The just removed US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy looks like a pathetic figure and virtually symbolises the chaos the American democratic institution has plunged into. Lately, he had been wooing ‘radical’ elements in his Republican Party who are beholden to former President Donald Trump. It is this group that has let him down and created an ignoble history by making him the shortest lasting Speaker ever. His ouster became inevitable after the defection of a handful of radicalized elected representatives. The development has far greater political and economic implications than the fate of an individual. It is about the institutional functioning of the world’s leading power, which is faced with a possible government shutdown as it will run out of money in around 40 days’ time, according to reports. It also puts into question US aid to Ukraine which is crucial for the latter’s ongoing war against Russia.
Right from the beginning of his campaign to fulfil his long-cherished ambition of becoming the House Speaker, McCarthy had been plagued by vacillating support from his own people in the Republican Party. He was elected with great difficulty in January on the 15th ballot after offering concessions to the wing claiming to be the most loyal to former President Donald Trump. In the process, he besmirched his reputation and antagonised the Democrats by agreeing to open an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden though there is hardly any substantial evidence to prove wrongdoing by the latter. It turned out to be a vindictive act at the behest of the pro-Trump group baying for Biden’s blood for impeachment proceedings against Trump.
It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs within the Republican Party which now comes across as a divided house plagued by intrigues. McCarthy lost his chair after he was defeated by 216 votes against 210 that supported his continuance as Speaker. Eight Republicans sided with the entire Democratic Caucus of the House to deny McCarthy his political ambitions in Congress. Particularly vociferous in their resistance to being governed by McCarthy were members of the Republican Freedom Caucus and their allies, who appeared to resent his cooperation with Democrats on critical policy matters. The most significant among these were bipartisan efforts to avoid a federal government shutdown by raising the debt ceiling. Towards this goal, McCarthy had signed off on a 45-day temporary spending bill, much to the chagrin of his Republican detractors in the House.
That schism represents the malaise afflicting the Republican Party. There is a vocal faction within the party that appears to share the political outlook of former President Donald Trump. Their politics is geared to lowering public expenditure and reversing foreign policy priorities that pledge funding to Ukraine in its war efforts against the Russian invasion.
The upshot of this ugly episode in current US politics is that the prospect of the Republican presidential candidate for 2024 elections may be damaged by the message of chaos and governance paralysis that the removal of the Speaker sends across.
The lesson for McCarthy and others like him in the Republican Party is that loyalty to Trump does not pay in the end. This is for the simple reason that Trump plays his cards to fulfil his own ambitions. He seems to have little compunction to turn his loyalists into sacrificial goats.