WASHINGTON: The Republican nominee to lead the US House of Representatives dropped out Thursday after failing to find enough support to win a vote of the full chamber, plunging the paralyzed lower chamber of Congress deeper into crisis.
Steve Scalize narrowly won a secret internal Republican ballot Wednesday to replace ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy, but it quickly became clear that he couldn’t get the 217 lawmakers needed in a vote of the full House as his opponents in his own party lined up to announce they would not support him.
“It’s been quite a journey, and there’s still a long way to go. I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for the speaker designee,” Scalize said.
The announcement ended the party’s hopes for a moment of unity, prolonging a leadership vacuum that has prevented Congress from carrying out even its most basic functions for nine days since McCarthy’s unprecedented removal in a mutiny by right-wing lawmakers.
No speaker vote has been scheduled, but if every Democrat and Republican were present and casting ballots, any candidate would need 217 votes to prevail — a tall order in a party that has been riven by factional infighting.
A second public tussle for the speakership — nine months after McCarthy’s marathon, 15-round battle to win the gavel — could hardly have come at a worse time for the Republican-controlled lower chamber of Congress.
The leaderless House has been unable to pass any bills or approve White House requests for emergency aid, with Israel — the top US ally in the Middle East — in a war footing against Hamas militants.
Meanwhile lawmakers are staring down a looming government shutdown as they have only a month to agree on 2024 federal spending levels before the money runs out and have made no progress during the leadership crisis.
Scalize had been working frantically to win more backing as Republicans met at midday, although the discussion appeared to produce more skeptics rather than new support.
“There is no consensus candidate for speaker. We need to stay in Washington till we figure this out,” Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, who had endorsed Scalize, said in a social media post after the meeting.
“I will no longer be voting for Scalize. I don’t even think we make it to the floor.”
A succession of Republicans announced they had no plans to support Scalize, and some strategists believed the opposition from his own party may have numbered up to 30 lawmakers.
“This country is counting on us to come back together. This House of Representatives needs a speaker and we need to open up the House again,” Scalize said.
“But clearly, not everybody is there. And there’s still schisms that have to get resolved.”
The Republican, who has spent a decade climbing the ranks of the leadership, said he loved the job of majority leader and was “blessed beyond belief.”
Detractors had voiced anger over the way he helped kill proposed reforms to the nomination process. Others were concerned that he would not be able to unite the party, and there were concerns that the treatment he is receiving for blood cancer would make him too weak for the job.
Republicans did not announce a plan to resolve the crisis, but they could fall back on hard-liner Jim Jordan, who lost to Scalize in the internal vote, or attempt to invest full speaker powers for a limited period in the lawmaker currently in the job as a caretaker.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has called for a “bipartisan governing coalition” in the House, although Republicans have given no sign that they’d ever consider it.
Race for US House speaker in chaos as Republican nominee drops out
https://arab.news/4jnts
Race for US House speaker in chaos as Republican nominee drops out
- The announcement ended the party’s hopes for a moment of unity
Marcos appoints new chief minister in Philippines’ only Muslim region
- Abdulraof Macacua is the governor of Maguindanao del Norte and senior MILF leader
- New leader appointed only 7 months before Bangsamoro’s first parliamentary elections
Manila: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed a new interim chief minister to oversee the only Muslim-majority territory in the Philippines, as the region prepares for its first parliamentary elections in October.
Bangsamoro was at the heart of a four-decades-long separatist struggle until 2014, when the Philippine government struck a permanent ceasefire agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, paving the way for peace and autonomy in the region home to the biggest Muslim population in the predominantly Catholic country.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was formed in 2019 as part of the region’s transition to autonomy, which will culminate in October this year, when it will elect its legislature and executive.
Until then, BARMM’s leadership is currently under a transition authority appointed by the Philippine president.
Marcos has appointed Abdulraof Macacua, the governor of Maguindanao del Norte — a province within the Bangsamoro region — to replace Murad Ebrahim, who had served as BARMM’s chief minister since 2019.
The change in leadership was confirmed on Sunday by Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro.
“This transition comes at a crucial time as the Bangsamoro region prepares for a significant milestone — its first parliamentary elections in October this year,” Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. said in a statement on Monday.
“For the continuity and success of the Bangsamoro peace agreement, we place our trust in Interim Chief Minister Macacua as he takes the helm of governance.”
Macacua’s appointment was welcomed by Yshmael “Mang” I. Sali, the governor of Bangsamoro’s Tawi-Tawi province.
“We stand firmly behind the new leadership as we work together toward the goals of the Bangsamoro Government for the benefit of all its constituents,” Sali said.
Macacua, 67, has been a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority since 2019. Also known as Sammy Gambar, he was a senior MILF leader and had served as chief of staff of MILF’s armed wing.
Rikard Jalkebro, an expert on Muslim Mindanao and associate professor at the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi, said the “unexpected” change in BARMM’s leadership “carries significant political, governance and security” implications.
“It signals that (the palace) is not happy (or) confident that things are moving in the right direction,” Jalkebro told Arab News.
The last-minute leadership change may create uncertainties for ongoing governance programs, development initiatives and election preparations.
“Ebrahim was leading the BARMM transition with policies aligned with the peace process. Will Macacua continue these policies, or will he introduce new priorities that alter the region’s political and economic trajectory?” he said.
Though Macacua is also part of MILF, his appointment may also “indicate internal rifts within the organization,” according to Jalkebro.
As such, how the MILF and other Bangsamoro stakeholders react to the latest development in the coming months “will be critical” in determining “whether this shift strengthens or destabilizes” the transition process.
“The transition from a rebel movement to a formal political entity is delicate, and any perception of unfair political maneuvers could create tensions, particularly among grassroots MILF supporters,” Jalkebro said.
“The long-term effect will hinge on whether Macacua can maintain stability, ensure a fair election, and uphold BARMM’s autonomy without undue national government interference. This moment is a critical test for the future of Bangsamoro self-governance.”
US President Donald Trump ‘unpredictable’: Greenland PM
NUUK: US President Donald Trump, who wants to take over Greenland, is very erratic, the island’s premier said on Monday, the eve of the self-governing Danish territory’s legislative elections.
“There is a world order that is faltering on many fronts — and a president of the United States who is very unpredictable — in such a way that makes people feel insecure,” Prime Minister Mute Egede told Danish public radio DR.
In a speech to the US Congress last week, Trump reiterated his designs, arguing the US needed the vast Arctic island for reasons of national and international security and saying he expected to get it “one way or the other.”
Determining a timeline for Greenland’s independence from Denmark has dominated the territory’s election campaign.
In a post addressing Greenlanders on his social media platform Truth Social late on Sunday, Trump said the US was “ready to INVEST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to create new jobs and MAKE YOU RICH.”
“And, if you so choose, we welcome you to be a part of the Greatest Nation anywhere in the World, the United States of America!” he wrote.
Aaja Chemnitz — one of two Greenland representatives in the Danish parliament and a member of the prime minister’s left-green Inuit Ataqatigiit party — accused Trump of “inadmissible” election interference.
“It’s pretty desperate to make such a statement on the eve of an election in Greenland,” she said.
“As a foreign power, you’re not supposed to interfere.”
In his interview with DR, conducted before Trump published his latest post, Egede said the US president’s recent behavior had only served to push Greenlanders away.
“We deserve to be treated with respect and I don’t think the American president has done that lately since he took office,” Egede said.
“The recent things that the American president has done mean that you don’t want to get as close to (the US) as you might have wanted in the past,” he added.
In large part, Greenland’s economy is currently dependent on the fisheries sector and Danish subsidies. But Egede stressed it was already diversifying through tourism, mining and green energy generation.
He said he saw Greenland’s future as “within the Western alliance.”
“There are some security and defense policy issues where we need to ally ourselves with other countries with which we are already in alliance,” he said.
Egede said an independent Greenland in an alliance with Denmark and its other territory, the Faroe Islands, through a new, updated agreement “might be a possibility.”
The day after Trump’s speech to Congress, Egede wrote on Facebook that the 57,000 people of Greenland “don’t want to be Americans, or Danes either.”
“We are Greenlanders.”
“The Americans and their leader must understand that.”
Bangladesh denies UN pressure in PM’s ouster last year
- A student-led uprising ended Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year tenure last August
- Thousands marched on her palace and forced autocratic premier into exile
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s armed forces denied on Monday that United Nations pressure played a role in the decision by top brass last year not to quash protests that ousted autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina.
A student-led uprising ended Hasina’s 15-year tenure last August, with soldiers failing to intervene as thousands marched on her palace and forced her into exile.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk told the BBC last week that his office had warned that military involvement in any crackdown could result in Bangladeshi soldiers being banned from peacekeeping missions.
Bangladesh’s army said in a statement that it had not received “any direct communication” to that effect.
“This remark... appears to misrepresent the role of the Bangladesh Army and potentially undermines its reputation, sacrifice, and professionalism,” it said.
“During the July-August 2024 protests, the Army once again stood by the people, ensuring public safety without bias or external influence.”
Bangladesh is one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping forces globally and its operations are a lucrative source of income for the country’s soldiers.
Turk said in his comments to the BBC that he had been thanked by student leaders during his visit to Bangladesh last year.
“The students were so grateful to us for taking a stand, speaking out, and supporting them,” he said.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights sent a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh last year to investigate Hasina’s ouster.
Its report, published last month, found “reasonable grounds to believe that the top echelons” of Hasina’s government had committed “very serious” rights violations while attempting to suppress the protests that toppled her.
More than 800 people were killed during last year’s unrest.
Nigeria’s anti-graft agency recovers nearly $500 million in one year
- Nigeria is ranked 140 out of 180 on Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index
LAGOS: Nigeria’s economic crimes commission said it recovered nearly $500 million in proceeds of crime last year and secured more than 4,000 criminal convictions, its highest since the agency’s inception more than two decades ago.
Africa’s biggest energy producer, Nigeria has struggled for decades with endemic corruption, which many Nigerians say contributes to widespread poverty in the country.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which investigates and prosecutes corruption in Nigeria, said in a report on Monday that some of the recovered money was reinvested in government projects.
Nigeria is ranked 140 out of 180 on Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index.
Besides cash, the EFCC said it also seized 931,052 metric tons of petroleum products, 975 real estate properties and company shares.
Russia says expelling two British ‘diplomats’ on spying charges
- Foreign ministry has revoked their accreditations and ordered them to leave Russia within two weeks
- The ministry also summoned an embassy representative in connection with the allegations
MOSCOW: Russia said Monday it was expelling two British “diplomats” on suspicion of carrying out espionage activities.
Announcing the expulsion of the embassy’s second secretary and husband of the first secretary, Russia’s FSB security service said “counterintelligence work had revealed an undeclared British intelligence presence under the cover of the national embassy.”
It said the two “deliberately provided false information when obtaining a permit to enter our country, thus violating Russian legislation.”
The UK did not immediately respond to the allegation.
The Russian foreign ministry has revoked their accreditations and ordered them to leave Russia within two weeks, the FSB said.
The ministry also summoned an embassy representative in connection with the allegations, it said in a post on Telegram.
Relations between Moscow and London have been strained by intelligence scandals throughout Russian President Vladimir Putin’s quarter-century in power.
The UK accused Moscow of being behind the 2006 assassination of former Russian agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in a London poisoning attack.
And in 2018, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian embassy officials they said were spies over the attempted poisoning of former double agent, Sergei Skripal, with Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
Monday’s announcement came as Russia shifts blame for the Ukraine conflict away from the United States to Europe, as US President Donald Trump’s administration seeks closer ties with the Kremlin.
