Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), a key ally of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), told the Washington Post that if Republicans can’t agree, he thinks they should go to Democrats to find the votes to elect a speaker.
Said Fitzpatrick: “We can’t be members-elect for two years. The fever’s got to break somehow.”
The House of Representatives will convene at 12 p.m. and attempt once again to elect a speaker.
It’s not at all clear how this plays out.
You can watch on C-SPAN.
Leave your reactions in the comments.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told Fox News that Donald Trump’s re-endorsement of Kevin McCarthy for speaker has not swayed his vote.
Said Gaetz in a statement: “Sad! This changes neither my view of McCarthy, nor Trump, nor my vote.”
President Biden called the fight unfolding in the race for House speaker “embarrassing,” Politico reports.
Said Biden: “With regards to the fight over the Speaker… that’s not my problem. I just think it’s a little embarrassing that it’s taking so long.”
Josh Hudder: “McCarthy’s opponents have neither identifiable policy preferences nor specific demands. He has to buy them up individually.”
“That takes (1) time; and (2) more time. and (3) lots of promises.”
John Cassidy: “The irony is that McCarthy had already prostrated himself before the ultras, offering them a series of rule changes, one of which would allow just five representatives to force a vote on ousting the Speaker. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties failed. It is the essence of a revolution, especially one staged for social media and Fox News, that the revolutionaries cannot be bought off by members of the corrupt establishment…”
“This gradual substitution of theatric self-promotion for serious politics has been ongoing ever since Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America, and Tuesday’s events merely represented its logical culmination: a newly elected House Republican majority reduced to a rabble incapable of performing the basic function of selecting a leader.”
Punchbowl News confirms that House Republicans will try to adjourn the chamber until tomorrow, forgoing speaker votes today.
House Democrats will whip against this motion, so Republicans will have to carry this adjournment vote on their own.
CNN: “McCarthy and his team are fearful that if they go to a fourth ballot they could lose more votes, something that could undercut their claims of regaining momentum. That is why they have discussed adjourning the House until tomorrow — but to do that, they need 218 votes, which they don’t have.”
“They’re like children. This is such a childish attempt at gaining attention… This is about petty, personal issues that they have, or petty attempts to gain notoriety. It’s unbelievably frustrating and they should be held accountable for it by the American people.”
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), quoted by CNN, on the 20 Republicans who refuse to back Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for speaker.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) downplayed the idea of Democrats working with moderate Republicans to support a unity candidate for speaker,” Punchbowl News reports.
Said Aquilar: “We would look at that, but I haven’t seen any proof that Republicans are willing to engage.”
Former Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) said the idea of his serving as Speaker is “an intriguing suggestion,” and he’d be willing to do “to put an end to the dysfunction that is doing damage to the country,” according to the Detroit News.
Said Upton: “I would need Democrats. I could get a significant number of Republicans.”
Punchbowl News: “It seems possible that House Republican leadership may try to avoid a speaker vote today and adjourn until either later today or Thursday.”
“House Democrats would oppose this motion, party leaders announced this morning at their caucus meeting, so Republicans would have to pass it themselves.”
Charlie Sykes: “Historians should note that the party that lost control of the House brought popcorn to the ceremony. The party that ‘won,’ blew itself up. And then did it again. And again. And then left for a night of pizza, bitterness, and recriminations.”
“Meanwhile, the MAGA crackup accelerated as crackpots fought with nihilists, wingnuts pointed fingers at extremists, and grifters started slap-fights with one another.”
The Guardian: “His PACs and committees boast a war chest of about $95m, enough to give pause to the Republican candidates jockeying against him. But a scratch beneath the surface reveals a different reality. About $78m of the $95m cannot be directly used for Trump’s campaign.”
“What’s more, there’s evidence the small-dollar donor stream that fueled his past runs is drying up. Some high-profile mega-donors have fled.”
Evan Coren: “In the 2022 midterms a swing of only 6,647 votes combined across the closest House races would have resulted in a Democratic majority in the House.”
“That is 6,647 votes out of over 107 million votes cast in the 2022 midterm. Meaning a movement of 0.006% of votes would have changed control of the House.”
“Due to those 6,647 vote we ended up with the current House Republican majority that is unable to unite around a Speaker.”
“Democrats and more than a dozen Republicans threw their support behind a consensus candidate for speaker of the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday, a surprise move some lawmakers said would help bring unity to the state capital,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
“House lawmakers elected Rep. Mark Rozzi speaker of the House, elevating a veteran Democratic lawmaker from Berks County who said Tuesday he would govern as an independent. Some Republicans backed Rozzi even though the GOP currently holds a slight majority in the House.”
Chris Orr reviews the last four GOP speakers:
And that’s leaving out Bob Livingston, who was designated to become speaker after Gingrich but resigned once his extramarital affair became public.
This is the job Kevin McCarthy is willing to be publicly humiliated for.
“You’re supposed to throw the grenade after you pull the pin. They pulled the pin and passed the grenade around!”
— James Carville, on MSNBC, explaining the inability of Republicans to elect a speaker.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.