Month: January 2023

DC bar offers $218 special to become ‘Speaker of the Pub’ amid House drama

Posted on (Updated by Olivia Beavers and Morgan Chalfant

At least one Washington watering hole is capitalizing on the Speaker’s race drama in the House, offering a $218 special — one that comes complete with a gavel.

Union Pub, a bar just a few blocks from the Capitol, is advertising its new “Speaker of the Pub” special.

The $218 price tag is a nod to the 218 votes needed to win the post. On Thursday, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) lost a ninth vote to become Speaker after failing to reach that threshold.

The pub’s politically infused promotion includes two buckets of Budweiser beer, eight shots of whiskey, a bottle of wine and another of “fancy champagne,” a platter of “totchos” — also known as tater tot nachos — and the so-called Speaker of the Pub gavel.

A Union Pub representative didn’t get back to ITK about the specifics of the Speaker-themed grub. But the establishment vowed to offer the pricey, boozy package until “a Speaker of the House is elected!”

It’s not the first time the Capitol Hill hot spot has played off its proximity to political players.

During the House’s 2019 impeachment inquiry into then-President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, Union Pub was one of several D.C.-area eateries that opened its doors early to air the proceedings and offered drink specials. Some of the cocktails featured for the occasion included “Impeachment Please” and “I Got 99 Problems but Impeachment Ain’t One.”

Who is House Clerk Cheryl Johnson overseeing Speaker vote?

Posted on (Updated by Stephen Neukam

House Clerk Cheryl Johnson has taken center stage amid the disarray of Republicans trying to choose the next Speaker, attempting to keep order in the Speakerless chamber.

Because the chamber can’t seat members without a new Speaker elected, Johnson, who has been House clerk since 2019, is presiding over the House, without her usual duties of delivering messages to the Senate and certifying the passage of bills.

However, the House also has not passed rules for this session, giving her few guidelines for enforcing order amid the chaos.

Johnson is a native of New Orleans and earned a law degree from Howard University after receiving an undergraduate degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Iowa. She worked for the Smithsonian for a decade, as its director of government relations, before becoming House clerk.

Johnson, who is the fourth woman and second Black person to hold the role, has presided over six rounds of voting for House Speaker so far and has had to intervene in speeches from members on the floor to keep control of a chamber in the middle of inter- and intraparty battles.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who is the Democratic leader in the House and has had the most votes for Speaker in every round of voting, praised Johnson at a press conference on Thursday.

“I think Cheryl Johnson, who is a historic figure in her own right, is doing a very good job under difficult circumstances,” Jeffries said.

But the Speakership chaos is not the first turmoil that Johnson has seen in her short stint as House clerk. Since assuming the position in 2019, Johnson has witnessed two different impeachment proceedings and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. 

The position of House clerk is elected every two years at the start of a new Congress. Each party nominates a clerk after a Speaker is elected.

Cheers and Jeers: Thursday

Posted on by Bill in Portland Maine

A Fine Quartet Turns 82

A portrait in contrast to the ideology Republicans tried to force on our country two years ago tomorrow: it was on January 6, 1941 when Franklin Roosevelt delivered his famous "Four Freedoms" State of the Union speech. (You can read it and hear it here). While the oft-cited quartet—of speech, of religion, from want and from fear—is timeless, so too is this part of his address, which basically is both the Democratic playbook and the American dream. Here's what the dirty effing Hyde Park hippie bleated:

"The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:

• Equality of opportunity for youth and for others. • Jobs for those who can work.

Continued...

• Security for those who need it. • The ending of special privilege for the few. • The preservation of civil liberties for all. • The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.

January 6, 1941

These are the simple, the basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations.

Many subjects connected with our social economy call for immediate improvement. As examples: We should bring more citizens under the coverage of old-age pensions and unemployment insurance. We should widen the opportunities for adequate medical care. We should plan a better system by which persons deserving or needing gainful employment may obtain it."

He was right—simple and basic things based on decency, compassion and common sense to ensure domestic tranquility and promote the public good. What a perfect contrast to the “ideals” of anarchy and dictatorship that’ll be celebrated tomorrow by Republicans on their new high holy day. I’ll take FDR’s vision, thanks. I just never quite got the hang of knuckle dragging.

And now, our feature presentation…

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Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, January 5, 2023

Note: Today is National Bird Day. Please flip it responsibly.

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By the Numbers:

9 days!!!

Days 'til National Rubber Ducky Day: 9

Days 'til the Lafayette Oatmeal Festival in Colorado: 9

Percent chance that George Santos spent most of yesterday in the House cloakroom so people would stop pointing in his direction and laughing: 100%

Number of women besides Patty Murray (D-WA) who have become Senate President pro tempore: 0

Years since Pennsylvania had two elected Democratic senators: 78

Dept. of Justice conviction rate against the Jan. 6 MAGA insurrectionists: 99.8%

Amount the Avatar sequel has made so far: $1.5 billion

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Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:

Oh boy! Starting the year off briskly, lending it such tone already, such cachet, such je ne sais quoi—those Republicans are so special, aren't they? Their first move, first rat out of the trap, top priority: lower ethics standards. Yessiree, this 2005 is going to be quite a year.

Let's put that to a vote. Many problems before us—Iraq, a Social Security "crisis," a real health care crisis, world terrorism, our international reputation possibly at its lowest ever ... who is in favor of lowering ethics standards first? Who thinks ethics standards in Washington are too high? […]

Now, I'm not going to conclude that Fascism Is Upon Us just because we have an administration that not only can't find the Constitution but apparently doesn't know there is one. Too early in the year for that. Long way to go. Got to save your indignation. But it is unpleasantly reminiscent of Watergate, isn't it? That's what we're looking at here, folks—not just constitutional deafness, but moral turp as well. All we need is one bag job and an alert night security man.

—January 2005

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Puppy Pic of the Day: In Michigan, a "round of appaws" for the Coast Guard…

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CHEERS to fixing up our fixer-uppers. In the most amazing bending of the time-space continuum ever, Joe Biden's Infrastructure Week is nearing the14 month mark. After signing the bill into law in November 2021, he just keeps building and repairing and, to coin a phrase, sciencing the shit out of the stuff America needs to run on. (Contrary to what they claim, it's not "Dunkin'.")  Yesterday our modern-day FDR-LBJ hybrid (minus the wars) visited the midwest, where thousands of illegal Kentuckians have been wading across the Ohio River into Cincinnati in search of a better life. But thanks to the infrastructure law, they'll soon be able to just drive across on—[Cue music from The Price Is Right]—A BRAND NEW BRIDGE!!!

President Joe Biden came to Greater Cincinnati Wednesday to tout a long-awaited Brent Spence Bridge project that he said proves Americans can still get things done if they work together.

Biden bridges the divide.

Speaking in Covington, not far from the 60-year-old bridge that had for years been a symbol of partisan gridlock, Biden praised Republicans and Democrats in Ohio, Kentucky and Washington for setting aside their differences to fix one of the nation’s most important pieces of infrastructure.

"I believe it sends a message, an important message, to the entire country," Biden said of the new law that made the bridge project possible. "We can work together. We can get things done. We can move the nation forward."

Biden was joined by Mitch McConnell, who caused a brief delay when he instinctively stood up and tried to filibuster the ceremony, which continued without incident after two cloture votes and one mega-injection of ketamine.

CHEERS to Republicans in array. It was inspiring, really. And, yes, I realize that I'm saying that as a card-carrying Demonrat, but I thought it demonstrated the best of our democracy that the GOP came together, put their differences aside, compromised, and chose a Speaker of the House yesterday who embodies the values of the entire spectrum of the modern conservative movement. His name is Burt:

He graduated from Harvard, is a Pisces, and likes long midnight strolls on the kitchen floor. He will take no questions at this time.

P.S. Sadly, Burt was intentionally stepped on this morning by Lauren Boebert. Thoughts and prayers. The saga continues.

CHEERS to Democratic bulldogs.  Speaking of speakers, former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill—who coined the phrase "All politics is local"—died 29 years ago today at 81. His 1994 New York Times obituary is an excellent read on retail politics and how Team D can differentiate itself from Team R:

He was a large, joyous, generous-spirited man with a bulbous nose, yellowed white hair that flopped over his forehead and an ever-present cigar. […]

You never saw him and Lt. Frank Drebin in the same room together.

Mr. O'Neill was an old-style politician and proud of it, a House Speaker comfortable with power, who clung to his brand of liberalism long after it ceased to be fashionable, even among his fellow Democrats.

An early opponent of the Vietnam War, Mr. O'Neill took strong positions on many controversial issues. He was the Congressional leader who pushed hardest for the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon and later, as Speaker, put his prestige on the line for Congressional reform. […] To Mr. O'Neill, who spoke of the Democratic Party with near-religious fervor, the party was the one of the cities, the working people, the poor, the needy, the unemployed, the sick and the disinherited. "And no way are we ever going to let them down," he would insist.

Pay your respects here. Bulbously.

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heart warming! pic.twitter.com/2VWFTS1z1X

— ViralPosts (@ViralPosts5) January 2, 2023

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END BRIEF SANITY BREAK

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CHEERS to the Land of Enchantment.  Happy 111th birthday this week to our 47th state: New Mexico!  Not many people know this, but the state's official insect is the tarantula hawk wasp, which apparently flew through the gates of hell to get here:

When a female is ready to lay her eggs, she seeks out a tarantula and injects it with paralyzing venom.

Welcome to New Mexico!

She drags the tarantula to a burrow and stuffs it down the hole, then lays her eggs on top of the paralyzed spider.  Several days later the eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the still living tarantula.

Also: not many people know that the state maintains an army of giant tarantula hawk wasps in an underground bunker in Roswell.  And also not many people know that therein lies the reason for the state's official motto: "What New Mexico Wants, New Mexico Gets."

CHEERS to today's edition of Yup, That'll Do It.  Courtesy of Russia, who for once is probably saying something true:

The Russian military has blamed its soldiers' use of cellphones for a Ukrainian missile attack that killed dozens and fueled a new round of domestic criticism at how the war is being fought. […]

“It is already obvious that the main reason for what happened was the switching on and massive use—contrary to the prohibition—by personnel of mobile phones in a reach zone of enemy weapons,” Gen. Lt. Sergei Sevryukov said in a statement posted on Telegram.

This has been today's edition of Yup, That'll Do It.

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Ten years ago in C&J: January 5, 2013

CHEERS and JEERS to the Mustache of Independence. Three days after being sworn in as Maine's new Senator, Angus King classed up the roundtable on Meet the Press yesterday. Much of what he said made sense, like this:

"It's important to talk about what the debt ceiling really is. The debt ceiling has nothing to do with the future. It has to do with the past. The debt ceiling is allowing us to borrow money to pay money that we've already borrowed. It's as if we spend money on our credit card [and] at the end of the month say, "Well, I'm not going to pay it." And that wrecks your credit."

And he occasionally made me urp my breakfast into my lap:

"Simpson and Bowles are right."

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he means ideologically. But I'm still sending him the bill to get my jammies dry-cleaned.

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And just one more…

CHEERS and JEERS to the speech spankers.  Right on schedule, Lake Superior State University's annual "banished word list" popped up on the scene to give the cable news anchors a "kicker" story over which to hone their phony-chuckling skills. Sure, we're happy to see terms like "GOAT," "absolutely" and especially "It is what it is" on the list. But C&J—thin-skinned as we are—will never shake the bitterness that infused our lives on that dark day in 2005 when they went off the linguistic deep end:

BLOG – and its variations, including blogger, blogged, blogging, blogosphere.  Many who nominated it were unsure of the meaning.  Sounds like something your mother would slap you for saying.

Killing frogs for over 20 years?

"Sounds like a Viking’s drink that’s better than grog, or a technique to kill a frog." Teri Vaughn, Anaheim, Calif.

"Maybe it’s something that would be stuck in my toilet." – Adrian Whittaker, Dundalk, Ontario.

"I think the words ‘journal’ and ‘diary’ need to come back." – T. J. Allen, Shreveport, La.

So, for the eighteenth year in a row (and until they apologize for being such meanies), C&J humbly keeps these four words on our own banished list: Lake Superior State University.

Have a nice Thursday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?

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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial

"Leaving aside the particulars of the current situation, I do find it odd that many people think that Bill in Portland Maine is actually supposed to die in the Cheers and Jeers kiddie pool."

—Atrios

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McConnell holds joint infrastructure event with Biden in Kentucky, infuriating MAGA Republicans

Posted on (Updated by Charles Jay

So where was Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday when the House GOP clown caucus failed once again to get its act together to elect a speaker? In a move sure to infuriate Republican extremists, McConnell made a rare joint appearance with President Joe Biden in Covington, Kentucky, to tout a major project funded by the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in November 2021.

The event offered a sharp contrast to the chaos engulfing the House with the new narrow GOP majority unable to elect a speaker on its second day in control.

Biden began his remarks by thanking McConnell for providing the votes needed to get the infrastructure bill passed according to a transcript of the speeches.

"I wanted to start off the New Year at this historic project with the bi-partisan agreement because I believe it sends an important message to the entire country," Biden said. "We can work together. We can get things done. We can move the nation forward. If we drop our egos and focus on what is needed for the country."

In his remarks, McConnell said, “Even while we have big differences on other things ..  this bridge, I think, symbolizes coming together ... If you look at the political alignment of everyone involved, it’s the government is working together to solve a major problem at a time when the country needs to see examples like this, of coming together and getting an outcome … I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish.”

McConnell had fully expected to take over as Senate majority leader on Tuesday when the new Congress convened. But instead, Democrats ended up increasing their Senate majority by one seat in the midterms.

Unlike his spineless House counterpart Kevin McCarthy, McConnell may realize it's beneficial for party leaders to stand up to rather than appease extremist MAGA Republicans. He has blamed Trump for putting up poor quality candidates like Herschel Walker in Georgia and Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania who lost potentially winnable races that left him as minority leader.

RELATED STORY: McConnell launches mad hunt for whoever whiffed Trump's impeachment then backed his loser candidates

He doesn’t want that to happen again in 2024 when the Senate map favors Republicans. Democrats must defend three seats in states won by Trump—in Ohio (Sherrod Brown), Montana (Jon Tester), and West Virginia (Joe Manchin) as well as in purple states, including Arizona (Kyrsten Sinema, now an independent).

Additionally, Trump has insulted McConnell in posts on his Truth Social platform as an “Old Crow” RINO (Republican In Name Only) and leveled ethnic slurs at his wife, Trump’s former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. And Trump lashed out at McConnell and Chao again on Tuesday on his Truth Social platform in the wake of McCarthy’s failure to win the speakership. Trump is backing McCarthy’s bid for speaker.

“There is so much unnecessary turmoil in the Republican Party,” Trump said, adding that the disorder is due in large part to “Old Broken Crow” McConnell, his wife Chao “who is a sellout to China,” and their “RINO” allies. They “make it difficult for everyone else by constantly capitulating to Hopeless Joe Biden and the Democrats.” 

Of course, McConnell is responsible for much of what ails the nation, including packing the judiciary with Federalist Society conservatives, including three hard-line Supreme Court justices. But McConnell has begun to take a stand against MAGA Republican extremists, even if his actions are too little, too late after he failed to vote against Trump in the 2021 Senate impeachment trial. McConnell incurred the wrath of Trump when he got 18 other Senate Republicans to join him in supporting the infrastructure bill in 2021. In the House, McCarthy opposed the bill, while only 13 Republicans supported it.

RELATED STORY: There are no ‘good’ Republicans, and the sooner that is universally acknowledged the better

He further infuriated MAGA Republicans when he helped the Senate pass the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill in December, including $45 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine, to fund the government in fiscal year 2023.

RELATED STORY: Santos scandal just the beginning of bind that promises to haunt Republicans straight into 2024

On Wednesday, Biden and McConnell appeared together to tout the $1.63 billion in federal grants that Kentucky and Ohio will receive to help repair the overloaded Brent Spence Bridge and build a new span adjacent to it. The bridge over the Ohio River connects Cincinnati and Covington, and is a heavily used freight route connecting the Midwest and the South.

Other speakers at the event included two Republicans, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and former Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, as well as two Democrats, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who is up for reelection in 2023, and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and J.D. Vance of Ohio did not attend the event.

Biden has accomplished much more than expected with Democrats narrowly in control of Congress during his first two years in office. But after the November midterms, Republicans gained a narrow House majority and plan to try to stall Biden’s agenda and launch investigations into his family and Cabinet members.

Conservative commentators were irate about the joint appearance. Mark Levin called McConnell a “total fraud” on Twitter. Laura Ingraham tweeted, “Behold the uniparty!”

On Tuesday, McConnell broke the record for longest-serving Senate party leader whether in the majority or the minority, Politico reported. The record had been held by Democratic Sen. Mike Mansfield of Montana, who served as majority leader for 16 years.

In his floor remarks to open the new Congress, McConnell actually paid tribute to Mansfield: “Mansfield was a canny strategist who knew how to rally his conference. He knew when to go to battle, and when to coordinate with his counterpart Everett Dirksen,” McConnell said. “In short, he knew how to work the Senate.”

In November, McConnell beat back a leadership challenge. Ten senators voted for Sen. Rick Scott of Florida instead of McConnell. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and other senior Biden administration officials will be blanketing the country this week to promote the president’s economic plan. On Wednesday, Harris will be in Chicago and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit New London, Connecticut. On Thursday, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will join White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu in San Francisco, California.

Those visits are related to the following infrastructure projects funded under the 2021 bill: four moveable bridges crossing the Calumet River in Chicago; the Gold Star Memorial Bridge in New London, Connecticut; and the famous Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Here is a video of Biden’s visit to Covington, including the speeches by Biden, McConnell and others. McConnell’s speech begins at the 29-minute mark and Biden’s at the 35-minute mark.

YouTube Video

(Updates throughout with details from the event in Covington, Kentucky.)

Kennedy passes on Louisiana gubernatorial bid

Posted on by By Burgess Everett

Republican Sen. John Kennedy told supporters Wednesday he will forgo this year’s Louisiana governor race and stay in the U.S. Senate.

Fresh off winning a second term as senator, Kennedy said that he decided after deliberating that “at this juncture, I just think I can help my state and my country more in the Senate.”

“I have passed more bills as the lead author than any first-term senator in Louisiana's history, but, to be an effective senator, killing bad ideas is just as important as advancing good ones. I'm going to be very busy doing both,” Kennedy said in the message.

Kennedy’s decision marks the second Republican senator to pass on the race, which is a top Republican pick-up opportunity as Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, is term-limited. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) also considered the race but decided to stay in the Senate, citing his new role as top Republican on the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

Kennedy is generally more conservative than Cassidy and known for his clever quips on Capitol Hill, whereas Cassidy voted to convict Donald Trump in his impeachment trial and emerged as a key Republican negotiator in the Senate. Kennedy is a bit of a thorn in the side of GOP leaders, never holding back if he’s feeling frustrated with his party’s strategy.

Kennedy would have been a formidable entrant. He just won re-election by more than 40 percentage points, avoiding a runoff.

He also previously looked at the 2019 governors race, which Edwards won. Former Sen. David Vitter, who previously held Kennedy’s seat, lost to Edwards in 2015 and retired from the Senate.

Now with an open seat, Attorney General Jeff Landry is the top declared GOP candidate in the race, though more candidates may be on the way. Republicans are bullish about their chances to flip the otherwise red-leaning state, with the anti-abortion Edwards leaving office.

Louisiana is one of three states that is holding an election for governor in 2023, along with Kentucky and Mississippi.

Zach Montellaro contributed to this report.

Posted in Uncategorized

5 Stories From This Past Year That Prove Kevin McCarthy Is Not Deserving of House Speaker Role

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Fox News host Tucker Carlson perhaps summed up yesterday’s chaos in the House the best, explaining why some true conservatives are not willing to vote for Kevin McCarthy as Speaker.

“Kevin McCarthy of California was going to be Speaker,” Carlson said. “But then a group of 20 Republican members stopped him.”

He added, “They stopped him because they decided that Kevin McCarthy is not conservative enough to represent a party that’s just taking back the House from Nancy Pelosi.”

“And they are definitely right about that.”

RELATED: Donald Trump Loudly Backs Kevin McCarthy for Speaker, Blames Mitch McConnell For Chaos in the House

McCarthy, though, has the strong backing of former President Donald Trump. He sports an 88% rating in the current session from the conservative Heritage Action group (though his lifetime score from FreedomWorks is under 70%.)

He even has support from consistently strong MAGA supporters like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

So what is the problem here? Why are 20 other right-leaning Republicans refusing to support his speakership?

“McCarthy is not especially conservative,” Carlson explains. “He is, in fact, ideologically agnostic. He’s flexible.”

And that flexibility has true conservatives concerned that he will be awarded the role and revert back to the all-too-familiar face of a false leader for the Republican message – like the Boehners and Ryans we’ve seen in the recent past.

Or, to revert back to McCarthy from 2012 to 2018, when his Heritage Action group rating was nearly indiscernible from Adam Kinzinger, ranging between 40% and 57%.

With that, we list off five stories from this past year alone that prove Kevin McCarthy may not be worthy of getting a clean vote for Speaker of the House.

Tried to Get MAGA Conservatives Banned From Twitter

In a move that is little different than that of Democrats and the FBI, McCarthy openly pondered the possibility of getting conservatives banned from social media.

Audio surfaced in April of the lawmaker denouncing fellow Republicans – particularly America First Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Mo Brooks (R-AL) – for ‘putting other lawmakers at risk’ with their comments about the 2020 election.

“Well, he’s putting people in jeopardy, and he doesn’t need to be doing this,” McCarthy said of Gaetz for referring to those unwilling to fight the 2020 election results as ‘anti-Trump.’ “We saw what people would do in the Capitol, you know?”

“Can’t they take their Twitter accounts away, too?” the California Republican would later ask.

His words prompted Carlson to denounce McCarthy as “a puppet of the Democratic Party.”

Caught On Audio Discussing Blaming Trump For Capitol Riot

More audiotapes released the following month featured McCarthy describing Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6th riot at the Capitol as “atrocious.”

He would later discuss options such as invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office but ultimately decided it would take “too long.”

“Look, what the president did is atrocious and totally wrong,” McCarthy said of Trump in a call recorded on January 8th.

What Trump did was urge protesters concerned about election integrity to make their voices “peacefully” and “patriotically” heard.

Actively Worked to Oust MAGA Republican Madison Cawthorn, Other America First Candidates

The Washington Post reported in September that McCarthy “worked” previously “to deny (Madison) Cawthorn a second term in office,” saying he had “lost my trust.”

Cawthorn had been endorsed by Trump at the time, but had accused members of Congress of using drugs and inviting him to an “orgy.”

The well-planned targeting by McCarthy didn’t simply focus on Madison Cawthorn. The House Republican leader also sought to keep other MAGA candidates out of Congress.

The Post wrote that Kevin McCarthy and his political machine were working to “systematically weed out GOP candidates” they felt might give him “trouble” as House Speaker.

It was also an effort to eliminate conservative candidates in districts where more moderate candidates were perceived to have a better chance of winning.

Said Before the Midterms GOP Would NOT Impeach Biden

McCarthy, just a couple of weeks before the midterm elections, took a motivating issue for many voters of impeaching President Biden and declared it would not happen.

In an interview with Punchbowl News, McCarthy admitted that should the GOP win back congressional control in the 2022 midterms, they would not pursue impeachment.

“I think the country doesn’t like impeachment used for political purposes at all,” said McCarthy. “If anyone ever rises to that occasion, you have to, but I think the country wants to heal and … start to see the system that actually works.”

He later lamented the fact that Democrats had sought the impeachment of Trump before he took office and suggested the GOP had to be better than that.

“You watch what the Democrats did – they all came out and said they would impeach before Trump was ever sworn in,” he said. “There wasn’t a purpose for it.”

If anything, that means they lowered the bar and that’s the level at which the GOP must fight back. If Trump were President and Democrats controlled the House, do you think they’d pump the breaks on impeachment and insist the country needs to heal?

Pretended He’d Pull Back on Aid to Ukraine

McCarthy announced in late October that when the GOP takes control of the House, Ukraine would no longer be the benefactor of a “blank check” from the United States government.

“I think people are gonna be sitting in a recession and they’re not going to write a blank check to Ukraine,” McCarthy said. “They just won’t do it. … It’s not a free blank check.”

About a week later, allies of the Republican lawmaker were furiously backpedaling on the statement.

“McCarthy was not saying, ‘We wouldn’t spend money.’ McCarthy was saying, ‘We’re gonna be accountable to the taxpayer for every dollar we spend,’” one lawmaker told CNN.

It was an effort, CNN said, to “soothe the House’s senior defense hawks.”

Which is a super-neat way to say he was talking out of both sides of his mouth.

The House will again convene at noon today with a fourth round of voting for Speaker of the House to be likely.

Trump has urged those in opposition to McCarthy’s speakership to “close the deal” and “take the victory.”

With this list of his behavior in recent memory, we’re not sure it would be a great victory.

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Undeniably backed by the Democratic Caucus, Hakeem Jeffries calls out Republican ‘craziness’

Posted on by Aysha Qamar

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is on his way to once again making history with the full backing of Congressional Democrats. In all three roll call votes on Tuesday, Jeffries got 212 votes, at least 9 more than Republican Kevin McCarthy. Jeffries won't cross the vote threshold to grab the Speaker's gavel because Republicans still have an edge overall, but Democrats made it crystal clear that Hakeem Jeffries is the unquestionable leader of the Democratic Caucus. At a press conference on Tuesday, Jeffries showed exactly why Democrats are supporting him in force.

According to NBC News, by securing 212 votes, Hakeem made history as the first Democratic leader to win support from every single member of their caucus since 2007.  Rep. Nancy Pelosi had won unanimous support from her caucus after helping lead the party back into the majority in 2007.

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"We are gonna stay here to get this done. We are unified, and we're all gonna support Hakeem Jeffries for speaker, the lead vote-getter in the last ballot," Rep. Pete Aguilar, the new House Democratic Caucus chair, said of Jeffries’s nomination during the second round of voting.

But while Democrats were unified in voting for Jeffries, Republicans disagreed on who their next leader would be. The House adjourned Tuesday without picking a new speaker since McCarthy failed to win a majority on three ballots. According to CBS News, Tuesday's vote was the first time in 100 years that the House speaker seat remained unfilled after the convening of a new Congress. Additionally, it is also the first time in a century that the Speaker election has needed multiple rounds of voting.

During a speech Tuesday, Jeffries told reporters he is not willing to help Republicans elect a speaker.

“We are looking for a willing partner to solve problems for the American people, not save the Republicans from their dysfunction,” Jeffries said.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said it was a "sad day for democracy" after Republicans failed to choose a House speaker, preventing Congress from beginning its work. Follow @AP's coverage. https://t.co/RJYG9NzmdS pic.twitter.com/I6mCZyMbEx

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 4, 2023

He also nailed his introduction press conference by calling out the lack of organization Republicans have. He noted that while Democrats are “united, present, ready, willing, and able to get things done on behalf of the American people,” Republicans are dysfunctional.

JEFFRIES: The Republican dysfunction is what it is: Chaos, crisis and confusion, along with craziness. That's sad for the American people. They're going to have to figure out a way out of it. pic.twitter.com/jbwqa62SCR

— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) January 4, 2023

Of course, while Republicans like McCarthy insisted to reporters that the party is "unified," the reality of the situation is clear.

"This isn't about me," McCarthy said, according to CBS News. "This is about the conference now because the members who are holding out … they want something for their personal selves."

Nevertheless, whatever reason it may be, Republicans seem to be confused now more than ever while Democrats are ready to make moves.

Jeffries comes with substantial leadership experience. He is not only considered the youngest member to serve as chairman of the Democratic Caucus, but was also part of a select group of lawmakers who were impeachment managers during the Senate trial of Donald Trump.

According to CNN, Jeffries is set to become one of the highest-ranking Black politicians in America, as the country makes history with a record number of Black members of Congress.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) on GOP gridlock in the House Speaker race: "This is who they are: crisis, confusion, disarray. It's unfortunate that that's what the modern-day House Republican Conference looks like." pic.twitter.com/vmNTzLejFT

— The Recount (@therecount) January 4, 2023

Democrats continue to show the country that they are united and able to get things done, and kudos to House Democrats for making that divide very clear.

Morning Digest: Democrats and Republicans unite to elect an independent as speaker … in Pennsylvania

Posted on by Daily Kos Elections

The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, Daniel Donner, and Cara Zelaya, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.

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Leading Off

● PA State House: In a pair of true surprises, moderate Democrat Mark Rozzi was elected speaker of the Pennsylvania state House Tuesday just before he announced that he’d lead the chamber as an independent.

Rozzi, who will be the first non-aligned speaker in the history of the body, defeated Republican state Rep. Carl Metzgar 115-85 after Democratic leader Joanna McClinton threw her support behind him rather than submit her own name. Following that endorsement, the entire Democratic caucus supported Rozzi, while 16 Republicans crossed over to back him. Rozzi’s win comes after two months of uncertainty about which party would lead the chamber, though few observers guessed that the answer would be neither.

Democrats, including Rozzi, won 102 of the 203 seats in the House on Nov. 8, which appeared to set them up for their first majority since the 2010 GOP wave. However, Democrats could only claim 99 members because state Rep. Tony DeLuca was re-elected a month after he died, while fellow Pittsburgh-area Democrats Summer Lee and Austin Davis resigned weeks later to prepare to assume their new roles as congresswoman and lieutenant governor, respectively. Republicans therefore began Tuesday with a 101 to 99 advantage, but no one knew if that would be enough for the party to elect a speaker.

Indeed, a deadlock appeared certain after one Republican joined the Democratic caucus in voting to adjourn during the middle of the day―a tied vote that failed because the remaining 100 Republicans were opposed. Unexpectedly, though, multiple Republicans and Democrats soon nominated Rozzi, whose name hadn’t previously been seriously mentioned. Rozzi prevailed with the support of all of the Democrats and a minority of Republicans, including Bryan Cutler, who had been speaker going into November’s elections.

So, what happens next? First, there will almost certainly be a vacant GOP-held seat before long, as state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver is the favorite to win the Jan. 31 special election for a dark red state Senate district. Culver’s 108th House District supported Donald Trump 65-33 in 2020, but her absence could deny her party a crucial vote in the closely divided lower chamber until a special election could take place. PennLive.com says such a race likely wouldn’t take place before May 16, which is the same date as Pennsylvania's regular statewide primary.

As for the three vacant Democratic constituencies, both parties agree that a Feb. 7 special will go forward in DeLuca’s HD-32, which went for Joe Biden 62-36. In Pennsylvania special elections, the parties, rather than voters, choose nominees: Democrats have selected local party official Joe McAndrew, while Republicans are fielding pastor Clay Walker.

There’s no agreement, however, about when the contests for Lee’s and Davis’ constituencies will take place. That’s because legislative special elections are scheduled by the leader of the chamber with the vacant seat, but there was no speaker between late November, when the last session ended, and Tuesday. That duty, as a result, fell to the majority leader, and both McClinton and Cutler claimed that title in December, issuing dueling writs of election: McClinton set these two specials to also take place on Feb. 7, while Cutler picked May 16.

Cutler filed a lawsuit to block McClinton’s schedule, but the Pennsylvania Department of State is going forward with February specials right now. There’s no question that Democrats will hold Lee’s HD-34, which Biden took 80-19, but the president pulled off a smaller 58-41 win in Davis’ HD-35.

Democrats in the former district have picked Swissvale Borough Council President Abigail Salisbury, who will go up against kickboxing instructor Robert Pagane. The Democratic nominee to succeed Davis is Matt Gergely, who serves as finance director for the community of McKeesport. Local Republicans are running Don Nevills, who lost to Davis 66-34 in November; Nevills himself has said in his social media posts that the special will be Feb. 7.

P.S. Rozzi’s win makes this the second time in the 21st century that Pennsylvania Democrats successfully maneuvered to stop Republicans from taking the speakership. In 2006, Democrats likewise won a 102-101 majority, but one of their members, Thomas Caltagirone, soon announced he’d cross party lines to keep Republican John Perzel on as speaker instead of electing Democrat Bill DeWeese. DeWeese, who was speaker in 1994 when Democrats last controlled the chamber, ended up nominating Republican Dennis O'Brien rather than put his name forward; O’Brien ultimately won 105-97.

Democrats secured a workable majority the following year, and Keith McCall became the party’s first, and to date only, speaker since DeWeese. In a strange twist, DeWeese and Perzel went on to become cellmates after being convicted in separate corruption cases. Incidentally, one House Democrat heavily involved in the plan to make O'Brien speaker was Josh Shapiro, now the governor-elect of Pennsylvania.

Senate

● AZ-Sen: Doug Ducey, whose tenure as governor ended on Monday, said before Christmas he was "not running for the United States Senate" and that "it's not something I'm considering." And just like two years ago, Ducey's fellow Republicans are not taking this seemingly unequivocal statement as final: Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who is another Republican on Donald Trump's shit list, instead told The Hill, "I hope that he'll get in."

Former state Board of Regents member Karrin Taylor Robson, who narrowly lost last year's primary to succeed Ducey, may be more interested in campaigning for the Senate seat held by Democrat-turned-independent Kyrsten Sinema. Vox's Christian Paz writes that Taylor Robson "told me she is not ruling out running for statewide office again," though it's not clear if the former regent said anything about the Senate in particular.

On the Democratic side, Rep. Ruben Gallego released late-December numbers from Public Policy Polling showing a tight race whether or not Sinema runs. The survey found Republican Kari Lake, who continues to deny her loss to now-Gov. Katie Hobbs, edging out Gallego 41-40, with Sinema grabbing 13%. When the incumbent is left out, however, it's Gallego who leads Lake 48-47. The congressman has made it clear he's likely to run, while NBC reported last month that Lake is trying to recruit Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb rather than campaign herself.

The poll was conducted days before The Daily Beast's Sam Brodey reported that Sinema's office had a 37-page guide for staffers that includes tasks that "appear to go right up to the line of what Senate ethics rules allow, if not over." Among other things, Brodey writes that Sinema requires her subordinates perform personal tasks for her, including arranging massages and buying groceries on their own dime, which she later reimburses them for.

The Senate's ethics handbook, though, specifies that "staff are compensated for the purpose of assisting Senators in their official legislative and representational duties, and not for the purpose of performing personal or other non-official activities for themselves or on behalf of others." Sinema's spokesperson told Brodey that "the alleged information—sourced from anonymous quotes and a purported document I can't verify—is not in line with official guidance from Sen. Sinema's office and does not represent official policies of Sen. Sinema's office."

● IN-Sen, IN-Gov: Bellwether Research released mid-December numbers before Christmas for the 2024 GOP primaries for the Senate and governor: The firm previously worked for former Gov. Mitch Daniels, who is a prospective Senate candidate, but a Daniels consultant tells Politico's Adam Wren that this survey was done without his knowledge.

The firm tested out hypothetical Senate scenarios with and without Daniels, who just completed his tenure as president of Purdue University. We'll start with the former matchup:

former Purdue University President Mitch Daniels: 32

Rep. Jim Banks: 10

former Rep. Trey Hollingsworth: 9

Rep. Victoria Spartz: 7

Attorney General Todd Rokita: 7

Someone Else: 6

In the Daniels-free scenario, Rokita leads Banks 16-14 as Spartz and Hollingsworth grab 12% and 11%, respectively.

Spartz herself quickly publicized her own numbers from Response:AI that put Daniels in front with 35% as she and Banks deadlocked 14-14 for second. That survey placed Hollingsworth at 6% while two people who were not tested by Bellwether, 2022 House nominee Jennifer-Ruth Green and disgraced former Attorney General Curtis Hill, took 4% and 2%. Wren recently named Hill, whom we hadn't heard mentioned for Senate, as a possible candidate, though there's been no sign yet that he's thinking about campaigning.

None of the other Republicans tested in either poll are currently running for the Senate either, and Daniels' ultimate decision may deter some of them from getting in. Indeed, an unnamed person close to Spartz told Politico that she may decide not to go up against the former governor: The congresswoman, writes Wren, "declined to comment on that question, but told POLITICO she is seeking a meeting with Daniels before making her decision."

A Banks ally, though, insists his man "won't make his decision based on what others do and I think the poll numbers released by Daniels and Spartz will only embolden him to run."

Bellwether also posted numbers for the GOP race to succeed termed-out Gov. Eric Holcomb:

Sen. Mike Braun: 25

Attorney General Todd Rokita: 9

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch: 7

former Rep. Trey Hollingsworth: 6

Businessman Eric Doden: 3

Someone Else: 9

Braun, Crouch, and Doden are currently running.

Governors

● KY-Gov: State Rep. Savannah Maddox announced days before Christmas that she was dropping out of the packed May Republican primary to face Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.

An unnamed GOP source soon told the Lexington Herald Leader they believed Maddox's departure means that Papa John's founder John Schnatter "could get in the race, since he's got the resources and with Savannah not in the race it could open up a lane." Schnatter, who resigned as board chairman in 2018 after news broke that he'd used racist language, has not taken any obvious steps toward running ahead of Friday's filing deadline.

Self-funder Kelly Craft, meanwhile, is not waiting until the field fully takes shape to go up with the first TV campaign ad of the contest, which the paper says ran for $114,000 from Dec. 27 to Jan. 3. Craft uses the message to tout her roots growing up on a farm in Barren County in the south-central party of the state, and she goes on to tout how she went on to become ambassador to the United Nations. The ad shows photos of Craft with Donald Trump, who is supporting Attorney General Daniel Cameron for the GOP nod.  

● MS-Gov: The Daily Journal reported before Christmas that Secretary of State Michael Watson is indeed considering taking on Gov. Tate Reeves in this August's Republican primary. Watson and other potential contenders have until the Feb. 1 filing deadline to make up their minds, but there's one name we can already cross off. While former state Rep. Robert Foster, who took third in 2019, reportedly was thinking about another campaign over the summer, he announced last week that he'd instead run for a seat on the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors.

● NC-Gov, NC-??: The conservative Washington Examiner relayed in mid-December that former Rep. Mark Walker is considering seeking the Republican nomination for governor or to return to the House after his party crafts a new gerrymander. Walker last cycle campaigned for the Senate even though Donald Trump tried to persuade him to drop down and run for the lower chamber, but he earned just 9% of the primary vote for his stubbornness.

House

● MD-05: Veteran Rep. Steny Hoyer told CNN Sunday that he hadn't ruled out seeking re-election in 2024 even though he's no longer part of the Democratic leadership. "I may. I may," the incumbent said about waging another run.

● MD-08: Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said last week that he'd "been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, which is a serious but curable form of cancer." Raskin added that he was "about to embark on a course of chemo-immunotherapy on an outpatient basis," and that "[p]rognosis for most people in my situation is excellent after four months of treatment." The congressman also said he planned to keep working during this time, and he was present Tuesday for the opening of the 118th Congress.  

● NY-03: At this point in the George Santos saga, his entirely fictional life story is almost beside the point: When he's called on any of his lies, he just lies some more—it's pathological. But that same reckless behavior is also why the new Republican congressman-to-be is in serious legal jeopardy, at the local, state, federal, and, amazingly, international levels. And because of that, he's exceedingly unlikely to serve out a full term. So what happens if he resigns?

In short, there would be a special election, but in a break with past practice, we'd immediately know when it would take place—and it would happen quickly. Governors in New York previously had wide latitude over when to call elections to fill vacant posts, both for Congress and state legislature, and disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo notoriously abused this power, frequently delaying specials when it suited him.

But in 2021, as state law expert Quinn Yeargain explains, lawmakers finally passed legislation to correct this problem, which Cuomo signed shortly before resigning. Now, Gov. Kathy Hochul would be required to call a special election within 10 days of Santos' seat becoming vacant, and that election would have to take place 70 to 80 days afterward. This law has already come into play multiple times, including for two congressional special elections that took place last year.

One thing hasn't changed, though: There still would be no primaries. Instead, as per usual, nominations for Democrats and Republicans alike would be decided by small groups of party insiders. The actual election would, however, be hotly contested. While Joe Biden would have carried New York's 3rd District, which is based on the North Shore of Long Island, by a 54-45 margin, according to our calculations, Republican Lee Zeldin almost certainly won it in last year's race for governor. Santos dispatched Democrat Robert Zimmerman 52-44 after Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi left the seat open to pursue his own unsuccessful gubernatorial bid.

● NY-17: Former Rep. Mondaire Jones told NY1 before Christmas that he was not ruling out seeking the Democratic nomination to take on the new Republican incumbent, Mike Lawler. Jones unsuccessfully decided to run in New York City last year in order to avoid a primary against DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney, who himself went on to lose to Lawler, but he made it clear a future campaign would take place in the area he'd represented. "I've also learned my lesson, and that is home for me is in the Hudson Valley," Jones said.

● VA-04: Jennifer McClellan beat her fellow state senator, conservative Joe Morrissey, in an 85-14 landslide to win the Democratic nomination in the Dec. 19 firehouse primary to succeed the late Rep. Donald McEachin. McClellan should have no trouble defeating Republican nominee Leon Benjamin, who badly lost to McEachin in 2020 and 2022, in the Feb. 21 special election for this 67-32 Biden seat; McClellan's win would make her the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.

● WA-03: Democrats will still have election conspiracy theorist Joe Kent to kick around this cycle, as the 2022 GOP nominee declared before Christmas, "I'm running again in 2024."

● DCCC: House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries announced ahead of Christmas that the new DCCC chair would be Rep. Suzan DelBene, who represents a Washington seat that Joe Biden carried 64-33. Jeffries' decision came weeks after House Democrats voted 166-38 to give the caucus' leader the opportunity to select the head of the DCCC rather than have the chair be elected by the full body. The new rule still requires members approve the choice, and they ratified DelBene two days after she was picked.

Attorneys General and Secretaries of State

● AZ-AG: Democrat Kris Mayes' narrow win over election denier Abe Hamadeh was affirmed after a recount concluded last week, and Mayes was sworn in as attorney general on Monday. The Democrat's margin dropped from 511 to 280 votes; most of this difference came from dark red Pinal County, which said it had initially failed to count over 500 ballots because of "human error." Hamadeh characteristically refused to accept his defeat and announced Tuesday he was "filing a 'Motion for New Trial.'"

Judges

● NY Court of Appeals: Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul nominated Hector LaSalle, an appeals court judge, to fill the vacant post of chief judge on New York's highest court just before the holidays, but her decision was immediately met with fierce resistance by state senators in her own party, 14 of whom have already publicly come out against the choice.

LaSalle, who was named to the Appellate Division by disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014, has compiled what City & State described as one of the "most conservative" records of any appellate judge in the state. Progressives have raised serious alarms over his hostility toward criminal defendants, labor unions, and especially reproductive rights: A group of law professors have pointed to a 2017 decision LaSalle signed on to that helped shield a network of so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" (which try to dissuade women from getting abortions) from an investigation by the state attorney general.

At stake is more than LaSalle's promotion, though: The seven-member top court, known as the Court of Appeals, has for several years been in the grips of a reactionary four-judge majority that has ruled against victims of police misconduct, workers seeking compensation for injuries on the job, and tenants who'd been overcharged by their landlords. Most notoriously, this quartet—all appointed by Cuomo—struck down new congressional and legislative maps passed by Democratic lawmakers last year on extremely questionable grounds and ordered that a Republican judge in upstate New York redraw them.

Leading this coalition was Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, who unexpectedly announced her resignation last year. That vacancy has given Hochul the chance to reshape the court, but instead she's tapped someone who appears poised to continue DiFiore's legacy. But while judicial confirmations in New York are normally sleepy affairs, a large number of senators—who'd be responsible for voting on LaSalle's nomination—immediately denounced the choice.

That chorus of opposition hit a crucial threshold shortly before the New Year when state Sen. Mike Gianaris, a member of leadership, became the 11th Democrat to say he would vote against LaSalle. With 42 Democrats in the 63-member upper chamber but only 28 still open to Hochul's pick, the governor would now have to rely on the support of Republicans to confirm LaSalle. None, however, have yet come out in favor.

There's no definite timeline for confirmation hearings or a vote on LaSalle's nomination, but if Hochul were to withdraw his name, she'd be able to choose from a list of six other candidates vetted by the state's Commission on Judicial Nomination. A coalition of progressive groups previously endorsed three individuals on that list while calling three others, including LaSalle, "unacceptable" (a seventh option was unrated). If instead LaSalle were voted down by the Senate, the entire process would start over again, with the commission once again reviewing potential candidates.

● WI Supreme Court: Judge Everett Mitchell, a progressive candidate for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court this spring, was accused by his then-wife of sexual assault during their 2010 divorce proceeding, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Dan Bice reported on Tuesday. Mitchell was never charged with any wrongdoing and has denied the allegations, while his ex-wife, Merrin Guice Gill said her former spouse "should be evaluated on the work he has done and the work he is doing as a judge" rather than on her past accusations.

However, Guice Gill "declined to say whether she stood by the abuse allegations," telling Bice, "I'm not going to respond to that." During her divorce, Bice writes that she told the court that Mitchell had "undressed her and had sex with her without consent shortly after she took a sleeping pill" in 2007 and also provided documents showing she had informed both her therapist and a police officer about the alleged incident shortly afterwards. The accusations came up when she contacted police about a possible custody dispute involving the couple's daughter, but she declined to press charges, saying that she "was only concerned with her daughter's whereabouts."

Mitchell is one of two liberals seeking a spot on the Supreme Court, along with Judge Janet Protasiewicz. Two conservatives are also running, former Justice Dan Kelly and Judge Jennifer Dorow. All candidates will appear together on an officially nonpartisan primary ballot on Feb. 21, with the top two vote-getters advancing to an April 4 general election. The seat in question is being vacated by conservative Justice Pat Roggensack; should progressives win, they'd take control of the court from the current 4-3 conservative majority.

Legislatures

● AK State House: A judge ruled ahead of Christmas that far-right state Rep. David Eastman's membership in the Oath Keepers does not preclude him from serving in elected office even though the state constitution prevents anyone from holding office who "advocates, or who aids or belongs to any party or association which advocates the overthrow by force or violence of the United States."

Goriune Dudukgian, the attorney representing an Eastman constituent who sued to block him from holding office, said Tuesday his camp would not appeal. No one has formed a majority coalition in the Alaska State House in the almost two months since the election.

● NY State Senate: Democrats learned ahead of Christmas that they'd maintained a two-thirds supermajority in the upper chamber after a judge ruled that incumbent John Mannion had fended off Republican Rebecca Shiroff by 10 votes in his Syracuse-based seat. Shiroff conceded the contest, and Mannion's term began New Year's Day.

● OH State House: While Democrats are deep in the minority in the Ohio state House, the caucus joined with enough GOP members on Tuesday to elect Republican Jason Stephens as speaker over Derek Merrin, who began the day as the heavy favorite to lead the chamber. Cleveland.com's Jeremy Pelzer writes, "Stephens, while conservative, is not considered to be as far to the right as Merrin."

The GOP enjoys a 67-32 majority, so a Merrin speakership appeared likely after he won November's caucus vote against Stephens. Pelzer writes that in the ensuing weeks there were "rumblings since then about some sort of challenge to Merrin," but that "the insurgency to lift him to the speaker's chair only picked up speed starting a few days ago."

Indeed, Minority Leader Allison Russo says Democrats decided just two hours before the vote to cast their lot in with Stephens. Another 22 Republicans joined them, however, which left Merrin with only 43 votes. Russo, whose caucus supplied most of the support for the new speaker, declared that there was "no grand deal," but "there were lots of discussions about things and areas of agreement on issues." She also relays that Merrin spoke to her about getting Democratic support, which very much did not end up happening.

This is the second time in the last few years that the Democratic minority has played a key role in helping a Republican win the gavel over the candidate favored by most of the GOP caucus, though Merrin himself was on the other side of that vote. In 2019, he was one of the 26 Republicans who joined that same number of Democrats in supporting Larry Householder over Speaker Ryan Smith. Unlike four years ago, though, Smith got the backing of 11 Democrats as well as 34 GOP members.

Stephens, for his part, was appointed to the chamber later that year to succeed none other than Smith, who resigned to become president of the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College. The victorious Householder, though, was removed as speaker in 2020 after being arrested on federal corruption charges; Householder's colleagues expelled him the following year, though Merrin voted to keep him in office.

● WI State Senate: Former state Sen. Randy Hopper ended his brief comeback campaign days after Christmas and endorsed state Rep. Dan Knodl in the Feb. 21 Republican special election primary.

Mayors and County Leaders

● Chicago, IL Mayor: The Chicago Electoral Board in late December removed two minor contenders, police officer Frederick Collins and freelance consultant Johnny Logalbo, from the Feb. 28 nonpartisan primary ballot after determining that they didn't have enough valid signatures to advance. However, challenges were dropped against activist Ja'Mal Green, Alderman Roderick Sawyer, and wealthy perennial candidate Willie Wilson, so they will be competing in what is now a nine-person race.

Prosecutors and Sheriffs

● Philadelphia, PA District Attorney: Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court ruled Friday that state House Republicans failed to demonstrate any of the legally required standards for "misbehavior in office" when they voted to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner in November. The order, though, did not say if Krasner's trial before the state Senate, which is scheduled for Jan. 18, must be called off.

Obituaries

● Lincoln Almond: Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Almond, a Republican who served from 1995 to 2003, died Tuesday at the age of 86. Almond, who made his name as the state's U.S. attorney, badly lost the 1978 general election to Democratic incumbent Joseph Garrahy, but he prevailed 16 years later by defeating state Sen. Myrth York in a close contest. You can find much more at WPRI's obituary.

Grab Bag

● Where Are They Now?: Former Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy III was chosen before Christmas to serve as the State Department's special envoy for economic affairs for Northern Ireland. Kennedy, who is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, was elected to the House in 2012 and left to unsuccessfully challenge Sen. Ed Markey in the 2020 Democratic primary.

McConnell breaks Senate record for longest serving leader

Posted on by By Marianne LeVine

Mitch McConnell officially broke the record for longest serving Senate leader on Tuesday.

In his floor remarks to open the new Congress, McConnell paid tribute to the last Senate leader to hold the record: Democratic Sen. Mike Mansfield of Montana, who served as Majority Leader for 16 years.

“This scholarly Montanan was not an exciting idealist who transformed our national discourse, nor a policy entrepreneur who brought to the leader’s role his own sweeping wish list of federal programs,” McConnell said. “Mansfield made a huge impact through a different road: by viewing the role of leader as serving others.”

McConnell’s standing as the longest serving Senate party leader stood in stark contrast to the situation of GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, who on the same day failed to attain the necessary votes to become speaker on a first House ballot. McConnell, meanwhile, achieved his record after beating back his first leadership challenge in November. Ten senators instead voted for Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), following a disappointing midterm performance for the GOP.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a close McConnell adviser, said Tuesday he’s not “surprised at all” about McConnell breaking Mansfield’s record.

“If you’ve read [McConnell's] book, ‘The Long Game,’ this is something he’s wanted to do his whole life,” Cornyn said.

McConnell also commemorated other Senate leaders, including former Senate Republican Leader Henry Cabot Lodge, former Senate Democratic Leader Robert Byrd and former Senate Democratic Leader Lyndon B. Johnson. Mansfield succeeded Johnson as Senate leader.

McConnell said under Mansfield's management of the Senate, “proceedings became more orderly and less theatrical.” And he highlighted Mansfield’s interest in Asia, describing him as a “trusted foreign policy hand.”

"Mansfield was a canny strategist who knew how to rally his conference. He knew when to go to battle, and when to coordinate with his counterpart Everett Dirksen," McConnell said. "In short, he knew how to work the Senate."

The 80-year-old McConnell, first elected Senate GOP leader in 2006, was majority leader from 2015 to the beginning of 2021. During that period, McConnell drew Democratic ire for blocking former President Barack Obama’s 2016 Supreme Court pick Merrick Garland from Senate consideration, in addition to Obama's other judicial nominees. Under former President Donald Trump, Senate Republicans proceeded to confirm three Supreme Court justices, shifting the ideological balance of the court, along with 231 district, circuit court and U.S. Court of International Trade judges.

While McConnell worked closely with the Trump White House on judicial nominees and the 2017 GOP tax cuts, his relationship with the former president soured after the 2020 presidential election. After the Jan. 6 attack, McConnell described Trump as “practically and morally responsible,” but declined to convict him during his second impeachment trial. The Kentucky Republican has since avoided talking about the former president directly.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer congratulated McConnell on breaking the record, during his own floor speech.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us, so I hope we can find some ways to come together and not succumb to gridlock,” Schumer said. “For the good of this chamber and for the good of our country.”

McConnell became the longest serving GOP leader in June 2018, beating out former Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.). He is also the longest serving senator from Kentucky, first elected in 1984.

Posted in Uncategorized

GOP Rep. Fallon set to file Mayorkas impeachment articles once new Congress sworn in

Posted on by Kelly Phares
Republicans have attacked Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his handling of the border, including an incident in which border agents were accused of whipping migrants.