Infighting Is Funny

Politico reports: Kevin McCarthy’s imperiled speakership bid is threatening to incapacitate Republicans during a crucial planning period, virtually guaranteeing a sluggish start for the new House majority. The GOP leader on Thursday took the unusual step of punting conferencewide races for committee leadership slots until after his speaker election on Jan. 3, a maneuver that could help insulate him from …

“I haven’t talked to Ronna – it’s probably been a couple of years – because I believe she went against me when I was trying to get all the attorney generals to stand up and fix at the Supreme Court level. “And she went out there right away and said, ‘Biden won fair and square! Biden won!’ And I was …

“Our goal was to stop the Biden agenda, win the majority, and fire Nancy Pelosi. We achieved all three of those. “I’ve been leader for four years and all we’ve done is win seats when every other Republican entity has lost during that time. “I do not think at the end of the day that five Republicans are going to …

The Texas Tribune reports: Frustrated with the outcome of the midterm elections, the executive committee of the Texas GOP voted unanimously Saturday to call for new leadership at the national party. By a vote of 62-0, the State Republican Executive Committee passed a resolution saying it had lost confidence in the chair of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel. The …

Mediaite reports: Christian Walker warned a conservative pundit not to trifle with him after blaming the son of Herschel Walker for his father’s failed senate campaign. On Sunday night, Elijah Schaffer — formerly a TV host for The Blaze — got on Twitter and declared that the younger Walker bears much of the blame for why his father’s campaign ended …

Politico reports: There’s trouble brewing in the House GOP’s anti-Kevin McCarthy ranks. The group of conservatives wreaking havoc in the House GOP conference with their challenge to McCarthy’s bid for speaker is facing internal indecision that may hurt its ability to stay united, according to two Republicans familiar with dynamics in the Freedom Caucus. Most of the Californian’s right-flank critics …

Courthouse News reports: The Indiana-based Bopp Law Firm sued outgoing Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn over $193,000 in unpaid legal fees for defense work in a case challenging Cawthorn’s eligibility to seek reelection. They write: “Mr. Cawthorn served as a Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives, is over 18 years of age, and at all times material to this matter …

The Daily Beast reports: Former GOP congressional candidate Kimberly Klacik’s defamation lawsuit against right-wing provocateur Candace Owens, who accused Klacik of being a strip club “madame” who spent campaign funds on cocaine, has been tossed out by a Tennessee judge with prejudice. Not only is Klacik unable to file similar complaints against Owens going forward, but the judge also granted …

Media Matters has the transcript: It is a fact that 200,000 people more or less decided not to show up. OK, 200,000 people said I have something better to do. Now, you might say, Charlie, isn’t it fraud? Well, I’m talking about people who didn’t show up at all. They didn’t check into a voting booth, they didn’t even attempt …

“This is for Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham and the rest of the Republican senators; you guys are the reasons why we are losing Republican races all over the country. “And this is your third loss in my home state. So, let me inform you on behalf of Georgia, this is your third strike and you’re out! “I was never …

“I don’t know if McCarthy will turn out to be the greatest Speaker in American history or the worst Speaker in history. “That can be dealt with after the fact, but right now Biggs is deceiving his constituents, deceiving the American people that he has some plan to go forward. “We’re losing our country. It’s unraveling, and Andy Biggs is …

Mediaite reports: Christian Walker reiterated his disgust with the Republican party — and his father, Herschel Walker — after a Georgia Senate run-off race was declared for Rev. Raphael Warnock. Christian has long been an Instagram influencer, who used his clout to promote Republican politics and was a frequent guest on many Fox shows. But in early October, as news …

“We felt this coming. To me, it never felt like the Senate Republicans wanted this guy in office. He was a Trump pick and they didn’t like that. “We don’t change anything. We have the same people in place in leadership, same people in place apparently at the RNC, perhaps that’s not changing. “But we just keep doing the same …

Axios reports: Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), the former chair of the right-wing Freedom Caucus, on Tuesday announced he is running against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for speaker of the House. Biggs cited instances where McCarthy was disloyal to Trump, such as privately floating censure in the aftermath of Jan. 6 and his initial support for Rep. Liz Cheney …

The Hill reports: Twitter CEO Elon Musk blasted former President Trump’s call to terminate the Constitution over his unfounded claims of mass electoral fraud in the 2020 presidential election. “The Constitution is greater than any President. End of story,” Musk wrote on Twitter, which he has now pinned to the top of his profile. Trump’s post came one day after …

Politico reports: Ronna McDaniel is about to draw a challenge to her post as Republican National Committee chair. Harmeet Dhillon, a RNC committeewoman whose firm represents Donald Trump, is prepping a bid for party chair, according to two people familiar with her planning. Dhillon has been talking with fellow RNC members about a prospective run, and those close to Dhillon …

Politico reports: Rep. Andy Biggs gathered roughly a dozen other Freedom Caucus members for a closed door, hour-long Wednesday meeting in his office with House Parliamentarian Jason Smith, who walked them through rules and process of the speaker vote on Jan. 3, according to two people familiar with the sit-down. Reps. Bob Good and Matt Rosendale attended along with the …

Mediaite reports: Conservative radio host Mark Levin went off on the “bonehead” Congressional Republicans threatening to derail Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) bid to be the next speaker of the House. He then proceeded to name and shame these “five saboteurs,” starting with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). “Oh he’s enjoyable to watch on TV, very clever debater. Utterly useless!” Levin seethed. …

Axios reports: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) warned that Democrats could “end up picking” the next House speaker if his GOP colleagues fail to coalesce around him. “We have to speak as one voice. We will only be successful if we work together, or we’ll lose individually,” McCarthy said during a Monday interview on conservative outlet NewsMax. “This is …

Axios reports: On Monday evening, several Republican senators — facing the Capitol Hill press corps in-person for the first time since news broke of Trump’s dinner — denounced the meeting. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the Republican Whip, told reporters that the dinner is “just a bad idea on every level. I don’t know who was advising him on his …