- January 25, 2023
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- January 25, 2023
The first month of the 118th U.S. Congress has been marked by unprecedented events. A total of 15 ballots were needed to elect Kevin McCarthy as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. In the rounds before, as many as 20 ultra-conservative members of the Freedom Caucus in the Republican caucus prevented McCarthy from being elected. Thus, for days, the 435 Members of Congress could not be sworn in. The House of Representatives could not formally begin its work. McCarthy’s concessions to the right-wing representatives of his caucus are immense. Over the next two years, moderate forces in the Grand Old Party will wrestle with America First representatives and the Freedom Caucus for control of the party. The period leading up to the next presidential election in 2024 is likely to be turbulent, not only in Congress. Hovering over everything is the still considerable influence of former President Trump. What can we learn from the events surrounding the election of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House? What consequences will McCarthy’s election have for parliamentary work in the House of Representatives? How much power and influence do selected fractions and individual actors have within the Republican caucus? What effects can be expected from the internal party squabbles with regard to the nomination of a presidential candidate and acceptance by the electorate? Podcast hosts Julia Friedlander, Atlantik-Brücke, and Stormy-Annika Mildner, Aspen Institute Germany, discuss these questions with Kerstin Klein, correspondent at the ARD studio in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Philipp Adorf, research associate at the Institute for Political Science and Sociology at the University of Bonn.
