UNITED STATES: Women members of the Republican caucus in the US House of Representatives have been silent during the past three weeks of intense bickering over who should be the group leader. To avoid what has been a vicious debate that has cost many of the group’s top leaders their political careers, some of the holdouts claim that this is a purposeful decision.
The former chair of the Republican House Conference, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, stated, “We’re wiser.” Since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was forced out of office on October 3 by a small group of party hardliners, the caucus has gone through numerous voting rounds in which 14 members have fallen short of receiving the 217 votes required to take the gavel and lead the group, which is currently divided 221-212.
Compared to 43% of House Democrats, women comprise 15% of the party’s voting members in the House Republican Party, and none of them have run for speaker.
McCarthy took over as Speaker of the House from Democratic Nancy Pelosi, who resigned from her position after her party lost the majority in the elections held in November 2022. Pelosi was the first female leader of the House.
Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, the fourth-ranking Republican in the House, has not yet announced her candidature for the position, instead choosing to observe others attempt and fail to bring the party’s disparate sections together.
Representative Kat Cammack stated on Tuesday, “Republican women are too smart to get involved in the shenanigans that have been taking place the last few weeks.”
Representative Kay Granger, who was nominated by colleague Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, is the only one who has earned any votes on the House floor.
“It’s a missed opportunity, but why would we subject ourselves to this?” remarked Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Representative Nicole Malliotakis said, “Men have egos, women have brains.”
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