After 15 rounds of voting, members of the U.S. House of Representatives elected a Speaker of the House, and Bill Samuel, AFL-CIO Director of Government Affairs, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to explain the aftermath of the historic voting process.
Samuel called Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) an ineffective leader and cited how in the first weeks of his tenure, countless bills were added to the floor and then immediately pulled. He believes McCarthy’s inability to lead the House will not be good for America but will be good for organized labor, as it may prevent the passage of anti-union legislation.
He then provided his thoughts on the debt ceiling issue, as Republicans want to make cuts but Democrats said they will not negotiate. Samuel believes Social Security and Medicare will not be cut as it is only an accounting issue.
The discussion then turned to Presidential nominee holdovers in the Senate who have not received a vote due to Democrats not holding a majority. Samuel pointed out Democrats now have a majority in this term and believe nominations will be approved.
Listen to Samuel’s interview to learn more about these topics and other political issues.