With just four votes ahead of his Democratic opponent, Hakeem Jeffries, Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives on January 7th, 2023. With the House failing to choose a candidate on the first round of voting, McCarthy repeatedly lost every round thereafter, amassing up to a total of 14 unsuccessful attempts. This long battle between the two parties caused an unexpected spectacle, a shouting battle between Republicans on the House floor. In a photograph seen by thousands of Americans all over social media,

Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama can be seen being restrained by a fellow lawmaker during an open argument with Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who had trashed McCarthy’s campaign in a speech after the 11th voting round. Fortunately, this conflict was resolved rapidly. However, just one day after the fight, the last remaining holdout voters changed their decision to “present”, giving McCarthy the push to victory.

After accepting his defeat, Jeffries made a unique speech where he upheld the American values of democracy and its determination to fight against hate, in alphabetical order. With lines such as freedom over fascism, reason over racism, and xenial over xenophobia, Jeffries was applauded by House Democrats and Internet users for his poetic and dignified response to such a major loss in his political career. McCarthy, on the other hand, delivered a speech not quite worth applauding. Although he assured Jeffries and the House Democrats that no fight between the parties would become personal, he also boasted of his win as soon as he began his speech. McCarthy got up on the stage and said, “That was easy, huh?” Not really a statement that someone who lost a total of 14 voting rounds would be expected to say. However, a more notable part of his address was when he made a tribute to former President Donald Trump:

“I do want to especially thank President Trump. I don’t think you should doubt – anybody should doubt his influence,” McCarthy said. “He was with me from the beginning. So, thank you, President Trump.”

Did we really just see the newly elected speaker pay tribute to a president who’s been proven multiple times of possessing white supremacist and anti-LGBTQ ideals? A president who refused to accept his loss during the 2020 presidential election? A refusal that led to his followers attacking the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. in a form of terrorism? I don’t believe receiving support from a twice-impeached president is something to share, or even to be proud of.

Although McCarthy voiced a clear set of goals in his address striving to build a safer and more economically stable nation, and that he’d insisted his duty was “not to my party, my conference, or even our Congress,” but to his country, the consequence of his newly achieved position is still yet to come. However, judging from his history with the 45th president of the United States and the unwillingness of his own party to support his campaign, it seems that Congress could be expected to face mismanagement and possibly witness a rift within the Republican party.