As a result of the continuous conflict between Israel and Hamas, a number of Republican politicians have urged for the swift election of a new Speaker of the House in order to handle the growing issue on a worldwide scale. This is due to the fact that the current Speaker of the House is set to step down in January. Because there is currently no Speaker in the House, the chamber is unable to react quickly to the emergency situation. This is a direct result of the absence of the Speaker.
As a result of the limits that were placed in the aftermath of 9/11, the current Speaker Pro Tem, Republican Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, is currently functioning with a restricted amount of authority. On the other hand, he has not stated whether or not he intends to promote any important legislation within the realm of his current authority. This is despite the fact that it is within his purview to do so.
In spite of the fact that House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and ranking Democrat Gregory Meeks (D-NY) have produced a resolution in support of Israel, it is anticipated that many members will urge for the House to take action that is more significant than what has already been proposed.
Some Republicans are ready to move swiftly and may try to utilize the current crisis to their advantage in order to return Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to the position of speaker. However, it is not probable that the Republican conference will entertain a placeholder alternative until it is obvious that one of the candidates will not be able to win the requisite 217 votes from the members of the House of Representatives. Despite the fact that some Republicans are eager to move quickly and even use the issue to return Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to the speakership, this is the situation that has arisen.
In the event that Republican deliberations go into the weekend, there may be an increase in the number of requests for a temporary speaker to appear at the meetings. When the Senate meets again the following week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is likely to act quickly and may explore include financial assistance for Ukraine as part of a larger package that also contains assistance for Israel.
If no candidate is able to quickly obtain 217 votes, one of the alternatives is to temporarily elevate McHenry for a set amount of time, potentially thirty or sixty days. This would be done in the event that no candidate was able to quickly collect the necessary number of votes. McCarthy’s backers have made it clear that they intend to run him for speaker of the house once more, despite the fact that it is extremely unlikely that he would wind up winning the election for that position.
The present conflict in Israel is another hurdle that the future Speaker of the House will need to surmount before the continuing resolution expires on November 17. In addition to this, the next Speaker of the House will have to deal with the looming fight over spending before the resolution expires. Candidates for the position of Republican Speaker will be expected to offer an outline of their approaches to addressing appropriations difficulties as well as the problem of Israel to their colleagues. If days pass without a decision being made over the speakership, and the argument continues to deepen, Republicans may consider taking measures that are not the usual in order to try to resolve the impasse.