New US House speaker McCarthy starts out with agenda already hemmed in by dissidents
- Kevin McCarthy pledged to champion federal spending cuts, strengthen border security and counter ‘woke indoctrination’
- Republican McCarthy now confronts a Democratic-controlled Senate and White House at the helm of a slender, fractious House majority
Newly elected House speaker Kevin McCarthy sought to rally Republicans with pledges to champion federal spending cuts, strengthen border security and counter “woke indoctrination,” hinting at his dependence on a small group of populist conservatives over the next two years.
Fresh from a leadership struggle that lasted more than four days and raised questions about his party’s capacity to fulfil basic functions of governing, McCarthy now confronts a Democratic-controlled Senate and White House at the helm of a slender, fractious House majority.
The ideological divisions, distrust and grievances that flared over 15 ballots to pick a House speaker – usually a formality at the opening of a new Congress – signals difficulties ahead in mustering votes for essential tasks such as keeping the government open and avoiding a US credit default.
McCarthy, 57, secured election only because six Republican dissidents switched from opposing him to abstaining. That puts him on notice that any five can block legislation not supported by Democrats – or oust McCarthy if they disagree with a compromise he strikes.
One thing is certain: US President Joe Biden will face a squeeze on funding for Democratic priorities and two years of scrutiny of his administration from congressional investigations.
“We will use the power of the purse, and the power of the subpoena, to get the job done,” McCarthy said in his acceptance speech early on Saturday morning.
While McCarthy offered a customary nod to hopes of cooperation with political opponents, he concentrated on unifying Republican populists by taking aim at common enemies: the Internal Revenue Service, the Chinese Communist Party and “America-Last energy policies.” He promised one of the new House majority’s first hearings would be held at the US-Mexico border.
The agenda largely reflects midterm election campaign pledges McCarthy made as a Republican Party “Commitment to America,” a branding that evokes a high point for congressional Republicans – when they swept into a commanding House majority in 1994 running on Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America.”
