Kevin McCarthy's election as US speaker opens period of dysfunctional legislature

Soon after getting elected as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives in an unprecedented 15th attempt, Republican leader Kevin McCarthy delivered to the FarRight legislators of his party a set of a new rules that will govern the functioning of the chamber.

- Prashant Jha

WASHINGTON: 

The rules weaken the position and authority of the Speaker and allow any single member to move a motion to seek his removal; kill omnibus spending legislations and open up each appropriation bill to debate and amendment, making it vulnerable to a deadlock; and will force public spending cuts. The rules have also enabled the formation of a subcommittee under the House Judiciary Committee to examine the "weaponisation of the federal government", a tool Republicans plan to use to counter Department of Justice probe into the January 6, 2020 mob insurrection at the US Capitol in which former President Donald Trump is said to be involved.

Besides the formal McCarthy's changes, understanding with the extreme wing of his party has also seen members of the Far-Right take up seats in key legislative committees. Republicans are also set to obstruct an extension or rise in the US government's debt ceiling limit later this year, possibly creating an unprecedented economic crisis.

The nature of McCarthy's election and now the new House rules both reflect the divisions and dysfunctionality in today's Republican Party and broader American politics and will deepen it further.

The politics of McCarthy's election In the mid-term elections in November, Republicans narrowly got a majority in the House, winning 222 out of the 435 seats.