Elephants’ Coup in Congress

Elephants’ Coup in Congress

Elephants’ Coup in Congress: According to Iran Gate, McCarthy, the Speaker of the House, was ousted with an unprecedented vote, putting the U.S. Congress at risk of paralysis. Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States Congress, was removed from his position following a vote where eight of his party members, the most extreme and Trump-aligned members of the Republican faction, voted against him.

His removal was approved with 216 votes in favor and 210 against. All Democratic representatives voted in favor of his removal. In the history of the United States, it has never happened that a Speaker of the House resigns during election competitions, especially at such a critical moment like the current time, when Congress has very little time to pass a budget law that includes financial and military aid to Ukraine, which has entered an important phase of counterattack.

However, McCarthy’s position was not very strong from the start. Nine months ago, after being elected in the fifteenth round of voting, he had to agree with Republicans on changing a series of rules. These rules eventually led to his dismissal and made his removal easier. Since then, he has tried through some actions to neutralize some of the activities of the far-right wing, including the impeachment process of Joe Biden, and the MAGA (Make America Great Again) slogan of Trump’s 2016 campaign, while also attempting to mitigate their destructive impact.

Nevertheless, the last-minute agreement he made with Democrats last week to prevent the government shutdown was fatal for him. From that moment, in fact, Matt Gaetz, a Republican representative from Florida who led the rebellious Republican group, called for McCarthy’s removal. Many believe that anyone who replaces him will inherit a toxic support.

Fratricide in the Right Wing

Immediately after the vote, McCarthy announced in a dramatic speech that he does not intend to run again and took responsibility for his choices. ‘I do not regret standing for governance instead of fueling anger. This is my responsibility, this is my job. I do not regret negotiating. Our government was formed to find compromise.’

An interim president, Patrick McHenry, has been appointed in his place, but officially he only has a ceremonial role until a new president is elected, a process that will not be easy given the fratricidal conflict in the Republican Party.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump, who appeared in a New York court this week for a fraud trial, has unusually remained silent about the battle and conflict within his party. On Tuesday, he expressed his opposition to the ongoing events on Capitol Hill on his Truth platform, writing, ‘Why do Republicans always fight with each other? Why don’t they fight with the radical left Democrats who are destroying our country?’

Shock and Awe

Matt Gaetz, with harsh and bitter words after the voting session, said McCarthy was ousted because no one trusted him anymore. ‘He made too many controversial promises. Now we’ve pulled the tooth; let’s move on with a new leader.’ While Democrats are convinced that the chaos resulting from McCarthy’s removal will politically benefit them, Republicans are gathering behind closed doors in shock to assess and determine the next steps that need to be taken.

The Wall Street Journal, in a sharp editorial, writes, ‘On Tuesday, a group of eight Republicans managed to remove Kevin McCarthy from the speakership. We hope they are happy. Now they have reached the chaos they wanted, although it is unclear what they hoped to achieve. It seems their clever plan is to cut off their own head.’

According to many American conservative media, indeed, eight rebellious Republicans overthrew their own Republican Speaker without any clear plan, assumed successor, or political goal. They wrote, ‘We are navigating uncharted waters that, as time inevitably progresses towards a shutdown in mid-November, can become very turbulent and stormy, and even Democrats will not be immune from the damages caused by McCarthy’s loss in the future. The next Speaker could be weaker or not as willing to compromise and negotiate as McCarthy was.’

What Happens Now

The unprecedented removal of McCarthy casts a shadow of uncertainty over the U.S.’s aid prospects to Ukraine. If in recent weeks the far-right Trumpists refuse to vote for a budget law that includes $6 billion in financial and military aid to Kyiv, the next Speaker will certainly not approve the agreement that led to his predecessor’s removal.

Joe Biden, who was forced to negotiate with McCarthy to delay the risk of federal office closures and government employee pay, now finds himself without a partner. This situation weakens the position of the resigned Speaker, who was convinced of the need for military support to Kyiv, where Donald Trump is trying to present himself as the angel of peace.

A few days ago in Iowa, in his speech, he said, ‘When I was president, Putin did not attack Ukraine because I told him not to,’ and Trump has repeatedly promised that if re-elected, he will end the war within twenty-four hours.

It can perhaps be claimed that from now on, everything that happens in Washington is solely aimed at supporting or, conversely, slowing down the competition between the two sides towards the White House. On one side of the coin is Biden-Harris, and on the other side is Donald Trump. Polarization, radicalization, inefficiency—these are the key words with which what happened in the House of Representatives can be defined.

Polarization is determined by a partisan opposition that minimizes electoral mobility, creates very small majorities, and makes the necessary compromises and mediations for governance increasingly difficult.

Political radicalization is almost inevitably pursued by both parties, even if it appears more pronounced and highlighted in the Trump-influenced Republican Party, which is held hostage by its most extreme members.

In conclusion, this inefficiency certainly reflects many of the anachronisms of the U.S. governmental system, which with the recent event, this inefficiency in the legislative process will become even more pronounced and intensified.