Infighting Is Funny

“It’s embarrassing and it needs to end now. I’ve said for a long time I don’t want to sit in a room in the basement of the U.S. Capitol and talk about our feelings. I was speaker of the Nebraska unicameral legislature, which, by the way, is officially nonpartisan. It’s like herding cats on methamphetamine. And when I got to …

The Hill reports: House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) dropped out of the Speaker’s race on Tuesday, just hours after the conference nominated the Minnesota Republican for the top job, according to a source familiar. Emmer withdrew his name from the running after a contingent of Republicans made clear they would not back him on the House floor, making it …

“What Donald Trump does now, he is wedded to the teleprompter. He can’t get off that teleprompter, any time he does, he says things like ‘Don’t vote.’ He’s telling people not to vote like we have all the votes we need. Really? “Wait a minute, you lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016. You don’t have all the …

Reuters reports: U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Tuesday chose Tom Emmer as their nominee for speaker, but struggled to line up enough votes to guarantee he could win the job and fill a leadership vacuum that has paralyzed the chamber for three weeks. Emmer, who currently serves as the No. 3 Republican in the House, won the nomination by …

“The first rule of politics is this — never run directly into a tree while kicking yourself repeatedly in the nuts. Republicans in Congress seem to have forgotten this rule. “Two weeks ago, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, along with limelight-seeking compatriots like Representative Nancy Mace, decided it was time to get rid of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. …

“Frankly, I wish — listen, I’ve talked about this — I wish they had a woman candidate out of all the candidates they’ve got running. Somebody like Elise Stefanik or Beth Van Duyne, who had been a mayor of a city before becoming a congresswoman. I think in some ways, given the level of rowdiness and the level of juvenile …

“Dear Wayward Colleague, Your letter of October 20, in which you graciously offer to martyr yourselves as long as you can get your way, is perhaps the most selfless act in American history. We truly don’t deserve you. Your sacrifice is not in vain. You have succeeded in replacing the outdated concept of majority rule with an exciting new standard …

The New York Times reports: In early May, as Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida prepared to run for president, about a dozen right-wing social media influencers gathered at his pollster’s home for cocktails and a poolside buffet. The guests all had large followings or successful podcasts and were already fans of the governor. But Mr. DeSantis’s team wanted to turn …

The Daily Beast reports: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) isn’t happy about the way the Capitol Hill chaos he orchestrated is developing. Seventeen days after he and seven other hardliners voted to boot Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership, Gaetz’s preferred replacement, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), got the same treatment as scores of Republicans voted secretly to kick him off …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has lost a third vote for House speaker. Speaking at a news conference, Jordan said that he hopes to be elected Friday, despite falling short of the majority of votes needed in the full chamber Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, he offered to pause his campaign and support temporarily expanding the powers …

The Washington Examiner reports: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) was slammed on Thursday night by a fellow Carolina Republican as the House remains speakerless with no signs pointing to that changing anytime soon. “We should not go home until we have a Speaker,” Mace posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Less than an hour later, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) responded. …

“With half of those weasels and snakes and pencil necks up there and gutless cowards, what they’re trying to do, brother Jordan, in making you the speaker designee and waiting until January, is to audition you. It’s like a mail-order bride back in, I don’t know, back in the 1870s or something, out West. And they’re gonna put McHenry as …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) will not seek an additional speaker vote Thursday, allowing the chamber instead an opportunity to give Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the temporary speaker, additional powers, according to multiple people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the plan. After two rounds of votes, a group of Republicans had made clear …

“The second effort to replace Speaker Kevin McCarthy just ended in failure. The level of chaos and self-inflicted damage caused by the eight traitorous Republicans who worked with Democrats to sabotage their own party continues. “They claim to be Republicans but have consistently proved they are anarchists. They took the first historic step of vacating the speaker’s chair without having …

“The speaker of the House, this is a total disaster. I’m getting intel, Jordan is getting blocked, the moderates are holding the line and they say the pressure campaign doesn’t work, it is a complete mess right now. There is no spin, there is no BS, I’m not going to sugarcoat it, we might not get a speaker. “And you …

“This has gone on way too long. There are crises across the world and it’s been, frankly, a disaster for Republicans in general. It’s just a bad look. And I think it’s time for Republicans to do what Democrats are so good at — circle the wagons. “If they have disagreements, do it behind the scenes. But don’t take it …

“I think we have the Donald Trump on the teleprompter reading what’s on there and we have the Donald Trump when he gets off that teleprompter – that’s the real Donald Trump. “He attacked Bibi after his country suffered its worst attack in its history. He did that because Bibi congratulated Biden in November. That’s why he did that. He …

Mediaite reports: Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Monday to make the argument that his Republican primary rival Ron DeSantis wears heels. Amid a slew of posts about the conflict in Israel, the Chinese Communist Party, and his legal troubles on Monday, Trump posted three screenshots from DeSantis’ September appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher, with …

The Washington Examiner reports: A group of more than 40 concerned House Republicans penned a letter to their colleagues condemning the eight Republicans who joined Democrats to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Tuesday and calling for “fundamental changes” to the conference structure. The 45 members who signed the letter, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner, said they …

Axios reports: Expectations are at rock-bottom among House Republicans that their civil war will be resolved by the speaker vote on Wednesday, Axios has learned. Some moderates are threatening to tank any speaker if the rules aren’t changed to protect future speakers from single-member motions to vacate. That’s a deal breaker for conservatives. Some conservatives are threatening to tank any …