The powers of an acting House speaker are untested. Here’s what we know. Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.), left, is a close ally of former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), right. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) With Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) ouster from the role of House speaker — and no consensus pick to replace him — the chamber is operating with an acting speaker, and it’s unclear how much authority he has. Keeping up with politics is easy with The 5-Minute Fix Newsletter, in your inbox weekdays. The speaker manages the...

Work in Congress has ground to a halt as Republicans search for a new speaker, threatening Ukraine aid and delaying consequential business legislation. Among the items now stalled are a measure to extend federal banking protections to marijuana companies operating in states where the drug is legal and negotiations to restore tax breaks for business spending on research and development. Here’s a look at some key areas impacted: The White House’s request for billions to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s invasion is in doubt now amid hardline Republican opposition....

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) said he would officially nominate former President Donald as the next Speaker of the House "to make Congress great again." During an interview on Steve Bannon's podcast on Thursday, Nehls pointed to Trump's commanding lead in the Republican presidential primary. "So, obviously, Donald Trump is the leader of our party," he said. "We need to embrace that. We need, as a conference, a Republican conference to bring Donald Trump into the fold and let him continue to lead us as the American people, as the Republican...

House Republicans don't want a repeat of January's 15-round vote to pick a new speaker, so this time, they must caucus to decide who will get their vote, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who said he believes the decision can be reached that way in just one round, told Newsmax Thursday. "We're not just going to go right out onto the floor and go through all these internal machinations, the New Jersey Republican said on "Wake Up America." "We're going to have this process and then we're going to go to...

Republican senators are shocked and unnerved by the sudden collapse of Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) career in leadership and fear the turmoil in the House will put Congress on the path to a government shutdown. Senators are worried about who will succeed McCarthy and whether that successor will be so beholden to a small group of conservatives that it will be close to impossible to pass spending legislation before government funding runs out before Thanksgiving. While GOP senators occasionally criticized some of McCarthy’s moves, especially his decision to give the...

Eric Trump is all in on a far-right and far-fetched effort to make his father, Donald Trump, the next speaker of the House. (Watch the video below.) “I think it would be the coolest damn thing in the entire world,” the ex-president’s middle son said Wednesday on Newsmax. “I think he would bring the party together in a great way. He has tremendous respect among that body.” Right-wing House members such as Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have tweeted their endorsement of the former president for the job after Kevin McCarthy...

Donald suggested he would serve as speaker of the House of Representatives as he campaigns for president and faces numerous legal challenges. The twice-impeached former president, who has been charged with 91 criminal counts in four jurisdictions, is being floated as a potential successor to deposed House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), in of Republican rules against anyone facing more than two years in prison serving in that role. "I am running for President, have a 62 Point lead over Republicans, and am up on Crooked Joe Biden, despite the Democrat...

The ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker has inflamed partisan tensions in the House at a time when bipartisanship will be necessary to keep the government open. A deal to extend funding for 45 days gave lawmakers more time to broker a compromise on spending levels for the remainder of the year. But it also became the catalyst for an intraparty rebellion McCarthy faced for working with Democrats. THE RACE IS ON: WHO COULD REPLACE MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER? Just eight Republicans voted to oust McCarthy on Tuesday, plunging...

A mid-November US government shutdown, already a serious risk, is increasingly likely following the toppling of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and worsening of an intra-party Republican conflict in the House. Hardline Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida and other conservative critics presented McCarthy’s support for temporary funding to prevent an Oct. 1 shutdown as a central grievance in their successful campaign to oust him.