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McCarthy Voted Out As US Speaker

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By nigeriancourier.com on oct 4, 2023

 

Republican Kevin McCarthy rode the tiger of far-right US politics led by Donald Trump to achieve his dream of becoming House speaker early this year. Then on Tuesday, the tiger turned and ate him.

 

The 55th speaker of the House of Representatives was booted out in a shock vote brought by rebels in his own party who have seethed in the nine months since McCarthy narrowly quelled their attempts to block him and managed to claim the most powerful job in Congress.

 

No other speaker — a position second in line from the presidency in the federal hierarchy — has been ousted in US history.

 

It was an undignified end — for now, at least — to an unstable, unauthoritative tenure by a lawmaker who made his mark as a so-called conservative “Young Gun,” only to get battered by his party’s shifting political currents.

 

Like many in Congress, he had berated Trump after the January 6, 2021 US Capitol riot. But the ambitious lawmaker sensed the winds changing and quickly reversed himself, making a public trip down to Florida to make peace with Trump — thereby securing crucial support for his speakership ambitions.

 

Once McCarthy, 58, got what he wanted, though, he faced an uncomfortable reality: his grip on power would from then on be at the whim of his party’s burn-down-the-house hardliners.

 

Compromise Kills

 

In May he strode into a tense standoff with Democratic President Joe Biden over authorizing an extension of the national debt limit.

 

He struck an 11th-hour deal to avert a catastrophic US debt default, and while he hailed it as a victory for conservatives — and good governance — he faced a backlash from hardliners who said he had made too many concessions on spending cuts.

 

His limited engagement with Democrats was again the subject of the far-right’s ire last week when he used votes from the rival party to stave off a government shutdown.

 

The move defied hardliners — and Trump — who advocated harsh tactics in pursuit of forcing massive spending cuts and bringing down the country’s $31-trillion-plus debt burden.

 

Haunted from the Start

 

McCarthy has described himself as an “optimist,” but there has been no placating the uncompromising right-wing of the Republican Party that flourished under Trump and never went away.

 

Simply to secure the speakership in January took him a record 15 rounds of voting to win and he finally got over the line only after making concessions to a bloc of around 20 far-right Republicans.

 

Analysts at the time immediately predicted this would come back to haunt McCarthy, by putting the hardliners in the driving seat.

 

One of those concessions was a rule change that made it possible for just one disgruntled member to call a vote for a new speaker of the House, effectively dangling a sword over McCarthy.

 

Backbencher Matt Gaetz, a Trump loyalist and emerging face of the far-right, seized on that change and filed the so-called motion to vacate the chair, leading to McCarthy’s ouster on Tuesday.

 

– Networker –

 

The speaker wields huge influence in Washington by presiding over House business and is second in line to the presidency, after the vice president.

 

Nothing prevents McCarthy from running for speaker again. But the question is: can his party overcome its internal feuds and hand him back the gavel, or will they turn to new blood?

 

McCarthy — who represents the conservative enclave of Bakersfield in liberal California — has been in politics for most of his adult life, as a state legislator and US lawmaker in Washington.

 

The son of a firefighter and grandson of a cattle rancher, McCarthy grew up in a working-class household.

 

He married his high school sweetheart and the couple still live in the first house they bought, where they raised two children.

 

McCarthy, first elected to Congress in 2006, has no major legislative achievements to his name and has never chaired a House committee, unlike each of the last three speakers.

 

However, the silver-haired, impeccably dressed lawmaker is a consummate networker, admired for his prolific fundraising and his people management.

 

AFP

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Politics

ACAGL, 23 affiliate organizations Withdraws Support for Nationwide Protest

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Kano- The Arewa Citizens’ Action for Good Leadership (ACAGL) and 23 other affiliate organizations in Kano State have announced their decision to withdraw support from the proposed nationwide protest, citing concerns over the potential for violence and instability.

Addressing the press conference, Comrade Saeed Sulaiman Umar, the spokesman for ACAGL, said the severe economic hardship and insecurity facing the country.

“The economic woes and general hardship are prevalent in Nigeria today,” Umar said. “Many hardworking people can no longer fulfill their basic responsibilities to their families.”

Initially, ACAGL actively participated in mobilizing people for the nationwide protest, considering the dire conditions of insecurity, hunger, and starvation.

According to him after careful consideration, they decided to withdraw from the planned protest.

He said the decision is borne out of the desire to prioritize the peace and stability of our Kano State and the northern region,”

He said . “We have witnessed the devastating effects of protests in some countries, where peaceful demonstrations escalated into violent conflicts, resulting in loss of lives and destruction of property.”

Despite their withdrawal, ACAGL said there is the need for urgent government action to address the pressing issues affecting Nigerians.

They called on the Kano State government to provide immediate relief to its citizens and presented several demands to the Federal Government, including tackling insecurity, reducing petrol prices, reversing electricity tariffs, and reducing the cost of governance.

“We believe that the timing of the protest is not in the best interest of the nation and may only serve to exacerbate the existing challenges,” Umar concluded.

 

 

 

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We can comfortably handle LG elections- INEC chair tells NASS

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said Thursday it can comfortably handle the conduct of local government elections if the responsibility falls on it.

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the commission, made the disclosure when he appeared before the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on preparations for the upcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States.

According to the chairman, INEC has the capacity to handle the local government elections, but that would only be possible pending when the law is amended to permit it to do so.

Prof. Yakubu noted that the Commission had been conducting area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, which has been devoid of the problems associated with the conduct of local government elections.

He outlined some advantages of INEC handling elections, including the conduct of regular elections as they are due, stability of tenure, and absence of a caretaker committee in the FCT.

The election umpire boss also claimed that there has never been a time when one political party has won all the seats at the elections, as is common in the states.

According to him, if INEC handles the election, it would be better for democracy.

Yakubu, however, said this can only happen if the constitution is amended to take the responsibility from state electoral commissions.

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Doguwa dumps APC, gives reason

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Kano- The All Progressives Congress (APC)  has lost a strong member in Kano as Senator Masaud El-Jibril Doguwa dumped the party.

Doguwa made this announcement through a statement where he spoke on behalf of his colleagues and associates, on Thursday on reasons for dumping the party.

According to the statement, he cited the feelings of underutilization and the party’s implementation of anti-people policies as reasons for their departure from the APC..

He despite their wealth of experience in politics, they were rarely involved in party forums to share their expertise and contribute to the development of the APC.

“In politics, if you fail to engage highly experienced politicians by providing them with political assignments, you are making them politically redundant, and giving them room to struggle and engage themselves elsewhere. This is because highly experienced politicians don’t want to stay idle,’’ the statement said.

He further expressed disappointment with the APC government’s policies, which he believes are harmful to ordinary citizens. “After careful appraisal, I have discovered that some of the policies are anti-people-oriented and do not align with our political ideology.’’

“These policies are causing more harm and concern than good to the ordinary and common citizens of the country.

“From what we have seen happening in APC, we have not seen light in the tunnel where an ordinary man, big or small, will sigh a relief from the burden of life with the APC approach on issues.”

Senator Doguwa revealed that they have been appealed to by friends and leaders to return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which they helped establish and develop. “We have taken a bold decision to return to our political base, the PDP, to continue as full-fledged members,” he declared.

He emphasized that their decision was made without malice towards any individual or group, expressing gratitude and seeking God’s blessings.

 

 

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