Latest news and live updates on the House vote on whether to oust Kevin McCarthy. The vote was prompted by a motion by Matt Gaetz after government funding disagreements.
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin called today’s vote to oust McCarthy a “sad day for our country” that sends a negative message to the rest of the world about American democracy.
-Said a douchebag who spent years obstructing progress.
Perhaps. But consider Speaker Jordan. McCarthy may be a jellyfish who had no business wrapping his tentacles around the House gavel, but he at least tried to slither across the aisle on occasion.
He's like the swing vote guy, or one of them. Votes against party policy.
Summary of voting record: opposes big business, environmental protection, financial sector regulation, gun control,
hawkish foreign policy, foreign and humanitarian aid, taxing the middle class, military spending, domestic surveillance. Supports taxing businesses, restrict money in politics, consumer protection, disaster relief, funding education, public health, labor rights and wages, lgbt rights, internet freedom, a robust safety net, higher spending, women's rights.
He's the dem senator from west Virginia. He's a coal barron we put up with because if he lost a Republican would most likely take his seat. He's the Senate's kingmaker
Democrats this morning were shown a clip of McCarthy on CBS over the weekend trying to blame them for shutdown chaos, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., said, calling that a clarifying moment for those in the party who might have voted to save him. McCarthy's decision to blame Democrats on TV this weekend was "one of the most crushingly stupid things somebody could do on the eve of your survival vote," he told NBC News this afternoon.
I saw that interview clip - the reporter actually started laughing when he tried to blame the Democrats. It really was a stupid thing to say.
The Democrats were discussing working with him. Then he basically told them to fuck off with that interview. So he lost with 8 republican votes. Such bad strategy. It just makes you think, aren't you supposed to be a politician. You ever politiced in your whole life?
I guess this is the kind of stupid, horrible strategy you can expect from the current Republican party. They don't have to make deals are negotiate. Their entire platform is scream Democrats bad.
He was trying to throw the democrats under the bus because the threat from Gaetz was that he was working with the Democrats. But he forgot the Democrats aren’t complete pushovers, just mostly pushovers, and ended up falling under the bus instead.
He eas trying to get the most radical reps back by showing "hey i am one of you, i also wanto to own the libs" But fascists hanging their own to try if they are not radical enough is a story as old as fascism.
He desperately wanted to be speaker. He was pissed off when it took him many votes to get the role, actively negotiating for the job he should've been a shoo in for.
Then even once he had it, he was doing anything he could to appease the freedom caucus, including the unilateral impeachment investigation and the shutdown threat.
In averting the shutdown he essentially resigned, but at that point he was a broken man who was tired of selling his soul to appease the far right. Lets not act like he didn't do everything's short of shutting down the government to avoid this.
Speaker is usually end game. For politicians who want it, that’s where their career peaks. Party leaders pretty much always end up unpopular. That’s why Paul Ryan was reluctant to do it and now his career is tanked. John Boehner is a full time lobbyist now. Pelosi will probably never leave Congress.
But no one has ever wanted to be speaker more than Kev. He’s not really smart or popular enough to get any higher anyway. The fact that such a dim witted sad sack got as high as he did is a miracle by itself.
Remember this is the same McQarthy who chose to kiss orange ass at every opportunity he got. He was given so many opportunities to do the right thing but deliberately chose to be an asshole and pack all the committees with Nazi caucus members. He did everything he could to push extreme right wing lunacy and kill bipartisanship.
Now the same Qevin turns around and makes a pikachu face why Dems didn’t save his sorry ass.
K-Mac was also the dude that said on the floor that Putin pays Trump and Dana Rohrabacher. Yet he continued to side with them, after Dead Eyes Paul Ryan told him to keep that info in the family.
Kevvy pooped in his bed and was surprised he woke up covered in shit.
K-Mac sounds a budget version of a Big Mac except somehow you have convinced yourself you a have a 50 % chance of getting dysentery and the other 50% is that it won't give you dysentery. Yet every time, you have a K-Mac...you get dysentery.
I get that Dems are enjoying seeing the Republicans seem to fail, but I get the feeling this is going to turn out horribly. We’re going to see Speaker Jim Jordan or Matt Gaetz and the country will suffer for it.
Highly unlikely. Freedom caucus will not get the speakership. GOP hates them more than McCarthy. Gaetz didn't think this through. The only option is more of the same or somebody more friendly to the Democrats.
The freedom caucus can block any nominee they want, and Republicans have made it clear they won’t accept someone that wants to work with Dems. It took 15 votes to get McCarthy as it was. I am not hopeful.
I can’t shake the bad feeling that the timing is going to be a real problem once shutdown time rolls around here in less than 40-ish days. What if we don’t even have a fucking speaker at all by then??
There is the possibility that Dems coordinate a vote with the not-Freedom Caucus GOP to elect the least disagreeable candidate, though…
Call me old and cynical but I see the inevitable conclusion of this game that the conservatives have been playing being a civil war. This is what they are pysnigb for, this is what they want.
The reason they want this is because, well, they are extremist Christian terrorists and they're plain evil. Dunno how else to say it. They don't want gays to have any rights, they want gays converted or dead. They don't want trans people to have rights and have a remote shred of happiness, they want them dead. They don't give a shit about abortion, they want more babies in poor and breken families who are easy to manipulate into voting for them. Hell, they don't want democracy, they want a theocracy.
They watched the handmaid's tale and thought they were watching an awesome documentary. It contains all the elements that gets them hard; being able to force their religion upon others, being able to control others, rape others...
Imitgt be having a tinfoil hat on right now but I see these extremists come up with a document that wants to do away with democracy and have an all powerful president dictator, that outlines a plan to prohibit porn and even simply books that talk about transgender issues and jail anyone who produces or possesses such evils...
These are not nice people, at this point I think it's safe enough to say that these are dangerous terrorists
I think the US is in much bigger trouble than most people see
For the voters you maybe right. For the leaders, follow the money... It's as simple as wealth and power.
Keep us "plebs" fighting on stupid shit so we don't eat the rich. Terrorism recruiting strategy 101. Get people addicted to hate so it can be channeled against the opposition.
You sound like Marjorie Taylor Greene lol. Things are nowhere as bad as you are projecting, we are all literally laughing at the Republican party (Republican party included).
If anything, this whole ordeal probably just saved us from going to civil war because it showed the country how dangerous this type of MAGA thinking in just 8 representatives can be.
I've seen many rather too prominent R party members talking casually about civil war. If that doesn't at least make you frown then I think you might be a bit naive. Hitler too was a funny guy until he suddenly burst on the world stage. Trump too was laughed at a year before he was president
As it stands the GOP seem unlikely to be able to elect a speaker.
Speakers provide a list of people to become temporary speaker in case of emergency, so upon McCarthy's ouster rep. Patrick McHenry became speaker pro tempore. Speakers pro tempore have only the authority to gavel sessions in and out, and to conduct votes for a new speaker.
Basically McHenry's first act with the gavel was to order Pelosi out of her offices. What an asshole
I'm no fan of hers, but jeez McHenry... let's see, what's more important: try to get the House back on track, or engage in petty, vindictive partisan bullshit?
I'm glad the House passed that CR, though I'm not sure they'll have a new speaker before it runs out.
Apparently some of the Republicans are talking about nominating Trump as speaker. The speaker doesn't technically need to be a member of congress. I wonder if there are enough anti-Trump republicans in the House to block that. If it's a close vote and certain congress people block Trump, they could get a mountain of hate.
They didn't even contemplate the House Speaker being in the Presidential line of succession. Which is the reason they want to put Trump there. Not that it would work; they'd have to remove both the President and Vice President at the same time, and the Senate ain't going to do that.
Yes, but if Trump is on board, can you imagine the mountain of hate mail and death threats those 3-4 would receive? Would they have the guts to accept that consequence?
Making Trump speaker would be a major national security risk to Biden and Harris. Gives way too many lunatics big ideas is there's a direct benefit to their movement. Not to mention it WAYYY to closely mirrors the arc of Hitlers rise. Failed coup attempt, followed by taking on a secondary post a few years later.
He spent the last week daring Gaetz to file the motion, and once it happened, that was it? No political maneuvering or deal making? Just let the chips fall where they may?
Anyone know who are the 5 most liberal republicans in the house are and if they want to just come over to the side that wants to govern?
Edit: According to a list I found online, those would be:
-Fitzpatrick, Brian (PA-1)
-Van Drew, Jeff (NJ-2)
-Lawler, Mike (NY-17)
-Chavez-DeRemer, Lori (OR-5)
-Smith, Chris (NJ-4)
If anything this is proof that all that spying the alphabet bois are doing isnt actualy to protect anyone. If it was everyone being bribed by putin would already have been charged with treason.
He wanted to keep things running about as much as any other Republican. He was literally blaming Democrats when shutting down the government is pretty much a normalized annual thing from the Republicans at this point.
republicans are winning and winning and winning.
maybe the biggest winners in history. they will keep on winning so much...like they will ask to stop the winning on weekends. else would just be too much winning.
I don't know about other people but I am hooked into this story and I don't totally understand why. Been much better about avoiding US politics but this and the indictments are occupying me.
I don’t know about other people but I am hooked into this story and I don’t totally understand why.
Well looking in from outside it just is really funny to see the Republicans fight against them self. But that's much easier when I don't have to suffer from their incompetence.
This is the title that NBC put when I shared it. It was the title of the post at the time of sharing. I see now that they've removed the portion that says "pushed by conservatives". Is that the part that you would like me to amend?
So keep someone horribly damaging and untrustworthy around because things could get worse? Sounds like a cowards/defeatist mindset, you should always strive for better and removing those who do damage.
The Speaker is ultimately a mouthpiece for the party. Speakers do not advance a personal agenda, they do what the "majority of the majority" wants them to do. The new Speaker will be no different in that regard.
However, a Speaker is also the point of contact for the opposing party. A Republican Speaker can disagree with Democrats about literally everything, but they shouldn't lie to Democrats, renege on deals, etc. If nobody can trust you, then you are worthless as an intermediary. So McCarthy was among the worst possible people for the job.
Damn. I guess the gop speaker will never compromise with the dems ever again.
EDIT: I meant in the context of the bill that mccarthy passed on Saturday with the help of the dems. Any new speaker will be very wary of pissing off the gaetz crowd.
McCarthy almost did the right thing by letting the funding bill come to the floor, but it also stripped Ukraine funding and was a can to kick things down the road giving us only 45 days till we're in the same spot. He could have also offered consessions to the Dems for their vote, which he refused to do. Add to that what is a literal witchhunt of an Impechment inquiry, why do you think the Dems should have saved him?
Refusing to cooperate with Democrats is what sank him.
He needed support from Democrats to keep the Speakership. He's spent the entire year giving them no reason to trust him -- including going on the Sunday shows this week knowing this vote was coming and trying to blame Democrats for the near shutdown.
Ah, ok that makes sense now. I hadn't really kept up on dem/mccarthy relations. I was referring to the new leader being afraid to piss off the gaetz crowd by working with Dems even once.
McCarthy knew that a government shutdown would have pissed off even more Republicans in Congress, including all of those in vulnerable districts.
For example, Boebert's district. Notice how for once she didn't vote alongside Gaetz? Behind closed doors, there were plenty of Congressional Republicans telling McCarthy that making make a deal with Democrats was preferable to a politically suicidal shutdown.