Kevin McCarthy was elected House speaker in the early hours of Saturday morning.
A victory for the Republican that elevates him to a powerful position leading the GOP majority in the chamber, following days of painstaking negotiations and failed votes.
McCarthy and his allies made a series of concessions to conservatives leaving him with a weaker hand in his new position of authority.
According to CNN, here’s a list of key concessions and promises McCarthy:
- Any member can call for a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair. Significant because it would make it much easier than it is currently to trigger what is effectively a no confidence vote in the speaker
- A McCarthy-aligned super PAC agreed to not play in open Republican primaries in safe seats
- The House will hold votes on key conservative bills, including a balanced budget amendment, congressional term limits and border security
- Efforts to raise the nation’s debt ceiling must be paired with spending cuts
- Move 12 appropriations bills individually. Instead of passing separate bills to fund government operations, Congress frequently passes a massive year-end spending package known as an “omnibus” that rolls everything into one bill
- More Freedom Caucus representation on committees, including the powerful House Rules Committee
- Cap discretionary spending at fiscal 2022 levels, which would amount to lower levels for defense and domestic programs
- Seventy-two hours to review bills before they come to floor
- Give members the ability to offer more amendments on the House floor
- Create an investigative committee to probe the “weaponization” of the federal government
- Restore the Holman rule, which can be used to reduce the salary of government officials
George Santos, the 34-year-old New York Republican who’s confessed to lying about part of his background, was sworn into the House early this morning amid several investigations into his campaign and calls for him to resign.
Santos consistently voted for McCarthy over the protracted voting process that began Tuesday but overall, Santos didn’t get a warm welcome from his GOP colleagues.
During the numerous speaker votes, he was often seen sitting by himself, though on at least one occasion he was photographed chatting with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. (*see @PaulRudnickNY)
This morning Twitter is buzzing about the McCarthy victory and Santos’ swearing in photo and the sign he’s making. As noted, Santos is not White…
It just keeps getting weirder and worse with George Santos. At his House swearing in ceremony last night, he was photographed apparently flashing a white supremacy hand gesture. Let's not forget he's not even white. @Santos4Congress pic.twitter.com/oiS5WhDoYQ
— Ray Loewe (It's really me, Elon) (@rloewe65) January 7, 2023
Prolific fraudster George Santos is now charging $100 to $500 a person for those attending his disgusting swearing in ceremony followed by a tour of the Capitol.
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) December 30, 2022
He needs to rot in prison. This is insane.
(via NBC News)
