Infighting Is Funny

Playbook reports: House Republicans are starting to ask themselves two “what-if” questions surrounding Kevin McCarthy’s fate: 1) If the California Republican gets the gavel, how long will he be speaker? And, if he doesn’t, 2) how does he serve out his remaining days in Congress? On the first question: There’s a consensus among many House Republicans, one that few would …

The Daily Beast reports: In a just-released deposition surrounding Dominion’s defamation lawsuit, the Fox News star said he’d never believed—not “for one second”—baseless election fraud claims stemming from the 2020 election. That stance, directly at odds with many of his primetime segments and the beliefs of many of his closest allies, has put Hannity in an awkward position. Among the …

The Daily Beast reports: Far-right Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has accused Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) of having “crossed a rubicon” after she slammed Republicans who intend to vote against a Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speakership. Responding to Greene’s accusation that he — along with others, including Matt Gaetz, are actively misleading the Republican base by voting against McCarthy—Biggs said: …

Mediaite reports: The most prominent of the five holdouts blocking House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from becoming House Speaker is going on record with who he would like to see get the job. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) — the highest-profile House Republican of the five who say they will not vote for Kevin McCarthy as Speaker under any circumstances, …

The New York Post reports: Per New York magazine, since the 76-year-old Trump’s Nov. 22 dinner with anti-semitic rapper Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago became public, Kushner has ignored requests for “help … for public support, even looking for a response” from his father-in-law’s nascent election operation. Meanwhile, the report added, the 41-year-old Kushner has taken …

The Daily Beast reports: The far right is out to destroy one of their own. Over the past week, far-right pundits have begun lining up to take shots at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) as the congresswoman reportedly vacationed in Costa Rica. As for why fellow extremists are upset? That’s three-fold—and it involves Greene’s vocal support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy …

“Look at Arizona. You’ve had the state party at war with the governor in that state for four years. The two candidates for governor, one wouldn’t endorse the other. “You had one candidate saying, ‘If you’re a McCain voter, get the hell out of my rallies.’ “Then the McCain voters said, ‘Yeah? I’m not gonna vote for you.’” – Ronna …

Gaetz writes in an op-ed for the Daily Caller: How well did Speaker Paul Ryan serve conservatives during then-President Donald Trump’s first term? Are we glad that his tenure got off to a smooth start? It would have been better to have debated and chosen the right leader. Ryan, of course, supports McCarthy. Every single Republican in Congress knows that …

MTG writes in an op-ed for The Daily Caller: The one thing people are sick and tired of from Washington, D.C., is empty promises. Lying to the base is a red line for me, and that’s what five of my closest colleagues are doing when they claim a consensus House Speaker candidate will emerge as they oppose Kevin McCarthy. The …

NBC News reports: The Florida GOP plans to hold a no-confidence vote on Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel next month, a crucial test of the embattled leader’s strength just days before her own re-election. Republican insiders say Florida has deep symbolic importance because it has consistently outperformed the national party in resisting the blue wave in 2018, re-electing Donald …

“What we’re doing now is, I’m going after Dade County in the 2022 election. And everyone says, ‘Well, why would you go after Dade County? This is where Ron DeSantis won Dade County, that’s a Republican won Dade County. “Well, for me, I look at deviations, everybody. That’s a deviation. I don’t believe it. So I want to show, it’s …

Playbook reports: As Kevin McCarthy struggles to nail down the votes to be House speaker, a group of lawmakers has quietly approached No. 2 leader Steve Scalise about running should McCarthy falter, according to multiple GOP members and aides. Their message? “Steve, just be ready,” according to one member currently backing McCarthy who spoke to us late last night on …

The Daily Beast reports: The increasingly hostile MAGA-world battle over whether or not to back Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for Speaker of the House has led to a falling out between onetime BFFs Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). At Turning Point USA’s winter student conference on Monday, Boebert said that her support for McCarthy isn’t …

Politico reports: Since the midterms, RNC members say their inboxes have been clogged with hundreds of emails each week — and the uproar has now turned to the RNC’s spending on events, private travel, luxury accommodations and other expenses in an election cycle that didn’t deliver strong GOP wins. McDaniel’s top opponent is Harmeet Dhillon, an RNC committeewoman from California …

Axios reports: House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy is pivoting to more aggressive tactics to buoy his bid for speaker — beginning with 54 defiant “Kevin Only” statements of unqualified support, provided first to Axios. Some of them say they’re a hard “no” on anyone besides McCarthy — and won’t vote for anyone else on the first ballot or the 100th …

From the Wall Street Journal editorial board: If a Martian arrived in Washington this week not knowing who had won the November election, he’d be forgiven for thinking it was the Democrats. Usually the losers are in disarray, but not this time. Democrats in the House minority have completed a seamless transition to new House leadership with little internal dissent. …

Mediaite reports: RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said she would be willing to debate Mike Lindell and/or Harmeet Dhillon, both of who are challenging her for her job. But she said she would only be willing to do it behind closed doors after she was asked by Steve Bannon if she would participate in a town hall or another public forum. …

“You want to take advantage of having the majority. Remember, this is a presidential year, so you only have so many months to really get out there and govern. “And you want to hit the ground running. Every day you lose, if you lose a quarter, you don’t start strong. So you don’t get new, stronger candidates. “You don’t get …

“I can’t do this anymore. He’s one of the greatest presidents in history, but I gotta tell you – whoever– what business partner and anybody on the comms team and anybody at Mar-a-Lago – and I love the folks down there – but we’re at war. They oughta be fired today.” – Steve Bannon, joined by self-described “hardcore” Trump cultists …

The right wing RedState blog reports: Late last week, RedState was provided a report dated October 7, 2022 that examined RNC’s 2021-22 spending. It calculated more than $500,000 in private jet expenses, $64,000 at clothing retailers, and $321,000 in floral arrangements. Nearly $400,000 has been spent on event tickets and other entertainment activities, including $30,000 for a private box at …