‘Hopelessly divided’ Republicans keep US Congress paralysed

It was not clear whether Mr Johnson would be able to overcome divisions that have tripped up three other candidates who had previously won the party’s nomination. In a sign of those divisions, the second-place finisher in the nominating vote was the ousted Mr McCarthy, who secured 43 votes despite not being a declared candidate.

Tom Emmer, the No. 3 House Republican, won the nomination earlier in the day, only to withdraw hours later due to opposition from the party’s right flank.

Like Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan before him, Mr Emmer’s prospects were doomed by a relatively small group of holdouts who denied him the 217 votes he would need to win the speaker’s gavel. That high threshold and the party’s narrow 221-212 majority means that any candidate can afford to lose just four votes if Democrats remain united in opposition.

“We have no capacity at the moment to come to a verdict, and that is a very distressing place to be,” Republican legislator Marc Molinaro said.

Mr Johnson, a conservative constitutional law attorney, has billed himself as a bridge builder between the various Republican factions. The northwest Louisiana district he represents is one of the poorest in the country.

“He knows everybody very well, does a great job with bringing people to the floor, talking about our policies, and that’s what we need right now,” said Republican Kevin Hern, who withdrew his own bid to support Mr Johnson.

Trump opposition

Mr Emmer dropped his bid after former president Donald Trump urged Republicans to oppose him. Unlike many in his party, Mr Emmer voted to certify Democratic President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over Mr Trump following the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.

Mr Trump, the Republican frontrunner for the 2024 presidential nomination, had called the moderate a “Globalist RINO” — short for “Republican in Name Only” – and said on Truth Social his election as speaker would be a “tragic mistake.”

Mr Trump early this month had backed Mr Jordan’s bid for the speakership, but Republicans gave up on his attempt last week after Mr Jordan lost three floor votes. Before that, No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise dropped his own bid when he was unable to line up enough votes to win the job.

Democrats have said they are open to a compromise candidate that would allow the chamber to function. Many Republicans have said on principle that they would not back somebody who had support from the opposition party.

Some Republicans have voiced growing frustration with the long struggle to pick a new speaker.

“Pretty sad commentary on our governance right now,” Steve Womack told reporters.

“I think it is apparent to the American people that the GOP conference is hopelessly divided,” Mr Womack said. “Can it be overcome? Never say never. But the signs are right now that this conference is at some kind of an impasse.”

Reuters