OPINION:
It is time for House Republicans to reconsider their strategy for selecting their next speaker.
House Republicans decided earlier this week to move forward on electing a speaker even though it has become painfully obvious that no member of the conference had put together a coalition to win the speakership. Now, after days and rounds of voting, each with almost identical results, Republicans must recalibrate. Issues within the GOP Conference should have been resolved well before votes began Tuesday, but now the leaders need to move for a longer adjournment, get behind closed doors, and work these issues out.
A House member’s vote for speaker is the most consequential vote that they will cast in their two-year term. That vote will help select the person who will be next in line to the presidency after the vice president. It identifies the person who will set the agenda and strategy for the majority party in the House. That person will also be the highest-ranking Republican in Washington and the focal point in challenging the Democrats’ agenda led by President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Serving in the House, with larger majorities than the five-vote margin the Republicans have today, my experiences (beginning in 1993) never included an occasion where the election of the presumptive speaker on the first ballot was in doubt. With a larger majority, leadership used favors, cajoling and outright threats to keep membership in line. On the opening day of each Congress, the system worked, and Congress did its job by electing a speaker and swearing in new members.
Clearly, that is not happening in 2023. After three days and 11 votes, members-elect of the 118th Congress have not yet elected a speaker. The members have not been sworn in, and they have not yet begun their work of legislating and oversight of the executive branch. As former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, I can say this lack of oversight poses a unique challenge as lawmakers and staff are not able to fully conduct national security oversight.
This is really a failure of all House Republicans. As the elected leader and presumptive speaker, it is the job of Rep. Kevin McCarthy to secure the 218 votes necessary to be elected. For those Republicans, the roughly 20 members who have concerns about Mr. McCarthy being speaker, they have a responsibility and right to voice their concerns and demands, and to offer remedies. The sides should then negotiate, compromise, and reach an agreement that will achieve 218 votes.
In the Netherlands, where I served as ambassador, a national election for parliament took place in 2021. Seventeen political parties won seats in a parliament with 150 members. It became the responsibility of leaders of the various parties to establish a governing coalition. Many political leaders expressed a desire for a quick government formation because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; however, it took 299 days to form a Cabinet, the longest in Dutch history. Building coalitions and a governing majority takes time and hard and serious negotiations.
The coalition agreement in the Netherlands is a detailed document that lays out policies, roles and responsibilities, including what parties would hold what Cabinet positions.
With the narrow majority that Republicans now have in the House, the GOP would be better served by following the coalition model demonstrated in many European countries. In the House Republican Conference, it appears there is no framework of trust and agreed-upon expectations. If it hopes to be successful over the next two years, a framework must be established among GOP members to have any success. The old model of intimidation and threats will not work, and the time has come for every member to be treated with respect and dignity.
The Republican Conference was well aware of the divisions within. These divisions should have been addressed starting the day after the November election. Waiting until Jan. 3, the day a new session is set to convene, is too late to begin the hard work. This is a collective failure of the conference, not just the McCarthy no votes. Being elected as the presumptive next speaker means that Mr. McCarthy had to go out and corral the votes necessary to get to 218.
For the Republicans to invest the time and energy to get this first vote correct now, after wasting the last 60 days, doesn’t necessarily bother me. Getting it right is more important than getting it done quickly, especially since it should put in place a framework to allow the GOP to have an effective role in governing.
The alternative is the small GOP majority repeatedly failing in the next two years as the conference sinks into complete disarray and dysfunction. Yes, it is a disappointing start, but learn from it and use this as a catalyst for the future. Remember, the Dutch, although in a different system, took a frustrating 299 days to get it right. And while I don’t think this can possibly go on that long, it is just as imperative that the members-elect of Congress get it right.
- Pete Hoekstra is the former House Intelligence Committee chair and ambassador to the Netherlands in the Trump administration.
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