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The US House of Representatives witnessed chaos that had not occurred in nearly a century, as its opening session revealed great divisions among Republicans.
The House’s Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, who is seeking speakership, failed to win the position despite three rounds of balloting.
For the first time since 1923, the Council adjourned without choosing a new president.
It was expected that the meeting of the Council would be different, as the Republican Party secured control of it by a simple majority after the midterm elections that took place in the United States last November.
But McCarthy faced a revolt by members of his party, and a number of Republicans refused to support him, so he did not get the number of votes needed to win the position.
McCarthy insists on seeking to win the position to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
It is not known what will happen when the council meets again on Wednesday in a new attempt to elect a speaker.
McCarthy has represented California in the House of Representatives since 2007.
He was the minority leader in the House of Representatives after the Republicans lost control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections, and during that period he developed a strong relationship with former President Donald Trump, who is from the Republican Party.
During the riots in the Capitol (the seat of Congress) after Trump’s defeat in the presidential elections by Biden on January 6, 2021, McCarthy reportedly asked Trump during a heated phone call to tell the protesters to go home.
But a few days later, McCarthy visited Trump at his residence in Florida, and seemed to improve his relationship with him.
At the moment, some of Trump’s supporters in the House of Representatives appear unwilling to support McCarthy.
Republicans, after winning a majority in the House of Representatives, pledged to launch a series of investigations into President Joe Biden’s administration.