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U.S. House still in turmoil with no speaker elected on 2nd day of voting
U.S. House still in turmoil with no speaker elected on 2nd day of voting
The U.S. House of Representatives remained in turmoil with no speaker elected on the second day of voting.
House members voted on Wednesday night to adjourn until noon Thursday, prolonging a historical political stalemate that has paralysed the lower chamber.
U.S. Congressman, Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, failed to secure enough votes three times earlier in the day due to intra-party division.
House members voted three times on Tuesday the opening day of the divided 118th Congress, but McCarthy fell short of the necessary votes to be the next speaker.
It was the first time a House speaker who maintained order, managed its proceedings, and governed the administration of its business on the lower chamber’s floor hadn’t been elected on the first ballot in 100 years.
The 435-seat House will have to vote until a speaker is elected with a majority of votes.
Before that, members cannot be sworn in and committees cannot be formed with the rest of the business stalled.
U.S. Congresswoman, Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, tweeted that the infighting “isn’t just a shame for Republicans, it’s bad for the entire country.”
U.S. President, Joe Biden, a Democrat, reacted to the political drama surrounding the House speakership vote on Wednesday morning.
According to him, it’s embarrassing the way it’s taking so long.
“How do you think this looks to the rest of the world?
“It’s not a good look. It’s not a good thing,” Biden told reporters at the White House before leaving for Hebron, Kentucky.
McCarthy has the support of most House Republicans and former U.S. President, Donald Trump.
But a handful of hardliners have opposed his bid to lead the conference by arguing that he is insufficiently conservative while refusing to decentralise the speaker’s power.
The House has elected a speaker 127 times since 1789.
There have been 14 instances of speaker elections requiring multiple ballots.
Thirteen of 14 multiple-ballot elections occurred before the Civil War, when party divisions were more nebulous, according to Congressional historians.
The last time a speaker election required two or more votes on the floor happened in 1923.
Harvard legal scholar, Laurence Tribe, tweeted on Wednesday that the House of Representatives, unlike the Senate, was not a continuing body.
“It must reassemble itself without full constitutional authority every two years, like someone rebuilding a ship on the open seas.
“But when the voyage is this rough, that’s a sign of dysfunction,” Tribe said.
All House Democrats have voted for Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, to be the speaker.
Though it’s unlikely for Jeffries to attain the position, he is set to become the first African American lawmaker to lead a party in either chamber of the U.S. Congress.
Republicans flipped the House in the 2022 midterm elections while Democrats held onto their majority in the Senate.
The new Congress convened for the first time on Tuesday, with U.S. Vice President, Kamala Harris, presiding over the opening of the 100-people upper chamber in which Democrats control 51 seats versus 49 for Republicans.
Chuck Schumer from New York and Mitch McConnell from Kentucky remain the Senate majority leader and minority leader, respectively.
U.S. House still in turmoil with no speaker elected on 2nd day of voting
Police officer dies, 17 injured in auto crash along Potiskum–Bauchi road
By: Zagazola Makama
A senior police officer has died while 17 other passengers sustained injuries following a road accident along the Potiskum–Bauchi highway in Yobe State.
Sources said the crash occurred at about 3:15 p.m. on Feb. 21 near the bye-pass roundabout area of PKM on the outskirts of Potiskum.
The vehicle, a Toyota Hummer Bus belonging to Borno Express and conveying 18 passengers from Kaduna to Maiduguri, reportedly lost control after the rear tyre rim on the passenger side suddenly detached.
According to the sources , the driver veered off the road into a bush, resulting in fatal and multiple injuries.
One of the passengers, ACP Abubakar Ibrahim Balteh, 45, attached to the Borno State Police Command, sustained a severe head injury and died on the spot.
Two male and two female passengers escaped unhurt, while 13 others suffered serious injuries of varying degrees.
The injured victims and the deceased were evacuated to the General Hospital Potiskum for treatment and autopsy.
Police officer dies, 17 injured in auto crash along Potiskum–Bauchi road
Troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA humiliate Lakurawa terrorists
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA have neutralised several of suspected Lakurawa terrorist elements following a failed attack on Dadinkowa community in Kebbi State.
Local intelligence sources said the armed group attempted to raid a local market in the early hours of Sunday and blocked a major access road into the community to facilitate the operation.
The sources disclosed that security forces responded swiftly after receiving distress alerts and engaged the attackers in a fierce gun battle, forcing them to retreat.
According to the sources, several of the assailants were neutralised during the encounter, while others escaped with suspected gunshot wounds.
The attempted market raid was successfully foiled, preventing potential civilian casualties and destruction of property.
Troops have since intensified patrols and clearance operations around Dadinkowa and adjoining areas to track fleeing elements and stabilise the security environment.
Troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA humiliate Lakurawa terrorists
One killed as suspected IPOB/ESN militants attack Ogbakoba Market in Anambra
By: Zagazola Makama
A 15-year-old boy was killed while security operatives repelled an attack by suspected members of the proscribed IPOB/ESN militia at Ogbakoba Market Arena in Anambra State.
Sources said the incident occurred on Feb. 21 at about 1:40 p.m., when a group of armed hoodlums emerged from a dense forest camp at Amiyi and opened sporadic fire at market-goers, apparently attempting to kidnap or rob residents.
A joint task force patrol team stationed at Amiyi responded swiftly, engaging the attackers in a fierce gun duel that forced them to retreat into the forest with bullet wounds. The injured boy was rushed to the village hospital but was confirmed dead on arrival. His body was deposited in the morgue for autopsy and preservation.
The sources added that later the same day at about 8:30 p.m., the armed group resurfaced near the community, snatching a shuttle bus with registration number HAL 987 XA and a GSM phone belonging to one Mr. Kinsley Iwunze of Okpotuno Odekpe, Ogbaru LGA.
Security operatives immediately dispatched teams to the scene, but the hoodlums had fled. Authorities said an aggressive manhunt was ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
One killed as suspected IPOB/ESN militants attack Ogbakoba Market in Anambra
Police officer dies, 17 injured in auto crash along Potiskum–Bauchi road
Troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA humiliate Lakurawa terrorists
One killed as suspected IPOB/ESN militants attack Ogbakoba Market in Anambra
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