October 3, 2023, was Groundhog Day in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Republican Caucus voted to remove Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20) as speaker of the House just nine months after electing him to the position in a saga that spanned four days and 15 ballots. We have in place a speaker pro tempore who lacks the full powers of a speaker duly elected by their congressional peers. The last two weeks have wrought public jockeying for support, not-so-public campaigns to sabotage, and various displays of what can be described as many Members attempting to make headlines instead of headway.
In the interim, the House is unable to conduct any legislative business. We’re unable to pass a resolution disavowing the horrific attack in Israel, nor can we send much-needed military and humanitarian aid to our allies and partners fighting for democracy in Europe and the Middle East. The government funding deadline of Nov. 17 is fast approaching, and we’re paralyzed, unable to advance legislation to keep the government running. Instead of legislating, we are wasting time waiting for the Republican majority to decide how to govern.
The fear that this will not be resolved quickly is coming to pass. I think of Massachusetts Congressperson Nathaniel Banks, whose assent to the speakership took more than two months and 133 ballots in 1855. The situation became so dire that the House passed a plurality resolution to lower the threshold from a majority of votes, meaning whichever candidate received the most votes in the speakership election would be declared the winner. The current situation we find ourselves in may not be unprecedented, but it is troubling, nonetheless.
It is unconscionable that the Republican majority refuses to put people over politics and work together and with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to find a solution that would allow this august body to continue our important work. Time and again, the Republican majority has been able to rely on House Democrats to keep this country moving forward. We joined them to avoid a manufactured crisis of their own doing in what would have been a catastrophic default on our national debt in June. Just two weeks ago we provided a majority of the votes to prevent a government shutdown.
(Donald Baker)
Congressperson James E. Clyburn
The common denominator in each of these scenarios, including the current battle for the speakership, is that extreme MAGA Republicans wreaked them. They have made it a habit to hold the country hostage when they do not get their way. We saw it on Jan. 6, 2021, and again in the continuous baseless impeachment inquiries into the Biden family instead of focusing on the needs of the American people. Nero lives in infamy for “fiddling while Rome burned,” and the Republican majority of the 118th Congress is running a dangerous risk of carrying on his legacy.
A bipartisan way forward is the salve we need to heal this fractious political system. A government shutdown would cause incalculable harm to the American people. Millions of mothers and children on WIC who depend on this lifeline will be put at risk. Millions of federal employees will be unable to provide for their families adequately and countless service members will be forced to work without pay.
After the plight of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American people are looking to their elected representation to provide stability and continue to forge a path toward an equitable recovery. Our allies in Ukraine and Israel are looking to us to keep our word and continue to support their sovereignty. The national security implications alone are too great to allow this situation to continue haphazardly.
Leader Jeffries has extended a helpful hand. House Republicans should reject the poisonous MAGA extremists within their caucus and take it.
James E. Clyburn is the assistant Democratic leader in the United States House of Representatives. He previously served in the post from 2011 to 2018 and served as House majority whip from 2019 to 2022 and from 2007 to 2010.