Emerging Issues

The challenges of the House Republicans to solidify around a single candidate for Speaker of the House continue to grow. House Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives by a very slim margin, and Rep Keith McCarthy needs almost all Republicans to vote for him to be Speaker. Unlike party leadership roles which are voted on exclusively by the party, the Speaker is voted on by the entire House, leading to speculation that Rep. McCarthy will either have to make a deal with the Freedom Caucus which supports the Trump agenda, or possibly with Democrats to find a way to get enough votes to become Speaker. There has also been speculation that someone else could be named speaker such as Rep Steve Scalise or former Rep Fred Upton. This won't get resolved until early January...but we will be watching closely.