Now, it's Midday on Politics, and we turn our gaze to Washington for a look at what transpired in the House of Representatives last week. It is not a pretty sight.\

A little after 1:00 in the morning on Saturday (January 7), the House of Representatives ended their stalemate over electing a speaker, finally giving the gavel to California Congressman Kevin McCarthy on the 15th vote.

The House will reconvene Monday evening at 5:00 to begin hammering out rules changes that Rep. McCarthy pledged to enact in exchange for the votes he needed from extremists in his party to be elected Speaker. Almost all of the 20 Republicans who withheld their votes for McCarthy until the wee hours of Saturday morning are election deniers, as is McCarthy himself. It’s anybody’s guess as to just how effective McCarthy will be, working under rules that greatly attenuate the Speaker’s power.

We get an important perspective on these developments now from Congressman Kweisi Mfume, a veteran Democratic lawmaker who represents Maryland 's 7th district (including Baltimore City) in the US House of Representatives. 

Rep. Mfume joins us by phone…

Now, it's <a href="https://www.wypr.org/tags/midday-on-politics">Midday on Politics</a>, and we turn our gaze to Washington for a look at what transpired in the House of Representatives last week. It is not a pretty sight.\
A little after 1:00 in the morning on Saturday (January 7), the House of Representatives ended their stalemate over electing a speaker, finally giving the gavel to California Congressman <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/08/1147737219/after-kevin-mccarthys-election-as-speaker-congress-looks-ahead">Kevin McCarthy</a> on the 15th vote.
The House will reconvene Monday evening at 5:00 to begin hammering out rules changes that Rep. McCarthy pledged to enact in exchange for the votes he needed from extremists in his party to be elected Speaker. Almost all of the 20 Republicans who withheld their votes for McCarthy until the wee hours of Saturday morning are election deniers, as is McCarthy himself. It’s anybody’s guess as to just how effective McCarthy will be, working under rules that greatly attenuate the Speaker’s power.
We get an important perspective on these developments now from <a href="https://mfume.house.gov/">Congressman Kweisi Mfume</a>, a veteran Democratic lawmaker who represents Maryland 's 7th district (including Baltimore City) in the US House of Representatives. 
<a href="https://twitter.com/RepKweisiMfume">Rep. Mfume</a> joins us by phone…

Monday-Friday from noon-1:00, Tom Hall and his guests are talking about what's on your mind, and what matters most to Marylander's, the latest news, local and national politics, education and the environment, popular culture and the arts, sports and science, race and religion, movies and medicine. We welcome your questions and comments. E-mail us at midday@wypr.org

Monday-Friday from noon-1:00, Tom Hall and his guests are talking about what's on your mind, and what matters most to Marylander's, the latest news, local and national politics, education and the environment, popular culture and the arts, sports and science, race and religion, movies and medicine. We welcome your questions and comments. E-mail us at <a href="mailto:midday@wypr.org">midday@wypr.org</a>

Midday

Monday-Friday from noon-1:00, Tom Hall and his guests are talking about what's on your mind, and what matters most to Marylander's, the latest news, local and national politics, education and the environment, popular culture and the arts, sports and science, race and religion, movies and medicine.  We welcome your questions and comments. E-mail us at midday@wypr.org.

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