Republicans in the House of Representatives look further away from selecting a speaker after Steve Scalise dropped out of the race.
Scalise, the majority leader, won the conference’s nomination earlier this week but then struggled to nail down enough wider support to be sure of winning the role. It leaves the chamber without a leader for a second week—Kevin McCarthy was ousted after agreeing to a deal with Democrats that kept the government running.
But that deal was just a temporary extension of funding for government business. Without a speaker the House can’t function to negotiate a new deal, or approve things such as additional funding for Israel or Ukraine.
It’s not a good look for the leaders of the world’s biggest economy. The power vacuum could become detrimental for government bonds if investors decide the U.S. can’t reliably and predictably resolve disagreements over budgets and spending.
For now, the Republicans are considering giving Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry powers to buy them time. But lawmakers are going into the weekend with the struggle over who gets the speaker’s gavel unresolved.
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