As theatrics define today’s politics, student-voters could ground our future
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Lasting only 269 days, Kevin McCarthy’s short tenure as the speaker of the House of Representatives has come to a humiliating end.
Eight members of his own party, led by far-right Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, voted with all 208 present House Democrats, passing the threshold for the motion to vacate. McCarthy is the only speaker of the House in American history to be ousted against their own wish.
Amid the political turbulence in the House, college students might wonder why this matters to them. The answer lies in the legislative repercussions and the broader implications for governance.
The unprecedented recall vote was triggered by a short-term funding bill that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, with Democratic cooperation, passed on Sept. 30 to avert a government shutdown. The funding bill did not include the deep cuts in federal spending and tighter border controls that many House Republicans have demanded.
McCarthy’s short reign as speaker was defined by chaos. He struggled to be elected, enduring 15 rounds of voting, and made humiliating concessions, including the possibility for a motion by a single member of the House to initiate removal proceedings.
After his election as speaker, he embraced all far-right political positions, including an impeachment inquiry against President Biden with scant evidence. McCarthy refused to cooperate with the Democrats on any subject of broad political consensus, including aid to Ukraine and investment in infrastructure, prompting an unprecedented dislike of him from the Democratic Party for being less lenient than previous Republican speakers.
Per the rules of the House, North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry was named speaker pro tempore. McHenry, a staunch McCarthy ally, expressed no joy as he announced his own appointment and the formal vacancy of the speaker position; he heavily slammed the gavel with visible anger and frustration.
In an interview on “Face the Nation” McCarthy gave after he had worked with Democrats to pass the short-term funding bill, he said “I wasn’t sure it was going to pass.” He claimed that it was Democrats’ refusal to cooperate that brought the government to the brink of a shutdown.
The statement elicited laughter from the moderator, Margaret Brennan, who told McCarthy that 90 Republicans had voted against it. For the Democratic House leadership, their sentiment can be summarized in the words of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries: “It is now the responsibility of the Republican members to end the House Republican Civil War.”
It’s important for college students to observe such chaos and use it to inform how they move forward politically.
“College students today are much more engaged and motivated toward political activity than any time I can remember,” said Mark Brockway, a faculty fellow of political science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. “These events highlight the need for informed and reasonable elected officials to represent the public interest.”
“Students today are uniquely positioned to participate in governance and even run for office themselves as they have unique and informed perspectives on how the country ought to be,” he added.
Brockway was shocked by the unparalleled and unpredictable nature of the current situation, noting that there has never been “such intense intra-party conflict.” If this leads to defeat for the Republican party in the 2024 election, then Brockway predicts that it could result in “a significant pull back from Trump-style politics” in the potential future.
McCarthy’s unprecedented ousting will not only result in short-term disorder on Capitol Hill, but potential long-term impacts on a variety of issues that could influence student life, including education, student loans and job prospects. According to Brockway, these issues “depend on a functioning federal government,” which currently does not exist due to McCarthy’s removal.
Given this is unchartered territory, there are no immediate answers to who might be the next speaker of the House. Despite his earlier defiance, McCarthy has already announced that he won’t re-run for the seat. One popular proposal will be the current House Majority Leader, Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, who is both ideologically more extreme than McCarthy and approved by Gaetz.
Awareness for such events and the current state of dysfunction in American politics underscores the importance of political engagement. For many students, this should be a wake up call for them to register to vote, join political clubs on campus or even campaign for causes or politicians they believe in to protect their political rights and elect more competent politicians to office.
College students are not just passive recipients of policy outcomes; they are active participants in the democratic process. The upheavals in Congress underscore the importance of staying informed and voting. Today’s college students are tomorrow’s leaders, and understanding the nuances of current events will prepare them to navigate future political landscapes.
Allen Huang is a second year Media Studies masters student. He can be reached at xhuang49@syr.edu.
