{"id":2065730,"date":"2023-10-12T23:28:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T03:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/analysis-gop-speaker-controversy-did-not-plunge-the-house-into-chaos\/"},"modified":"2023-10-12T23:34:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T03:34:13","slug":"analysis-gop-speaker-controversy-did-not-plunge-the-house-into-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/analysis-gop-speaker-controversy-did-not-plunge-the-house-into-chaos\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP Speaker Controversy Did Not Cause House Chaos"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fanalysis-gop-speaker-controversy-did-not-plunge-the-house-into-chaos%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2065730&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>News Analysis<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Shortly after now-former Speaker of\u2063 the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted \u200don Oct. 3 in a historic\u200c first, mainstream media was flooded \u2064with alarms such as The\u200c New York Times&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2023\/10\/03\/us\/mccarthy-gaetz-speaker-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">declaration<\/a> that &#8220;the \u200cHouse [was] plunged into chaos&#8221; and &#8220;paralyzed until \u2062a successor is\u200b chosen.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Similarly,\u200b National Public Radio <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2023\/10\/04\/1203634898\/fate-of-house-gop-leadership-throws-congress-into-chaos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">described<\/a> the House as &#8220;virtually frozen,&#8221; while Politico \u2062quoted Marquette University professor of political science Julia\u200b Azari <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2023\/10\/06\/republican-leaders-mccarthy-expert-roundup-00120170\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">saying \u200bthat<\/a> &#8220;the\u200c ability of \u200dthe \u2064House of Representatives\u2064 to operate is in question.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Related Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/scalise-races-to-shore-up-support-for-speakership-ahead-of-floor-vote-5508387?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><br \/>\n<h3>Scalise Races to\u2063 Shore Up Support for Speakership Ahead of Floor Vote<\/h3>\n<p><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/epochtv\/a-critical-time-for-house-to-get-back-to-work-jordan-says-he-supports-scalise-for-house-speaker-5508550?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><br \/>\n<h3>\u2018A Critical Time\u2019 for House to Get Back to Work:\u200c Jordan Says He Supports Scalise for House Speaker<\/h3>\n<p><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Mr.\u2062 McCarthy was ousted after \u2063Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) \u2063and seven other Republicans joined with\u2062 208 Democrats to declare\u200c the speaker&#8217;s seat\u200b vacant. \u200cThe House Republican Conference subsequently picked House Majority Leader Rep. Steve \u200dScalise (R-La.) to succeed Mr. McCarthy, but the Louisiana Republican\u200c is at this writing struggling to get 217 of the\u2063 221 House Republicans, including at least some of the Gaetz eight, to support him.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, though disquieting, media claims of chaos and paralysis were far \u2062from accurate because, for the\u2063 most \u2063part, the daily business of the House of Representatives moved right along despite the\u200d political confusion\u2063 and uncertainty that followed the\u2063 McCarthy drama, including the installation of Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.)\u2062 as the acting speaker. Mr. McHenry can call the House \u2062into session and \u2064recess \u200bit, but he has\u200c limited powers to shape the legislative schedule.<\/p>\n<p>In the week after\u200d the speaker&#8217;s gavel was wrested from Mr. McCarthy, for example, the House Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), released the third interim <a href=\"https:\/\/homeland.house.gov\/2023\/10\/10\/new-homeland-majority-releases-phase-three-interim-report-focusing-on-the-devastating-human-costs-of-secretary-mayorkas-open-borders-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">report<\/a> on its investigation of &#8220;the crisis at the Southwest border and how the policies and actions of\u200c Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have precipitated the worst border crisis in American history.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$-->\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u2064 House \u2062Select Subcommittee on\u200c the Coronavirus Pandemic, chaired \u200bby Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), <a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/release\/wenstrup-to-hold-hearing-on-covid-19-biosafety-and-biosecurity-failures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced<\/a> that it&#8217;s convening a hearing on \u200cOct. 18 on \u200d\u201c&#8217;Strengthening Biosafety and Biosecurity Standards: Protecting Against Future Pandemics&#8217; to evaluate the effectiveness\u200b of existing biosafety and biosecurity practices in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic\u2063 and to discuss future policy improvements.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) in Washington \u200bon Aug. 12, 2022. (Drew Angerer\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>And \u2064House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman \u200cCathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) <a href=\"https:\/\/energycommerce.house.gov\/posts\/chairs-rodgers-johnson-announce-hearing-on-epa-regulations-that-threaten-modern-medicine-innovation-and-our-standard-of-living\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">scheduled<\/a> a \u200chearing\u2014also\u2062 on Oct.\u200b 18\u2014on &#8220;Exposing EPA Efforts to Limit Chemicals Needed for Life-Saving Medical Devices <span class=\"il\">and<\/span> Other Essential Products.\u201d The EPA hearing was one of three upcoming committee events announced at the same\u2064 time by\u200c Ms. McMorris Rodgers.<\/p>\n<p>That much\u200b of the work of Congress continues uninterrupted even when the \u200cHouse is without a speaker elected\u200b by a majority \u2062and must\u200b depend upon an acting speaker shouldn&#8217;t surprise anyone familiar with how \u200cthings work on Capitol Hill, according \u2062to Heritage Foundation senior research fellow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/staff\/robert-e-moffit-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Moffit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As far as this issue of the House of Representatives coming to a standstill, \u2063I can assure you that over the past several days, the congressional\u2063 staff that I have been dealing with \u2062have been working very diligently on matters that they have not yet been able to complete,&#8221; Mr. Moffit told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>He is a veteran \u2063of several congressional staff positions and has also worked in the executive branch, handling congressional relations for the U.S. Office of Personnel\u2063 Management and \u200bthe\u2064 Department of Health and Human Services. Mr. Moffit holds a doctorate in political science from \u2064the University\u200c of \u2063Arizona and speaks and writes frequently on U.S. political thought and history.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Anyone who has worked\u200b on \u2063Capitol Hill knows that 10-, 12-, even \u206414-hour days are \u200dkind of normal, and it doesn&#8217;t stop\u200c simply because there\u200d is\u2064 a change in\u2064 the floor leadership,&#8221; Mr. Moffit\u200d said.<\/p>\n<p>Someone who wouldn&#8217;t have been surprised by\u200b recent \u2063events\u2063 in Congress would have\u200c been James Madison, one\u2063 of the three\u2062 authors who wrote anonymously as &#8220;Publius&#8221; in The Federalist Papers in defense of the then-proposed U.S. Constitution. He \u200cwould subsequently be elected as the fourth president of the United States under the Constitution.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\">\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>\u201cJames Madison\u201d by John Vanderlyn, 1816. Oil on\u200c canvas. The \u200dWhite\u200d House, Washington, \u200cD.C. (Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Mr. Madison was also among the key architects \u2064of the Constitution during the \u2062Philadelphia convention of \u200c1787, one of the primary purposes of which \u200dwas\u200c to find a \u2063way \u2063to prevent political factions\u2063 from\u200b destroying the\u2064 infant American republic just as they had so many\u2062 past democracies\u200c from ancient times\u200c forward.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break\u200b and control the violence of faction,&#8221; Mr. Madison \u200bfamously wrote in Federalist \u200dNo. 10.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The \u200cfriend of popular governments never finds himself so much alarmed for their character and fate, as when he contemplates their propensity to\u2064 this dangerous vice. He will not fail, therefore, to \u200bset a due value on any plan which, without \u2063violating the principles to which \u200che is\u200c attached, \u200dprovides a proper cure for it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The cure, according to Mr. Madison, was to divide the\u200b powers of government among three branches in the central authority, as \u2062well as between it\u200d and the \u200dstates.\u2063 In the same\u200b way, the legislative branch itself\u2062 was to be\u200d divided between\u200d the Senate and House. The result would be that, with\u200c the multiplicity\u200d and diversity of interests represented, especially within the\u2063 lower chamber, legislators \u2063would be forced \u2064to deliberate and compromise in order to assemble a\u200d majority and govern.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In republican government,\u200c the legislative authority\u200b necessarily predominates. The remedy for this in-conveniency\u200d is to divide the legislature into different branches; and to render them, \u2062by different modes \u200bof \u2062election and different principles\u200c of action, as\u2064 little connected with each other as the nature of their common functions \u2064and their common dependence on the society will admit,&#8221; Mr. Madison \u2064wrote in Federalist No. 51.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, the rights and interests of minorities in the United States would best be protected by the immense difficulties in\u200b forging a legislative majority\u2014much less one also capable of controlling the other two branches\u2014capable of inflicting injury without being checked. Political factions \u200dare unavoidable, but individual liberty can\u200c best be protected, and representative government can best function, when\u2064 decisions must be made by majorities forged \u200dthrough deliberation and compromise, according to Mr. Madison.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, according to Mr. Moffit: &#8220;If\u200c there is any lesson\u2063 to the Federalist Papers, it is that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/erickson-the-united-states-of-contrarianism\/\" title=\"ERICKSON: The United States Of Contrarianism\">sound public policy<\/a> is and must be based on the deliberation of the elected representatives of\u200c the people, and public policy\u2064 must,\u200d because we have a pluralistic society of states and population, be\u2064 based on compromise and consensus. That is the only way a legislature\u2064 can operate effectively in a pluralistic, democratic \u200bsociety.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>To be \u200dsure, as long as Mr. McHenry presides while lacking the authority to regulate \u200bthe schedule and content of the legislative process, the House \u2063is temporarily limited. But a simple majority can possibly change the job description for the acting speaker\u2063 to include scheduling legislative business to go forward on the\u200c House floor while the various factions within the \u200cRepublican conference work out their admittedly\u200d intense differences.<\/p>\n<p>Sooner or later, \u2062however, all of those Republican\u2063 factions will realize they must find a compromise lest some\u200d of \u2063them break partisan rank\u2064 and join House \u2063Democrats\u2063 in naming a\u200d new speaker supported by only a tiny\u200c minority of Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>That realization is essential, Cato Institute senior\u2063 fellow Roger Pilon contends, if the Gaetz eight want to implement their bottom-line goal of ending the use of temporary spending authorizations such \u2064as Continuing\u2063 Resolutions (CRs)\u2062 rather than major appropriations written in committee, then fully debated on the House floor and approved by a \u200bmajority.<\/p>\n<p>Mr.\u2062 Pilon earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Chicago, served in five <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kissinger-biden-must-uphold-trump-admins-brilliant-success-in-the-middle-east\/\" title=\"Kissinger: Biden Must Uphold Trump Admin\u2019s \u2018Brilliant\u2019 Success in the Middle East\">senior positions<\/a> during \u200dthe Reagan administration, and founded Cato&#8217;s Center \u2063for Constitutional Studies Center in\u200b 1989, then oversaw it until 2019.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The radicals are right on the substance \u2064but wrong \u200con the mechanics of governing,&#8221; Mr. Pilon told The Epoch Times. &#8220;They are right in\u200b the sense that this government is spending America into bankruptcy, \u2064with no apparent appreciation of that fact, and this cannot end well.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Just look \u2062at Argentina today to see\u2063 how things are likely to go once the\u2064 trust funds in \u2062our so<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/analysis-gop-speaker-controversy-did-not-plunge-the-house-into-chaos\/\" title=\"GOP Speaker Controversy Did Not Cause House Chaos\">-called entitlements run dry<\/a> as they\u200d will in a few short years. The radicals are\u200c right about that, but you can&#8217;t \u200cdo \u200canything\u2063 about that or \u200cany \u200dother problem if \u2063you are not \u200cable to make compromises that will enable you to stay in\u200d power and address\u200d them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In other words, the Gaetz eight make the perfect the enemy of the good, in Mr. Pilon&#8217;s view. As if to illustrate that point, on the \u200cFriday before\u2064 ousting Mr. McCarthy, the Gaetz eight joined Democrats in defeating a CR that, \u2062if \u200dadopted, would have \u200ccut discretionary federal spending by 8 percent\u2064 across the board.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Fanatics give us the French Revolution. Rational people give\u2062 us the American Revolution,&#8221; Mr. Pilon \u200dsaid.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How is the House of\u200d Representatives addressing \u200bimportant issues and carrying out its legislative responsibilities amidst the uncertainty of selecting\u200d a new speaker<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u2062News Analysis: House of Representatives Faces\u2062 Uncertainty, But Continues\u200b with Daily Business<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after \u2062now-former Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted on October 3, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-nevada-a-corrupt-cash-for-votes-scheme-is-hiding-in-plain-sight\/\" title=\"In Nevada, A Corrupt Cash-For-Votes Scheme Is Hiding In Plain Sight\">mainstream media outlets<\/a> were quick \u2063to declare that the House\u200c was plunged into chaos and paralyzed until a successor is chosen. However, these claims of chaos and paralysis were far from accurate.<\/p>\n<p>Following McCarthy&#8217;s removal, Rep. \u2062Matt\u200d Gaetz (R-Fla.) and seven other Republicans joined forces with 208 Democrats to declare \u2063the speaker&#8217;s \u2063seat vacant. The House Republican Conference subsequently chose House Majority\u200c Leader\u2064 Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) as \u2063McCarthy&#8217;s successor. However, Scalise \u200cis currently struggling to\u200b gain the\u2062 support of at least 217 House Republicans, including some of the Gaetz eight.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the political confusion\u2062 and uncertainty\u2063 that followed McCarthy&#8217;s removal, the daily business of the House of Representatives \u200dcontinued without major disruption. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) was installed as the acting speaker, having the power to call the House \u200dinto session and recess it,\u200c but with limited \u200dpowers to shape the legislative schedule.<\/p>\n<p>In the week after McCarthy&#8217;s removal, there were noteworthy developments in \u2064various House committees. The House Homeland Security Committee, chaired\u2063 by Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), released the third interim report on its investigation into the \u200ccrisis at the Southwest border and Secretary\u2064 Alejandro Mayorkas&#8217;s policies that have contributed to it.<\/p>\n<p>The House Select Subcommittee on\u200d the Coronavirus\u2063 Pandemic, chaired by Rep. Brad Wenstrup \u2064(R-Ohio), \u200cannounced a hearing on October\u200b 18 to evaluate \u200cthe effectiveness of existing biosafety\u2064 and biosecurity practices\u200c in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss future policy improvements.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, House Energy and\u200d Commerce Committee \u200bChairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) scheduled a\u200d hearing on October 18 to discuss EPA regulations that could limit chemicals needed for life-saving\u2062 medical \u200bdevices \u2064and other essential products.<\/p>\n<p>These developments show that despite the leadership turmoil, the House of \u2063Representatives continues to \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mccarthy-arrives-in-israel-on-1st-international-visit-as-speaker\/\" title=\"McCarthy Arrives in Israel on 1st International Visit as Speaker\">address important issues<\/a> and\u200b carry out its\u2063 legislative responsibilities. While the challenges of gaining support for a new speaker persist, it is evident that the business of the House goes on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>in a state of turmoil and uncertainty following McCarthy&#8217;s removal. The media highlighted the unprecedented nature of the event and emphasized the need for a new leader to be selected in order to restore order and functionality to the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":173,"featured_media":2065731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2065730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/173"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2065730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2065731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2065730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2065730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2065730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}