‘Taliban 20’ block Mccarthy’s bid for House Speaker

CONGRESS remained at an impasse as Right-wing US Republicans rebels nicknamed the “Taliban 20” blocked their party leader’s bid for House Speaker despite securing major concessions.

Kevin Mccarthy, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, offered a string of humiliating commitments to his party’s Right flank but still appeared short of securing the votes needed for the powerful role.

Mr Mccarthy had recanted on a previous red line and caved to demands by the ultra-conservative rebels to allow a single Republican lawmaker to force a snap vote at any time to oust him as Speaker of the House.

Mr Mccarthy was also said to have offered the hardliners the ability to handpick a third of the party’s members on powerful committees.

But the Republican leader suffered defeat in several more humiliating rounds of voting on his bid for Speaker last night, as the intra-party feud engulfed Congress in chaos for a third day. He appeared to be gaining no ground after losing a 10th consecutive ballot last night.