McCarthy Takes Over as the New House Speaker

After a long week, McCarthy was voted the 55th house speaker of the U.S. house of representatives on January 7, 2023 early Saturday after 15 ballots. Some of the first things McCarthy said when elected house speaker was,” I hope one thing is clear after this week: I will never give up. I will never give up for you, the American people. And I will never give up on keeping our Commitment to America.”  McCarthy won at last by a margin of 216-212. McCarthy won, but with fewer than half of the house members only because six of his own party did not vote for him or another candidate. After being elected house speaker McCarthy took the oath of office, and the House was finally able to swear in newly elected lawmakers who had been waiting all week for the chamber to formally open and the 2023-24 session to begin. 

Could McCarthy being voted as House Speaker be a bad thing? Some people at the house have expressed that no he is the right choice, while some have said yes he was a bad choice. Well a student at Ridgeview named Axel Hernades says,” I think he’s cool, it doesn’t really bother me that he was voted as House Speaker”. Another Ridgeview student named David Pham has said “I’m going to stay in the middle, he’s bad and good.”

Well before he even held the speaker’s gavel, McCarthy failed two crucial leadership tests in the House of Representatives. First, he demonstrated that he cannot manage leading Republicans through the transition from a fire roaring minority with no accountability to a governing majority with duties by letting harsh messaging determine the rules for his speakership. Second, he has demonstrated that he lacks the strength to say “no” when it is necessary by handing over the store and enabling any member to end their employment at any time. This creates a risky situation for the impending high-stakes financial battles. McCarthy has said,” Democrats aren’t the problem, and America is ready for a change in leadership. McCarthy good or bad, will change our lives and will bring new things to America.