https://www.huffpost.com/entry/house-republicans-speaker-fight-israel-ukraine_n_652838c0e4b03ea0c00463a7
'Ridiculous': The GOP Is Playing Dress-Up Through The Speaker Fight
Ten days after ejecting Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his leadership post, Republicans are no closer to replacing him and the House of Representatives remains at an unprecedented standstill.
The only things the GOP has to show for after a week of internal meetings ― meetings so private that lawmakers weren’t even trusted to bring their phones into the room ― are failed votes and chronic infighting.
They left for the weekend having just chosen Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as their next pick for a shot at the speakership, but he only got 152 votes for the role in a Friday meeting. He needs 217 votes to actually get the gavel.
“We are a broken conference,” Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) told reporters on Thursday evening, walking out of yet another meeting in the Capitol basement.
It’s embarrassing, if entirely predictable, to watch. It’s also happening as Congress needs to act with particular urgency on a number of fronts. Lawmakers in both parties are eager to provide aid to Israel as its war with Hamas escalates. The Pentagon says it is running out of money to replace weapons in Ukraine as the nation faces Russian attacks. Congress has to pass a bill to fund the U. S. government to avert a shutdown next month.
The House can’t move legislation on anything until Republicans elect a new speaker.
And yet, for some GOP members at the center of this self-created chaos, there is no urgency. It’s simply a time to perform for the cameras.
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