The US House of Representatives will not be able to pass new laws until a new speaker is elected. Among other things, aid to Ukraine will remain without consideration.
This was reported by the Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA Oksana Markarova in her comment on the unprecedented resignation of the speaker.
According to her, the voting itself will stop, but other work will continue, in particular in the committees.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to return to work no earlier than next Tuesday, with discussions on possible nominees continuing until then. According to the hierarchy, it can be Majority Leader Steve Scalise, or other candidates who will be chosen during the discussion.
"I can only say that we have built a good constructive dialogue with the vast majority of the names that are mentioned and their teams," Markarova noted, adding that Ukrainian diplomats continue to work with Congress at all levels.
Why the resignation is unprecedented
On October 3, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress Kevin McCarthy was prematurely removed from office. The decision was supported by 216 congressmen, including 8 Republicans and 208 Democrats. 210 Republicans voted against. The position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is currently vacant. Republican Patrick McHenry will serve as interim speaker. In the entire history of the Congress, the motion to vacate the speaker has been used only three times:
- in 1910 it was submitted, put to a vote and not supported;
- in 2015, it was submitted, not brought to a vote and sent to the regulatory committee;
- in 2023 it was submitted, put to the vote and voted.
The resignation was initiated by Congressman Matt Gates, who is a right-wing Republican. He accused McCarthy of making a "secret deal" with President Joe Biden on the issue of new funding for Ukraine. This allegedly happened after the speaker brought up legislation to prevent a shutdown of the US government.