The ousting of Kevin McCarthy: bad for America, worse for Ukraine
His successor should seek cross-party support to keep funding the war
TWO MONTHS before the French revolution in 1789, Congress met for the first time, in New York City’s Federal Hall. In the intervening 234 years no speaker of the House of Representatives has been removed by a motion to vacate—until this week, when a small cadre of Republicans ejected Kevin McCarthy. Mr McCarthy had only had the gig since January. But the House Republican Party exists in a state of permanent revolution. All of the past three Republican speakers have been hounded by their own side. The parliamentary point that did for Mr McCarthy in the end was arcane, but its consequences are not.
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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The conservative Jacobins”
Leaders
October 7th 2023- Are free markets history?
- Why Africans are losing faith in democracy
- The ousting of Kevin McCarthy: bad for America, worse for Ukraine
- Rising bond yields are exposing fiscal fantasy in Europe
- In an ugly world, vaccines are a beautiful gift worth honouring
- Rishi Sunak is wrong to amputate Britain’s high-speed rail line
From the October 7th 2023 edition
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America cannot dodge the consequences of rising tariffs for ever
Their economic impact has been delayed but not averted
How A-listers are shaking up the consumer-goods business
Hailey Bieber, Rihanna and Ryan Reynolds are among a new cohort of celebrity entrepreneurs
William Ruto is taking Kenya to a dangerous place
The president’s authoritarian instincts are propelling a spiral of violence
China is building an entire empire on data
It will change the online economy and the evolution of artificial intelligence
Trumponomics 2.0 will erode the foundations of America’s prosperity
The Big Beautiful Bill is symptomatic of a wider malaise
Sir Keir Starmer is rapidly losing his authority
As well as his hope of achieving much in office