Congress is back in session and the House Republican Conference is already launching itself into the sun. All because of the Corrupt Bargain. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made a deal with the MAGA table and now they’re out to topple his homecoming king crown. The Corrupt Bargain Republicans have never pretended to be interested in actually governing, as evidenced by their baseless, evidence-free, politically motivated impeachment inquiry, and their complete meltdown over *checks notes* passing a budget. What are they doing instead? They’re picking on each other like they’re in high school:
- First, Rep. Victoria Spartz issued a statement opposing a government funding deal that called Kevin McCarthy a “weak speaker.” Then, McCarthy called Spartz a quitter. Then, Rep. Matt Gaetz said McCarthy was “disgraceful” for what he said about Spartz. Then, McCarthy essentially told Gaetz he was rubber and Gaetz was glue. Then, Gaetz went on conservative TV and called McCarthy “reckless,” “unhinged,” “rattled,” and a “misogynist.” In response, Rep. David Joyce said the only thing Gaetz had accomplished in Congress was “running his mouth.”
- That’s not the only fight Gaetz got into this week. He picked on his own ally, House Freedom Caucus Member Rep. Byron Donalds, essentially calling him a nerd for working with other Members to negotiate a government funding measure – a deal that imploded immediately. Rep. Nancy Mace also went on Fox News to say she was “very unhappy” with the job that Kevin McCarthy was doing.
- To top it all off, former President Trump called on House Republicans to “defund all aspects” of the federal government he claimed were “weaponized,” and that it was their “last chance” to “defund these political prosecutions” against him. We all know who’s really running the show here.
Other Members said YOLO and were completely honest about the GOP meltdown:
- Senator Lindsey Graham: “It’s a shitshow in the House. It’s always a shitshow in the House…eventually, what’s going to happen is a government shutdown, [and it] will not go well for us.”
- Rep. Steve Womack: “It’s an unmitigated disaster right now on the majority side.”
- Rep. Mike Simpson: “We’re being dragged around by five people, when 200 of us are in agreement.”
- Rep. Don Bacon: “Some of these folks would vote against the Bible because there’s not enough Jesus in it.”
Finally, yesterday, McCarthy called it quits after failing twice this week to pass a funding bill. How embarrassing. It’s not just House Republicans causing chaos over funding the government either. Just last week, Senator Ron Johnson torpedoed a bill that had near unanimous support in the Senate. The Corrupt Bargain is contagious.
Meanwhile some House Freedom Caucus members are already picking out new curtains for McCarthy’s office. Someone left Regina Gaetz’s very own Burn Book in the bathroom. No one knows who left it there, *wink*, but a reporter found a draft resolution on a baby-changing station in a bathroom under the House floor that would seek to remove McCarthy as speaker. Rep. Dan Bishop isn’t being shy though, he said he had a name in mind to replace McCarthy as speaker and that others agreed with him.
What next? Will McCarthy set up a stage in the gym from which Members can read their government funding proposals and then trust fall into their colleagues? With all of this dysfunction House Republicans should focus on keeping the government open instead of wasting time and taxpayer money on baseless impeachment stunts just two days before the funding deadline.
Facts First Co-Chair David Jolly Says House Republicans Are Imploding From Their Own Corrupt Bargain And Not To Feel Bad For Speaker McCarthy
Huffington Post: “Ex-GOP Lawmaker Has Blunt Message For House Republicans Who Feel ‘Embarrassment'”
MSNBC (Video): “‘Don’t Feel Bad For Kevin McCarthy’: David Jolly Slams McCarthy Ceding Power To Radical GOP Fringe”
Facts First Co-Chair David Jolly Said No One Should Feel Bad For House Speaker McCarthy And Said House Republican Embarrassment Was Their Own Doing By Being Part Of McCarthy’s Corrupt Bargain With Hardliners. “Former Rep. David Jolly (R-Fla.) has no sympathy for Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and any Republicans who helped him become House speaker. Jolly, who left the Republican Party in 2018, weighed in on McCarthy’s current dilemma after the speaker capitulated on a Joe Biden impeachment inquiry to far-right Republicans who eventually backed his drawn-out bid for the leadership role. Speaking to MSNBC’s Joy Reid, Jolly observed that Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and ‘even Kevin McCarthy, who allows all of this,’ are really ‘carrying the heartbeat of today’s Republican Party.’ ‘And you realize, it really is an embarrassing club to be considered a member of,’ he said. ‘Right now, however, Matt Gaetz, kind of the leader of that club, has Kevin McCarthy exactly where he wants him,’ he continued. ‘I don’t think we should feel bad for Kevin McCarthy, because he has created this moment.’ ‘And if there are Republicans in the caucus tonight who feel embarrassment, you created it too,’ he added. ‘Because you elected Kevin McCarthy speaker under this corrupt bargain that he struck with Gaetz and others.’” [Huffington Post, 9/19/23]
House Republican Members Turned On Each Other And Showed They’re Completely Incapable Of Responsible Governance
Politico: “House GOP In Open Warfare Over Doomed Spending Plan”
- Punchbowl AM Reported That House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Had “Caved On Every Policy Hardliners Wanted” And, Acknowledging The Power Is On The Right, McCarthy Gave Them What They Wanted “As He Has Throughout This Congress.” “Then McCarthy let lawmakers talk … and talk and talk. Rank-and-file members felt as if they were heard. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), probably McCarthy’s biggest irritant, said the speaker could never pass a CR — even after the California Republican had caved on every policy hardliners wanted. This, in the leadership’s view, helped further isolate Gaetz and his anti-McCarthy cause. It was imperative for McCarthy to reassert control of the situation after a brutal few days, and, to some degree, he did that. McCarthy acknowledged where the power was — on the right — and gave them what they wanted. As he has throughout this Congress.” [Punchbowl AM, 9/21/23]
CNN: “GOP Lawmaker Blasts McCarthy In New Blistering Statement”
The Hill: “Gaetz Calls McCarthy ‘Unhinged,’ Accuses Him Of Misogyny”
Huffington Post: “’It’s A S**tshow’: House GOP In Open War With ‘Weak’ Speaker Kevin McCarthy”
The Hill: “GOP Senators Alarmed By Chaos Over House Spending Bills”
Politico: “McCarthy Scrambles: House Punts Key Vote As Rebellion Rages”
Axios: “Spending “Clown Show” Ignites House GOP Discord”
CBS News: “McCarthy Faces Seemingly Impossible Task Trying To Unite House GOP And Avoid Government Shutdown”
The Guardian: “House Republicans Cancel Vote On Short-Term Funding Measure Amid Infighting – As It Happened”
The Atlantic: “Why Republicans Can’t Keep The Government Open”
Daily Beast: “McCarthy Capitulates Again As House GOP Implodes Spectacularly Over Spending Bill”
Huffington Post: “Shutdown Prospects Grow As House GOP Fumbles Defense Funding Bill”
Washington Post: “House Flounders As GOP Fails To Appease Hard-Right Members On Funding”
Washington Post: “Tyranny Of Extreme Minority: House Traditions Allow Just A Handful To Dictate Agenda”
TIME: “GOP ‘Civil War’ Over Spending Bills Threatens To Shut Down The Government”
Bloomberg: “McCarthy’s Plan To Avert US Government Shutdown Faces Backlash From GOP Hardliners”
Vanity Fair: “Kevin McCarthy Is Getting Desperate As Government Shutdown Looms”
New Republic: “Kevin McCarthy Has (Once Again) Lost Control”
Axios: “Trump Lobs New Grenade Into GOP’s Government Shutdown Debate”
- Former President Trump Called On House Republicans To “Defund All Aspects” Of The Federal Government In Order To Protect Him From “Political Prosecutions.” “A very important deadline is approaching at the end of the month. Republicans in Congress can and must defund all aspects of Crooked Joe Biden’s weaponized Government that refuses to close the Border, and treats half the Country as Enemies of the State. This is also the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots. They failed on the debt limit, but they must not fail now. Use the power of the purse and defend the Country!” [Truth Social, Donald Trump, 9/20/23]
Reuters: “Shutdown Looms As US House Republicans Again Block Own Spending Bill”
New York Times: “Right-Wing Rebels Block Defense Bill Again, Rebuking McCarthy On Spending”
Associated Press: “Kevin McCarthy Waves White Flag On Spending, But Right Flank Delivers Another Blow To Republican Speaker”
Politico: “Republican Holdouts Defy Leaders To Tank Defense Bill — Again”
CNN: “House GOP Leaders Sending Members Home For The Week Amid Deep Divisions And Looming Shutdown”
Intelligencer: “Republicans Left A Motion To Remove Kevin McCarthy In A House Bathroom”
Daily Beast: “Somebody Left A Motion To Remove Kevin McCarthy As Speaker In House Bathroom”