'Air of havoc': Republicans fear 'dysfunction' in the House could hurt their chances in 2024

10 October 2023

Four days after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was ousted as House speaker, Israel became the target of a vicious terrorist attack by Hamas. Israeli officials have described Saturday, October 7, as "Israel's 9/11," and the Associated Press has reported that the death toll from the Israel/Hamas War has reached 1600.

At least 900 Israelis and 700 Palestinians, according to AP, have been killed in the conflict. But that number is expected to grow as Israeli forces continue their operations against Hamas in Gaza.

Candidates for U.S. House speaker include House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana). The House is in a state of chaos during an international crisis, and some Republicans — according to The Hill's Julia Manchester — fear that this chaos could hurt their party in 2024 and led to Democrats retaking the House.

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Manchester reports, " The unprecedented vacancy of the speakership comes as Israel reacts to the massive surprise attack from Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a terror organization…. Without a speaker, the House cannot greenlight emergency aid to Israel."

Manchester also notes that "the air of havoc surrounding the GOP's ouster of McCarthy at a time when a critical U.S. ally is at war could reverberate through some of the most competitive districts next year, such as in New York."

Democratic strategist Jon Reinish told The Hill that the chaos in the House was caused by Republicans — not members of his party. The move to oust McCarthy as speaker was initiated by far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida).

Reinish argued, "Every Republican owns this. To me, one of the most ridiculous and most fallacious arguments that I've heard is Republicans trying to blame Democrats for the dysfunction that they own."

The Hill's full report is available at this link.

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