Amid international crises, US Congress handcuffed by Republican feud
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[October 16, 2023]
By Patricia Zengerle and Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the flames of war burn in the Middle East and
Ukraine, the U.S. Congress is immobilized by a brawl among Republicans,
a dysfunction that even some in Donald Trump's party worry is giving
comfort to the nation's adversaries.
The House of Representatives has drifted leaderless for 12 days since
eight of its 221 Republicans ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy. That has
held up any legislative action, from debating further aid to Ukraine as
it battles a Russian invasion to a statement of support for ally Israel
in its war with Hamas.
Republicans on Friday nominated hardliner Jim Jordan for speaker, but it
was not clear if the longtime antagonist of party leadership would have
the support needed to win a floor vote this week.
McCarthy's removal was the latest in a series of self-created crises
Congress has faced in a year that saw lawmakers bring the federal
government to the brink of defaulting on its $31.4 trillion in debt and
just two weeks ago narrowly avert the fourth partial U.S. government
shutdown in a decade.
That latter move led to McCarthy's ouster by colleagues angry that the
spending bill passed with more Democratic than Republican votes, even
though any measure passed by the House needs to clear the
Democratic-controlled Senate and be signed by Democratic President Joe
Biden to become law.
Some House Republicans voiced frustration and anger that they have gone
so long without being able to choose a leader.
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"The world is on fire. Our adversaries are watching what we do and ...
quite frankly, they like it," said Republican House Foreign Affairs
Committee Chairman Michael McCaul.
Speaking to reporters as his colleagues huddled to discuss their next
moves, McCaul added, "I see a lot of threats out there. One of the
biggest threats I see is in that room because we can't unify as a
conference."
The dysfunction was undermining Americans' already weak confidence in
Congress, with two-thirds of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos survey this
month saying they did not believe Washington politicians could set aside
partisan differences for the good of the nation. Half said they did not
believe lawmakers could carry out their most basic function of passing
laws.
Former President Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican
nomination, has at times been a cheerleader for the chaos.
'SELF-INFLICTED CHAOS'
The logjam continued as fighting in the Middle East intensified with
Israel launching an assault on the Gaza Strip following a surprise
attack by Hamas fighters.
Lawmakers of both parties have voiced support for Israel, but a
leaderless House has been unable to take any official action. Republican
Representative Zach Nunn said the conflict hit home in his Iowa
district.
He said a local family struggled to fly out of Israel until a private
airplane was arranged, a Des Moines family was "trapped" in Gaza and
some military friends aboard U.S. ships now in the Mediterranean would
see their paychecks suspended if Congress does not avert a government
shutdown next month.
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![](../images/101623PIX/news_n88.jpg)
The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunrise as Republican House members will
today continue their search to find a House speaker following the
ouster of Kevin McCarthy, in Washington, U.S., October 13, 2023.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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"Let's start passing budgets. Let's start moving forward with our
national security. Let's stand with our strongest ally in the Middle
East right now. And most importantly, let's have a government that
is functioning," Nunn told reporters.
House Democrats echoed that stance.
"We hope our Republican colleagues will put an end to the
self-inflicted chaos so that we can begin to govern on behalf of the
American people," Representative Pete Aguilar, a member of House
Democratic leadership, told reporters.
The troubles are not confined to the House.
In the Democratic-controlled Senate, a Republican has since February
single-handedly held up the confirmations of hundreds of military
officers, including many top commanders.
Senator Tommy Tuberville is protesting a Pentagon policy that
reimburses service members for out-of-state travel to access
abortions.
After the attack on Israel, Tuberville said he will not drop his
blockade of Biden's nominees.
Meanwhile, 20 months into Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, many
Republicans in Congress want to back away from additional military
and economic aid to Kyiv, feeding uncertainty about the U.S.
commitment to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"With the pressing needs we have right now for additional support
for both Israel and Ukraine, the lack of a speaker ... is very
problematic," said Elizabeth Hoffman, director of congressional and
government affairs at the Center for Strategic & International
Studies.
"The needs are very urgent and are not getting less urgent," she
said in a telephone interview.
All year Congress has been locked in a bitter struggle as hardline
House Republicans demand profound government spending cuts as a way
of starting to tame a budget deficit that reached about $1.7
trillion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.
As a result, federal agencies face many of their operations ceasing
on Nov. 17 unless a deal can be reached.
"I just sense a real clash coming here in early November," said
William Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy
Center.
Some Republicans were not fazed by the House's lingering stalemate.
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"We can go without a speaker for a long time because Congress
doesn't actually have to be in," said Representative Scott Perry,
who chairs the right-wing House Freedom Caucus. "The American people
are at work today. Babies are being born today and this isn't the
first thing on their priority list."
(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Scott
Malone and Cynthia Osterman)
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