BREAKING: 9 House Republicans just sent a letter rebuking Kevin McCarthy as speaker, saying he hasn’t gone far enough. In other words, Kevin still doesn’t have enough votes to be speaker with less than 2 days until the new Congress gets sworn in. Republicans in disarray. Again.
— Victor Shi (@Victorshi2020) January 2, 2023
weak, undisciplined, incompetent, disliked and will have absolutely zero respect from any member of his caucus
— GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (@golikehellmachi) January 2, 2023
Zanona is the compleat package for news like this — Capitol Hill reporter for @CNN, Alum of @politico @thehill & @cqrollcall:
McCarthy told ppl he has agreed to a threshold of five people to trigger a vote on ousting the speaker, known as the “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair, and pitched it as a “compromise.”
CNN first reported last week that McCarthy was supportive of that threshold.
Some moderates expressed frustration over that concession, tho they indicated they would ultimately swallow it — but only if it wins McCarthy the speakership.
However.. there’s still uncertainty over whether all this will be enough to clinch McCarthy the speaker’s gavel.
Rep. Diaz-Balart pressed McCarthy on whether this will win him the 218 votes, but he didn’t directly answer, tho McCarthy said earlier that ppl were “slowly” moving in the right direction.
But later, Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of the hard no’s, said they’re still not supporting him.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez then chimed in and repeated Diaz-Balart’s question, and asked McCarthy to answer it.
McCarthy’s response, according to sources, was that they have a couple days to close the deal, and they need to close.
Rep.-elect Lawler then asked Gaetz if he’d back McCarthy if he agreed to bring the threshold down to a single lawmaker, which is what it was before Pelosi changed the rules. Gaetz said McCarthy had refused to entertain that but if hes making that offer now than he’d entertain it.
McCarthy pushed back & said the rest of the GOP is not okay w/ that threshold — “It’s not about me” — then asked Gaetz if he could get to yes if they came down to a one person threshold.
Gaetz was still non-committal but said if it was a real offer, he would entertain it.
House GOP hoping to release their rules package tonight, but nothing truly final until it’s passed.
After the House elects a speaker & swears in members, then lawmakers vote on the rules package, which governs how the House operates.
Bottom line: still a lot of uncertainty.
NEW: On House GOP call, Kevin McCarthy said that he has given in on the motion to vacate — the no-confidence motion allows members to boot the speaker.
This is something he had indicated he would never do.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 1, 2023
.@RepKinzinger: “Donald Trump should consider Kevin McCarthy his best friend because Donald Trump is alive today politically because of Kevin McCarthy.” https://t.co/04sQ1t3ogR pic.twitter.com/G8oRiAwBhF
— The Hill (@thehill) January 1, 2023
If House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy does not secure the votes needed to be speaker, it will lead to “chaos,” @rickklein tells @jonkarl.
“There’s no amount of precedent for this. It’s been a century since we’ve seen more than one ballot.” https://t.co/KInxWHwCkT pic.twitter.com/Aj50sgsVmX
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) January 1, 2023
Kevin McCarthy is expected to put Marjorie Taylor Greene on the Oversight Committee, which is tasked with “accountability” and “ensuring government efficiency.”
Does this mean he’s going to put George Santos on the Ethics Committee?
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) December 30, 2022
Remember the time it took #NancyPelosi multiple ballots to get elected Speaker?
Yeah, me neither #KevinMcCarthy #SpeakeroftheHouse #GOPClownShow #GOP pic.twitter.com/CoyXXVz3Ll
— True Words Are Spoken (@TruWordsRSpoken) January 1, 2023
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War for Ukraine Day 312: New Year’s Day
Jerzy Russian
Christ, what an asshole!
sdhays
I didn’t realize the threshold was a single member before Pelosi. That can’t be right, can it?
eclare
This is just delicious.
Hitchhiker
They keep bragging about how they “fired her,” but I don’t think they’re really happy to find themselves suddenly in control of the steering wheel, the accelerator, and the brakes.
There’s nobody to map out a course for them. There’s only little pockets of grinning fools over here and little clusters of grumpy grandpas over there, and everybody angry with and afraid of everybody else.
David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch
Popcorn futures rise ahead of Tuesday’s
voteclusterfuckAnoniminous
It’s a straight-up vote with no proxies. If the Dems go 100% behind a candidate they just might be able to elect the Speaker.
I’d laugh.
Parfigliano
What a little little man. Its hilarious.
David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch
NEW: On House GOP call, Kevin McCarthy said that he has given in on the motion to vacate his given name and legally change it to Charlie McCarthy
Another Scott
@David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch: [ snort! ]
Cheers,
Scott.
CaseyL
It’s all fun and games until the debt ceiling comes up, and I fully expect the House to refuse to raise it, no matter who the Speaker is.
January 4th would be a good day for Jack Smith to announce some Congressional indictments.
mvr
If Nancy had had this amount of trouble it would have been headline news. It was headline news when some people opposed her weeks ahead of time and it was still all straightened out by the time of the vote. Yet only some of us get what trouble KM is in.
Does anybody know if once one member calls for such a vote all representatives get to vote?
mrmoshpotato
@Hitchhiker:
As expected from a party of assholes who don’t actually want to govern.
Have they scheduled the Hunter Biden investigation(s) yet?
Shalimar
@sdhays: The threshold was indeed one, but you have to file a formal motion and that motion is pointless if you don’t have the votes to oust the speaker. Mark Meadows was the asshole who filed it under Boehner.
I don’t see any way this ends with anyone including McCarthy making it a full two years. Not sure why anyone would even want that on their resume.
RaflW
It’s a helluva thing to relish power so much that you preemptively give it all away before you ever have it.
Wag
@mrmoshpotato: It’ll be fascinating to see if Speaker Pelosi allows them to schedule such a hearing
Shalimar
@Anoniminous: Arrange for a cocaine and hookers party somewhere in Florida for Gaetz and his 4 favorite wingmen and it’s a done deal.
West of the Rockies
The GOP House is comprised of vain, unserious people. Their idiocy is matched only by their certainty that they’re brilliant and deserving.
If McCarthy goes down in flames, is there a viable alternative? Could Scalise get the needed votes?
HumboldtBlue
As we prepare to enter the freeway that will be the GOP clusterfuck of chucklefucked fuckups with a dash of nastiness and venom, may I harken back to this blog’s past with a quip from a Reddit quipster made today about Freddie DeBoer?
I laughed (Freddie was on about mental health and such).
Elsewhere. Is it cmorenc who is the former soccer ref?
Whomever it is, give me a holler, I’ve stumbled upon a very interesting interview with a former Premier League ref. I guess that goes for anyone else who enjoys sport or human psychology.
RaflW
Broken record here, but that Zanona still claims there are ‘moderates’ in the GOP caucus (and I noticed similarly, Kinzinger on twitter making reference to ‘normal’ Republicans) just gives up the game.
There are no moderate or normal Republicans left in the House. Not in any functional sense. Maybe back home in district they can still play pattycake games about how they’re different. But they have no agency or ability. They’ve actively chosen acquiescence to idiocy. Ergo, not normal. Not moderate.
sstarr
Can five Democrats trigger a motion to vacate the speakership, or is it only members of the Majority that have the power?
mvr
@sstarr: I’m guessing they can write the rule so that only someone who voted for the speaker can put forth the motion (just like when it takes a nay voter to move to bring a bill back to the floor when it has gone down). But I am skeptical that they can keep the opposition from voting once the question is up for a vote. But I’d like someone to confirm this.
Amir Khalid
We’re about to see a House ruled by the Poop-flinging Monkeys Caucus. It won’t get much of anything done, but the poop-flinging will be entertaining to watch.
Speaking of George Santos, what’s new with him? I haven’t heard of any new lies for a few days now — since he said his mother, a caretaker nurse, died both on September 11, 2001 in her World Trade Center office, and in 2016 from cancer.
mvr
@RaflW: I think there may be a few Reps from NY and CA that have to act like they are moderate to have a chance in the next election. Even the guy in Omaha seems to pretend, except on Twitter where it seems a couple of middle school MAGAs control his account.
RaflW
@sstarr: From what I read, no. It’s a prerogative of the majority.
NotMax
Backroom dealing aplenty afoot.
RaflW
@mvr: Yeah, that’s the pantomime. But I agree 100% with this:
Shalimar
@West of the Rockies: I have said before that Scalise is the obvious compromise candidate, the only person everyone in the Republican House caucus respects. Scalise has demurred when asked about the job, reiterating his support for McCarthy. I think Scalise will change his mind after a large number of votes when it is clear McCarthy will never get it. Others have said he has to realize the next 2 years will be a disaster and Scalise is too smart to want the job until there is a larger majority.
HumboldtBlue
Today I learned:
Redshift
@sdhays: Apparently it is true, according to Ballotpedia. But it’s that it takes one member to file a resolution to vacate the chair, not to kick out the Speaker. There’s still a vote on the resolution. It’s unclear from the article what the vote threshold is.
Apparently, Boehner’s resignation happened after Mark Meadows filed a resolution to vacate (but there wasn’t a vote.) Before that the last time one was filed was 1910.
mvr
@HumboldtBlue: Does it specify a number? Or are the Rs proposing to modify it?
eclare
@HumboldtBlue: How are you doing with all the flooding in CA?
Anoniminous
Posted Miss Information.
Apparently there can be multiple elections.
“To be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of all the votes cast for individuals. This number may be less than a majority (now 218) of the full membership of the House because of vacancies, absentees, or Members answering “present.” — Congressional Research Service
HumboldtBlue
@eclare:
We are fine, other than the 5.4 earthquake that shook the apartment at 1030 or so today. The flooding that has been attributed to Northern California is in the Bay Area and the Sacramento River delta.
So the geographical references can be a bit misleading, we’re 285 miles north, the rain hit here but was very mild in relation to the deluge those to the south endured.
@mvr:
“of any member” reads that it can be just one member, but how the majority can change that number — as in they say Pelosi raised it to five — I do not know.
mvr
@HumboldtBlue:
Thanks! I need to look into this but it is late.
eclare
@HumboldtBlue: Thanks! I forget how big CA is.
Alison Rose
@eclare: Big enough that HB and I are both in “Northern California” and yet I didn’t feel even a slight nudge from the quake. Thankfully no flooding where I am, either.
eclare
@Alison Rose: Great!
HumboldtBlue
@eclare:
Yup.
Yutsano
Well that’s just rude. :P
HumboldtBlue
@Yutsano:
Eh, no trombone.
Msb
@Amir Khalid
I read that Santos’ prospective Press Secretary has resigned. Got tired of being caught retailing his lies, I suppose.
Geoduck
@HumboldtBlue: Yeah, as a resident of WA state, it’s annoying when the headlines read “STORM HITS WEST COAST”, and they are referring to part of California.
And I still think McCarthy ends up getting elected Speaker. Maybe even on the first attempt.
James E Powell
Can’t sleep. Turned on CNN for no particular reason. CNN has a Vatican Correspondent. I wonder what that pays. The overall tone of the report is almost like Benedict was The Pope, rather than an ex-Pope. Weird.
Basilisc
“In another significant concession, McCarthy increased the number of his testicles that he would provide to Cong Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) to two. Previously the California Republican had insisted on capping the number at one.”
Amir Khalid
@James E Powell:
Vatican correspondent sounds like the kind of posting you get when you’ve been shunted aside.
James E Powell
@Amir Khalid:
Seems like a great job for the non-ambitious. It’s not like you have to give reports very often & I understand the food is great.
Darkrose
@Alison Rose:
I’m in Northern California as well; 5 hours south of HB so no jostling from the quake. I’m in Sacramento, though, so there’s a lot of flooding in the area. So glad my Congresswoman always insists on money to maintain the levees.
Citizen Alan
@Basilisc: Actual footage of Kevin McCarthy and MTG discussing their working relationship.
opiejeanne
@HumboldtBlue: I know about where you are in California. I’ve been sporadically following the flooding, but I haven’t seen anything about the Russian River. It seemed to flood pretty often when we lived in the bay area.
opiejeanne
@eclare: California’s about 700 miles long from the border of Mexico to the border of Oregon.
NotMax
@James E Powell
No need for a reservation at the Friday prime rib buffet.
;)
rikyrah
Where is your 218, Kevin?😒
Amir Khalid
Does Kevin the Leader realise that he’s trading away any ability to function as Speaker in return for a tenuous grasp on the mere title? If I were him, I wouldn’t bother making such a pointless trade.
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
At least Richard Rich got Wales.
//
James E Powell
@Amir Khalid:
He wants the job so badly that he is willing to do just about anything. It’s the other members of the GOP leadership that are less willing to concede to Gaetz & his ilk.
Brachiator
@James E Powell:
Usually the previous person is an expired Pope. This is the first coverage of a Pope Emeritus in modern times. I guess reporters are struggling a bit to get the right perspective on the story.
LiminalOwl
@HumboldtBlue:
@Alison Rose: Glad you’re both OK.
ETA: @Darkrose: you also, and anyone I accidentally missed.
Happy New Year, everyone!
LiminalOwl
@Brachiator: A darker possibility: the reporter is a “traditionalist” Catholic and fan of Pope Maledict/Cardinal Ratzinger, wanting to deprecate Pope Francis’s legitimacy.
A lengthy obit yesterday—I think in the Washington Post but might have been FTFNYT—somewhat similarly mentioned Ratzinger’s appeal to the Traditionalist Catholic movement, while conveniently omitting all references to:
1. the anti-Semitism of that movement, and the ex-Pope’s juvenile membership in the Hitlerjugend (yes, compelled, I know);
2. the explicit Fascist sympathies of Italy’s new prime minister (whom the obit quoted as speaking of the deceased as a man of reason and faith, or somesuch)
3. Cardinal Ratzinger’s role in assisting (or perhaps designing/constructing) the cover-up of priestly pedophilia, for decades.
I thought about writing a response but figured those who care already know, while any reply from the paper would likely be along the lines of De mortuis nil nisi bonum (someone please correct my Latin as appropriate; I’m still waking up).
LiminalOwl
@LiminalOwl: It was indeed the Washington Post. And the quote from Giorgia Meloni is that the late ex-Pope was “a giant of reason and faith.”
David ⛄ 🎅The Establishment🎄 🦌 🕎 Koch
@James E Powell:
In keeping with his faith, Father Guido Sarducci is a modest man.
Geminid
@Geoduck: Yeah, I don’t think the Speaker vote tomorrow will be long and protracted. One vote, or at most two seems the likely outcome. The pirates might be up all night picking their captain, though.
Politico Playbook seems to be a good source for reports on behind the scenes manouvering as well as public statements by various faction leaders.
SFAW
@mrmoshpotato:
In a manner of speaking: look at your calendar, pick the day that McQarthy (or some other Traitor) becomes Speaker-for-Animals. Then put a check mark on the following day. And the day after. And the day after. And so on for at least a year. That’s the schedule.
NorthLeft
A heads up to “The Powerhouse Roundtable” ( whatever the hell that is), and all other political pundits, there will be chaos in the House whether Q. McCarthy gets voted in immediately or not.
Fearless prediction for 2023; the US House of Representatives will pass virtually no substantive legislation in the next two years. It will be a shitshow and a monumental embarrassment to the US and Republicans in particular.
The Rethugs are incapable of governing.
SFAW
@HumboldtBlue:
Should be a tag (or whatever the term is for classifying a post). And would probably be the most frequently-used one over the next two years.
Cheryl from Maryland
@NotMax: Plus a title; plus living to a ripe old age and dying at home. Quevin can only wish …
evodevo
@James E Powell:
Well, he STILL was as far as the right winger Catholics were concerned…the amount of animosity towards Francis from those quarters had to be seen to be believed…
Geminid
@NorthLeft: I won’t be monumentally embarrased by what the Republicans do in the House. That will be on them.
Denali
Two things I really don’t get about the press:
The amount of coverage and positive press about the retired Pope. I thought he left in disgrace over the pedophile scandals. Is that all forgotten?
The McCarthy issue. There is a plan. Although we like to think that the majority of the Republicans are idiots, they did plan the events on January 6. I will never forget that. Why is the press not figuring this out?
trnc
You jest, but they literally already sent subpoenas. The WH told them to fuck off until they actually gain the majority.
Wapiti
@Shalimar: I’m not sure how ambitious Scalise is. He might support Stefanik for Speaker so he can keep pulling strings without getting burned.
cmorenc
@HumboldtBlue:
Yes, I have been a soccer ref – I reffed mainly competitive-level youth and high school varsity, but not collegiate or pro level. Still ref, but at a reduced competitive level and much fewer games (two knee replacements will do that to you).
Miss Bianca
@RaflW:
True dat.
How you doing today?
artem1s
@Wapiti: No way Scalise can openly support Stephanik and keep from getting burned. The best part of this mess is anyone who gets what they want will piss off someone who doesn’t. And they have the toxic mess in MAL who will burn anyone who is perceived as a threat to TFG’s ability to grift or even keep the limelight on himself. And most of them have developed the added wonderful habit of throwing flames at everyone within reach when they are in legal trouble. Can’t wait to see these weak coalitions break down when Smith and his team gets back to work tomorrow.
PaulWartenberg
@RaflW:
There IS a Mainstreet caucus of about 30 or so Republicans who may not be Moderate in the proper sense, but compared to the rabid Freedom Caucus – that is all about burning things to the ground – the Mainstreeters at least believe in having a functioning government to keep their lobbyist buddies well-fed.
There is a possibility the Freedom caucus guys – whatever their gameplan is – so alienates the Mainstreet GOP that the Mainstreet members may not vote on Speaker at all, a procedural move giving it to the Dems instead (Speaker Jeffries). And then all of a sudden, all the GOP dreams of impeaching Biden every day of the week goes out the window.
David Anderson
@HumboldtBlue: Drop me a line — also Cmorenc and Victor M…
WaterGirl
@PaulWartenberg: That would be wonderful. Highly unlikely, but I will cross my fingers anyway.