GOP, GOP, GOP, GOP

House Held Hostage

to successfully pass legislation,” Galatsis said. “Extreme representatives like Marjorie Taylor Greene will give the leader of the party a hard time since they have very extreme demands that most Republicans do not agree with.”

The Caucus created an issue when former House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy vied to become the Speaker of the House after Republicans won the majority. In order for him to be elected speaker, more than half the House needed to vote for him, including the Caucus. McCarthy has been in Congress for 16 years and has been vocal about his pro-life views and loyalties to former President Donald Trump, at a time when the Republican party is especially divided over their views on Trump (Washington Post). When the 118th Congress convened for the first time on Jan. 3, McCarthy did not receive enough votes to be elected speaker. This made Congress unable to function for several days since the House could not do anything until a speaker was chosen. Due to this, a second ballot took place which also ended without a speaker of the House. After 15 rounds of voting, McCarthy won the position. As predicted, members of the Caucus voted against McCarthy because they felt that he is not conservative enough and will not make serious changes in the House (British Broadcasting Corporation). It was only by agreeing to support lowering government spending bills and giving members of the Caucus key roles on House committees that they agreed to vote in his favor.

Despite Republicans not winning the strong majority they hoped for, they will still try to pass several reforms, led by their new committee leaders such as those from the House Freedom Caucus. These leaders will shift their committee’s focus to issues that Republicans have been vocal about for years.

Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers will head the Energy and Commerce Committee, planning to scrutinize the origins of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and investigate TikTok’s data sharing and privacy guidelines.

Congressman Jim Jordan

of Ohio is set to be the chairman of the Judiciary committee. A staunch supporter of Trump, Jordan plans to investigate the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which he believes has become increasingly “politicized” after the seizing of several classified documents at Trump’s home (New York Times).

While the Republicans boast a majority in the House, the Democratic party is in control of the Senate, so Congress will be divided (The Associated Press). In order for legislation to be passed, both the House and Senate must have a majority in favor of the bill. Both parties being in favor of the same bill is unlikely, so passing bills will be a challenge for Congress. Sophomore Lucy Chai commented on the struggles a split congress will bring.

“Republicans will likely get to set the legislative agenda and chair all the committees which deal with issues like oversight, the economy and labor,” Chai said. “But honestly I think there will be a lot of challenges for Congress to pass necessary functions like funding the government; it will likely be turned into massive battles as Republicans and Democrats use deadlines for leverage.”