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Trump backers are lining up to block Republican frontrunner for new House speaker

Published: December 15, 2022 3.40am AEDT
Author Richard Hargy
Senior Teacher / PhD Candidate, Queen's University Belfast
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Those seeking to become speaker must secure an absolute majority of assembled members. The vote will take place on the floor of the House by the 435-member body, with 218 votes needed. The US constitution gives the House exclusive powers, such as to initiate revenue bills. The speaker is therefore a pivotal player within the federal government (and also third in succession to the presidency).

This person holds huge sway over the legislative process, controlling the House rules committee which structures debates to advance or kill-off bills that may be presidential priorities. The speaker, as politics professor Matthew Green explains, balances legislative, institutional and partisan agendas in ways few other representatives can do.

Push to the hard right

Regardless of who gets to wield the speaker’s gavel, they will be constrained by the impulses of hard-right Republicans. In showing deference to the Make America Great Again (MAGA) base, the new speaker will be expected to launch investigations into the Biden administration, and in particular the president’s son Hunter. This has been a long-term goal of Republican lawmakers, who want to use their subpoena power to question foreign entities connected to messages and financial transactions allegedly found on a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden.

A public endorsement from Trump for either McCarthy or Biggs would be a massive boon for their respective campaigns. Biggs appears as an obvious fit for Trump, having lavished adulation on the former president – something which Trump both demands and thrives on.

The Trump/McCarthy relationship endured a brief split following the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. McCarthy initially blamed the former president for inciting the insurrection but made a quick volte-face, positioning himself since as a staunch defender of Trump.

Salvaging McCarthy’s quest to become speaker could be viewed by Trump as useful as he launches his third bid for the White House – as would having a grateful ally at the epicentre of political power in Washington.

https://theconversation.com/trump-backers-are-lining-up-to-block-republican-frontrunner-for-new-house-speaker-196255