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House Republicans could soon experience some serious déjà vu.
On Friday, January 3, the newly elected Congress will convene for the first time and vote for a House speaker. Like last term — when it took 15 rounds for former GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy to be elected — this contest could well be chaotic due to Republicans’ narrow majority and conservative opposition to current Speaker Mike Johnson, who is again his party’s candidate for the job.
At stake is Republicans’ ability to get pretty much anything done in the near term. The House isn’t able to function without a speaker, which means that key tasks, like certifying the presidential election on January 6, are at risk of being delayed. Any speaker drama also sends a pointed message about the enduring divides within the party and how they could pose a real challenge when it comes to the GOP’s attempts to pass actual policies in the coming year.