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On Jan. 7, Kevin McCarthy became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives after five grueling days, 15 votes and concessions to 21 far-right members who had all voted against McCarthy throughout the week.

The concessions made to members were brought to light after the House passed its new rules package on Jan. 9. McCarthy’s promised concessions will prove to be dangerous for politics, the economy and America.

Even before the chaos of electing a Speaker, publications like the New York Times predicted Republicans would have a difficult time in the House. The party is currently divided between moderate and far-right Republicans, the former being more dominant in the House. As the Presidency and Senate remain Democrat led, there is only a slim majority over the Democrats in the House. With the addition of McCarthy’s concessions, legislating could become more troublesome.

There are three main concessions that are a cause for most concern.

The first is the motion to ‘vacate the chair,’ meaning that at any time a House member can call for a vote to remove McCarthy from his Speaker position. While members justified it as an “accountability measure,” this will loom over McCarthy’s head the entire time he is in power and could disrupt the House at any moment. If far-right members do not see their goals being achieved or if Democrats are unhappy with the legislation being proposed, anyone could call for a motion to vacate. It weakens the power of the Speaker, inviting disorder at a time when policy and progress should be prioritized.

The second concession is that a third of the House Rules Committee will be reserved for the Freedom Caucus, the far-right caucus of the House. The Rules Committee has massive influence over when and what legislation makes it to the House floor and how it should be deliberated.

Giving the Freedom Caucus a large influence over the committee will allow them to influence House legislation, blocking policy and creating a stagnant political body. McCarthy’s difficulty to gain leadership showed that many far-right Republicans are unwilling to compromise on their goals — a behavior that is unlikely to change on the Rules Committee. Proposed legislation will have to satisfy far-right members in order to simply make it onto the House floor for deliberation, which will undoubtedly become problematic for moderate Republicans’ policy goals for the next two years.

The third concession caps the debt ceiling, or the maximum amount of money that the United States can borrow. The House usually increases the ceiling so the debt can increase without affecting spending or budgets. While the current debt program undoubtedly needs to change, capping the ceiling could be detrimental for the entire country.

Republicans have proposed to combat the capped ceiling with spending cuts which will largely affect social welfare programs that benefit millions of Americans. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education and food stamps will see their funding slashed to compensate for the capped ceiling.

The U.S. is predicted to hit the debt ceiling on Jan. 19th. If that happens, the U.S. could default on its debt, which would crash financial markets and have an extremely damaging impact on the economy while inflation is still incredibly high. The House would need to move quickly to handle a debt default, which seems unlikely given the current divide.

Other notable concessions include the reinstatement of the Holman Rule, which allows members to propose reductions to federal salaries, cutting employees within certain agencies and cutting or defunding programs entirely. Additionally, the rules package seeks to weaken federal ethics investigative power by overhauling the Office of Congressional Ethics, which functions independently from Congress and seeks to protect the integrity of the House and its members.

Eva Morris | Design Editor

Overall, McCarthy’s concessions to the far-right Republicans might prove to have negative effects on House leadership, the passing of legislation, the economy and domestic policy. In the near future, we will see how the House handles the U.S. hitting its debt ceiling, which will give citizens a glimpse into the way this Congress will function and handle crises.

Regardless, it seems unlikely that the House will make any significant progress towards legislative goals, as Republicans remain divided with only a small majority keeping them in power. Although it won him leadership, McCarthy’s concessions could become extremely problematic for the House and for the country.

Hannah Starorypinski is a junior political science major with a minor in public communication. Her column appears bi-weekly, and she can be reached at hkstaror@syr.edu.

Published on January 16, 2023 at 10:26 pm