Kevin McCarthy wins House Speakership after conceding huge concessions

Republican Kevin McCarthy was voted in as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives over the weekend but a number of key concessions could prove disastrous for the future of American politics and the war in Ukraine. 

After 15 separate ballots, McCarthey was finally voted into his new position as House Speaker early on Saturday morning after a troubling week that left many political analysts questioning how the new leader will govern effectively. 

In his first push to win House Speaker, McCarthey was forced to agree to a number of key concessions with members of the Republican’s Freedom Caucus and some will have an important impact on American politics. 

“One change in particular,” wrote The Hill’s Mike Lillis, Mychael Schnell, and Al Weaver, “empowers a single lawmaker to launch the process of ousting the Speaker.”

The concession was a key to winning the support of the Freedom Caucus but it came with a major cost. “I think it’s a terrible decision,” Representative Don Bacon told the journalists at The Hill. 

“If one person can push a motion to vacate, we’ll do this again. How would you like to do this every week?” Bacon said as he criticized McCarthy’s decision. 

“I think that’s the future with a few of these individuals… It weakens the Speaker, and it strengthens the smallest caucus of all the caucuses,” the Congressman concluded. 

McCarthy agreed to at least eleven other concessions, some of which included changing how the debt ceiling could be raised, giving bills a 72-hour review period before they reached the floor, and giving the Freedom Caucus more representation on house committees according to the non-profit news outlet Mother Jones. 

But one of the major concessions of drawing anger from Americans was McCarthy’s agreement to cap discretionary spending at 2022 levels, a move that will limit spending on defense and domestic programs. 

“Reverting back to fiscal 2022 levels, as the emerging agreement envisions, would amount to a roughly $75 billion, or 10 percent, cut to defense programs if GOP leaders don’t spare the Pentagon,” according to Politico. 

Reportedly included in his deal is a cut to defense spending, which will result in a major limit on future aid to Ukraine. 

Telegraph reporter Josie Ensor noted that McCarthy “had to compromise with opponents skeptical of sending money to Kyiv.”

“[McCarthy’s] Right-wing opponents from the chamber's Freedom Caucus,” wrote Ensor, “wielded their opposition to US aid for Kyiv as part of their justification for voting against him in the first 14 votes.”

Florida Republican Matt Gaetz has been particularly critical of American support for the Ukrainian government as Kyiv's tried to fight off the Russian invasion over the last eleven months. 

"I'm not pro-Russia. I've even been personally sanctioned by Putin. I'm pro-America. Bathing historically corrupt countries in US weapons and cash typically doesn't go well for America," Gaetz tweeted on December 26th.

Gaetz was also “one of the most hardline aid skeptics, leading the charge against Mr. McCarthy’s candidacy for speaker before eventually yielding after an extraordinary confrontation in the chamber,” according to Ensor.

Unfortunately, it appears as if Gaetz got his way and the country may soon be facing a showdown in Congress over how much a fringe group of hardliners may be willing to give. Luckily, House Speaker McCarthy just conceded to a new rule allowing any one of them to bring forth a vote to oust him if he doesn’t agree with their point of view.