the table

Jim Jordana McCarthy ally despite being part of the Freedom Caucus leadership, told Fox News that “everything has to be on the table”, including funding for Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion.

“Frankly, we’d better also look at the money we’re sending to Ukraine and say, ‘How can we better spend the money to protect America?’Jordan claimed.

The cuts would delight many fiscal conservatives, except they are largely symbolic, as they would die on reaching the Senate, under the control of Democrats.

The upper house can write its own version of most legislation on the floor if it raises objections, triggering compromise talks between the two houses of Congress.

McCarthy has also reportedly agreed to give the Freedom Caucus great influence over the day-to-day handling of legislation, effectively ceding significant leadership powers to a fringe of the far-right.

And he has plans to form a new select subcommittee to investigate the “government weaponization” which will focus on the Justice Department’s ongoing investigations into the former president donald trump (2017-2021), according to The New York Times.

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McCarthy has also reportedly agreed to a reform that allows as little as one member to request a vote to remove him, in effect a kind of “Freedom Caucus insurance policy” that allows the right-winger to keep the speaker’s feet on fire over his other promises.

The former trader can only afford to lose four Republican lawmakers at most, assuming all Democrats vote against the proposed package.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.