At the White House, few Republicans were expected for a ceremony at which President Joe Biden will award Presidential Citizens Medals to a dozen state and local officials.
It's all a far cry from Sept. 11, 2001, when lawmakers who had frantically evacuated the Capitol during the terrorist attack gathered there later in the day in a moment of silence and broke out in "God Bless America," Republicans and Democrats shoulder to shoulder.
To be sure, a resolution to the immediate crisis may be near as the GOP leadership continues negotiations to appease its hard-right flank, but questions loom about the chamber's ability to manage even the most essential legislation, such as funding the government and meeting the nation's debt obligations.
Yet many of the lawmakers who brought baseless claims of election fraud or excused the violence on Jan. 6 continue to serve and are newly empowered. The protracted struggle leaves the House leaderless, unable to pass bills and powerless to do much more than hold vote after vote for speaker until a majority is reached. Everything from national security briefings to helping their constituents navigate the federal bureaucracy is on pause because the members-elect can't yet take their oath of office.The chaos of the speaker's election "is about destruction of an institution in a different way," said Democratic Rep.
Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire said, "It is a very small minority who want to throw this institution into chaos."
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