By Sofia Williams
Managing Editor
On Jan. 7, the House of Representatives elected Republican Kevin McCarthy of California as speaker after a four-day vote that left the legislative body without a leader for the longest period recorded in the last century.
The election consisted of 14 failed votes, with the 15th being decisive for McCarthy, who reached a majority of 216 out of 428 possible votes after personally approaching Republican representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
The indecision of Congress with regard to the election of the speaker of the house is indicative of the deepening polarization within American politics and represents an ideological schism that must be repaired.
The house speaker is elected every two years, when a new Congress begins its term. McCarthy succeeded former speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who served in the position for 10 terms. On Jan. 7, McCarthy was elected as speaker over Democrat minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York and Republican opposition candidate Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida.
It is imperative that members of Congress work together to create bipartisan legislation. According to Pew Research, both the Democratic and Republican parties have moved farther away from the ideological center since the 1970s. The polarization of the two parties regarding the election for speaker of the house is indicative of this divide and wasted valuable time that could have been spent discussing legislation that pertains to the American people.
According to Brookings, social media companies have played an increasingly influential role in sectarianism and lack of political compromise. If politicians were to remove themselves from social-media, they would be less entangled in the repetitive and divisive political discourse of platforms such as Twitter and Facebook and would be more likely to come to bipartisan
agreement, according to the Law and Internet Foundation. In this way, political ideologies become more fluid, and more agreement can be reached across party lines.
Division within the Republican Party must also be addressed, as the split between McCarthy’s supporters and opponents ensured his consistent failure to win the election. According to CBS News, a core group of 20 Republican representatives who consistently voted for Donalds prevented McCarthy from winning the vote each election. This obstinate and trivial behavior
demonstrates a lack of maturity from political candidates, an indication that the foundation of etiquette in our governing bodies has become rote and disregarded.
While some may say that the divisions across party lines indicate a stronger sense of democracy within American politics and society, it is important for the government to make change in the U.S. If political officials are constantly in deadlock over policy or the election of political leaders, little change will be made to pass bills that improve the quality of life in America. According to govtrack.us, the 117th Congress, which served from 2021-22, enacted 364 laws. The 106th Congress, which served from 1999-2000, enacted 604. The decrease in productivity of the U.S. government in the last several decades is a result of the lack of partisan agreement, which is an impediment to democracy.
The 15 votes that were required to elect McCarthy as speaker of the house is reflective of the increased polarization between members of the Democratic and Republican parties in recent years. This schism between Congresspeople who hold differing political ideologies is reflective of the increasing sectarianism of the American people.
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