The United States Congress is in chaos as Kevin McCarthy has been ousted from speakership. Just like the looming government shutdown, McCarthy’s removal has been expected for a while. In a 216 to 210 vote, the house is left without a speaker and in complete disarray. This becomes infinitely more alarming when we have spent the past few weeks in dangerous proximity to government shutdown. At least for now, our government will remain open – that is until November 17. Without a House Speaker, Congress is not in any position to do anything about this. Once again, we see party-gain politics serve as a ball and chain on the efficiency of our political systems.
Kevin McCarthy spent his entire time as House Speaker completely stuck. With only a four-vote voting majority for the Republican party, Republicans were aware of their power over McCarthy and wielded it without consequence. McCarthy spent his entire term giving into the political favors demanded of him in order to be able to take any actions as Speaker of the House. Unable to please the right or the left and labeled by many as the weakest speaker in history, McCarthy was finally voted out by the enraged right flank of the house.
Since January, it has been clear that this political manipulation would become an issue, as this tactic was the very thing that got McCarthy into the speaker seat. By conceding to the far-right members of his party in order to gain their votes, McCarthy allowed himself to become their puppet. The tactic worked the first time, so Republicans have had no issues using it repeatedly.
Most recently, we’ve seen this in McCarthy’s attempt to pass a temporary spending bill in response to the looming threat of a government shutdown. In his support of McCarthy, Representative Dusty Johnson (SD-R) pushed the bill’s importance, saying in an interview with the New York Times, “We need to show a good-faith effort to not shut down the government.” Knowing the importance of this bill, a group of Republicans used their well-worn tactic and agreed to vote on behalf of the bill only if McCarthy would launch a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Democrats do not seem so concerned with the impeachment inquiry itself, as a good majority do not seem to support Biden’s decision to run for reelection in 2024. Pennsylvania Senator Jon Fetterman went as far as to make a comedic video showing just how unconcerned he is at the possible impeachment of Biden. The issue is timing. With a government shutdown on the horizon, Democrats and even many Republicans are outraged at the political manipulation coming from these few members of the Republican party.
The impeachment inquiry is a token example of politicians prioritizing their party’s advancement over the things most actively influencing the everyday American. It is no coincidence that the representatives who pushed McCarthy to open the impeachment inquiry are primarily active supporters of former president Donald Trump for election in 2024. Many in the impeachment hearing have pointed out that this impeachment inquiry is simply a tactic to divert attention away from the criminal charges threatening Donald Trump’s empire and his chances for reelection. This desperation to protect the Republican Party’s chances in the next election is a complete oversight of the more immediate threat against the well-being of Americans.
“House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct,” McCarthy told the House. “Taken together, these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption.” But as the formal inquiry has gone on, we have found that there is simply insufficient evidence for impeachment. Republicans could have waited and attempted to find a more incriminatory piece of evidence. This would have given them a much better chance of success – but they chose now.
They chose now because they saw an opportunity to use McCarthy’s weakness and the threat of a government shutdown to increase the house speaker’s desperation and willingness to concede. “If it was so important, it could wait.” Rep. Kwesi Mfume (D-MD) said to the GOP in the impeachment hearing. “This is what is important, protecting this government and protecting the people who pay taxes here.”
The impeachment inquiry wasn’t enough though. McCarthy made a move labeled by many as unwise, deciding to seek votes from the opposing party. He knew he would not get the votes from his own party to pass a temporary spending bill, so he overlooked them ans pleaded his case to the Democrats. This weak move gave the right flank perfect opportunity to attempt to vote him out and while members of Congress, used filibusters to delay the ousting vote, it was inevitable. The right flank’s success at removing McCarthy has left us with a legislative body somehow less functional than it was even one week ago.
This crippling of our already paretic congress even in light of the probable shutdown shows just how much politicians will neglect the good of the American people for the sake of a political agenda. The 2018-2019 government shutdown was the longest in over 40 years. The American public is still intimately familiar with the adverse effects a shutdown has on daily life. Still, our politicians are prioritizing their party goals over the needs of those they represent.
While the untimely ousting of McCarthy, the push for impeachment, and the political manipulation used to do it are the most prominent current examples of party-gain politics destroying our government system, the issue is not limited to the Republican party. The Democratic party loves to shout about how they prioritize the good of the American people while they do this exact thing – they just attempt to be quieter about it. The issue is so deeply embedded into our political system that it feels impossible to remove from both parties. So long as we have a bipartisan government system that relies on the two parties constantly battling to gain the majority, party gains will always take precedence over real people. The American people will be resigned to watching our politicians’ futile screaming matches while we simply deal with the consequences.