House Republicans have not only failed at their jobs, but they have consistently made the wrong kind of history during their roughly one year in the majority.
1). House Republicans Failed To Elect A Speaker
House Republicans were thrilled to win the majority. Then, they promptly faceplanted by getting mired in infighting, which paralyzed them and left the House unable to begin work because Republicans could not elect a Speaker. The nearly week-long drama took 15 ballots and was the first speaker election since 1923 to go beyond one ballot. House Republicans also own the record for the longest speaker election since 1856.
This was definitely not the sort of history that any new House majority should want to make, but the Republican House majority of the 118th Congress was just getting warmed up.
2). Kevin McCarthy Became The First Speaker In History To Be Removed
Kevin McCarthy lasted nine months on the job as Speaker of the House before he was removed from office by a full vote of the House because a group of far-right House Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), used the power that had been given to each of them to bring forward a motion to vacate against McCarthy because he made a deal with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.
“It’s uncharted territory because we’ve never done that in the history of the United States,” Matthew Green, a politics professor at Catholic University, said to CBS News.
This is the wrong kind of history, as the House Republicans’ inability to do the basics of governing was affirmed and underlined in black ink for the American people.
3). The House Expels Rep. George Santos
There have only been six members who have been expelled in House history. Now, former Rep. George Santos became the sixth in 2023. Before Santos, Rep. Jim Traficant was expelled in July 2002 after being convicted of ten counts of bribery, racketeering, and extortion. Traficant later served eight years in prison. Santos is reportedly trying to negotiate a plea deal on the dozens of federal criminal charges that he is facing, including money laundering, wire fraud, and stealing the identities of his contributors.
House Republicans Can’t Distract From Their Failures With Impeachments And Border Stunts
House Republicans are trying to distract the nation with sham impeachment stunts and photo-ops on the border, but the staged events can’t hide the fact from voters that the current House majority is historically bad at its job. House Republicans passed less than two dozen pieces of legislation that became law last year.
House Republicans have been making all of the wrong kinds of history, and more will likely come in 2024.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
