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Since the midterms, one of the names that most appeared in the media was Kevin McCarthy’s. The Californian congressman is trying to traverse a winding road to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In an effort to unify all Republican legislators, the current Minority Leader asked for the resignation of Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security.
The GOP majority in the Lower House is 220 seats, with 3 elections yet to be defined. Therefore, Kevin McCarthy’s room for maneuver is limited and he is not in a position to afford many casualties on his ship.
Currently, four congressmen announced that they will not vote for him, which complicates the math for January. The Republican knows perfectly well that he cannot afford another episode like the one in 2015 when he also saw his attempt to become speaker thwarted, so he has already started his campaign to unify the Republican Party.
“Our country may never recover from Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty. This is why today I am calling on the secretary to resign. If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure. And we will determine whether we can begin an impeachment inquiry,” the lawmaker said.
“We will use the power of the purse and the power of subpoena. Let me be clear: Those responsible for this disaster will be held accountable,” added Kevin McCarthy from the southern border.
With Mayorkas anticipating that he will not resign, DHS was quick to respond in a statement to the Republican threats: “The Department will continue our work to enforce our laws and secure our border, while building a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system. Members of Congress should come to the table and work on solutions for our broken system and outdated laws, which have not been overhauled in over 40 years.”
Republicans have been targeting Alejandro Mayorkas for months, not least because they accuse him of being inefficient in his position. For example, in October, the Border Patrol recorded its highest number of immigrant arrests at the southwest border, with nearly 2.4 million encounters in the fiscal year.
Kevin McCarthy Seeks House Speaker’s Speakership
In September 2015, McCarthy put his name in the running to replace John Boehmer. While he started as the favorite, internal GOP opposition urged him to drop out of the race, allowing Paul Ryan to become speaker.
More than seven years later he has no intention of history repeating itself, so he is promoting an agenda that can unite all 220 Republican lawmakers behind his name during the coming January.
With forced mathematics, McCarthy will have to deploy all his political skills to please more than two hundred people, representing different interests across the country.
Joaquín Núñez es licenciado en comunicación periodística por la Universidad Católica Argentina. Se especializa en el escenario internacional y en la política nacional norteamericana. Confeso hincha de Racing Club de Avellaneda. Contacto: [email protected] // Joaquín Núñez has a degree in journalistic communication from the Universidad Católica Argentina. He specializes in the international scene and national American politics. Confessed fan of Racing Club of Avellaneda. Contact: [email protected]