Sawt Falasteen - Political turmoil as deadlock deepens over US House speaker

Conservative hardliners have been blocking establishment pick Kevin McCarthy in a humiliating string of ballots that has paralyzed the lower chamber of Congress since it flipped to narrow Republican control after the new year.

The Californian former entrepreneur failed to secure the gavel for a fifth time Wednesday as his path was barred by an emboldened faction of around 20 right-wingers, who have made history by pushing a speakership race past the first ballot for the first time in a century.

The debacle -- described by President Joe Biden as "embarrassing" -- has left the chamber unable to swear in members, fill committees, adopt rules for legislating, or negotiate a path through the paralysis.

McCarthy -- who has raised millions of dollars to elect right-wing lawmakers -- dragged his party back to a 222-212 House majority in last year's midterms after four years in the wilderness.

The 57-year-old has long coveted the opportunity to replace Democrat Nancy Pelosi, something of an icon in US politics who held the gavel in the last Congress.

But McCarthy's speaker bid has opened a bitter rift within the House Republicans, with centrists referring to the hard-right faction leading the charge against him as the "Taliban 20."

- 'Embarrassing defeat' -

The speaker standoff sparked frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations as McCarthy's allies sought to cut a deal with his conservative detractors that could also win the approval of moderates.

He told reporters in Congress he planned to stay in the race and had spoken to his biggest VIP backer, Donald Trump, who was still supporting his candidacy.

The former president duly called Wednesday for an end to the McCarthy blockade, warning the renegade Republicans not to "turn a great triumph into a giant and embarrassing defeat."

The comments didn't move the needle at all on the House floor and were curtly dismissed by normally staunch Trump ally Lauren Boebert, who said her "favorite president" had things back to front.

"The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, sir, you do not have the votes and it's time to withdraw," she said.

No House business can take place without a speaker, meaning the chamber has to continue voting until someone wins a majority.

But there was little sign that any deal could be struck to end the deadlock as members prepared to hunker down for a long, repetitive series of ballots.

McCarthy, who has been bleeding support and has lost every round to Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, will be under pressure to quickly reverse the momentum if he stays in the race.

Should he decide it's too steep a hill to climb, the two parties are likely to start casting around for a "unity" candidate -- a consensus Republican who commits to being as bipartisan as possible.

- 'Squatter?' -

The Republicans will first look to their own ranks though, where two McCarthy loyalists -- incoming House majority leader Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, a darling of the right -- look like the most viable alternatives.

Some of McCarthy's detractors have taken issue with specific political positions, but many others have just indicated broad distaste for his candidacy.

"Every single Republican in Congress knows that Kevin does not actually believe anything. He has no ideology," Florida congressman Matt Gaetz recently wrote of McCarthy.

The former delicatessen owner has already given away the store to his conservative opponents, agreeing to their demands for change in the way the House does business and lowering the threshold of support needed to oust a speaker.

But not one of them has shown signs of wavering.

Late on Tuesday, Gaetz sent a letter to the Architect of the Capitol complaining about McCarthy moving his belongings prematurely into the speaker's office.

"How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?" Gaetz demanded under an official letterhead.

I.Yassin--SF-PST