The fallout is continuing following the historic vote in the House to remove Kevin McCarthy as the Speaker. It was a move orchestrated by a small but determined group of Republicans who Democrats happily joined to sew chaos and mischief.
The field of possible replacements for Kevin McCarthy is growing—with a few members of Congress already throwing their names in the ring.
Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, and Kevin Hern have all said they will seek the job in the wake of the far-right rebellion that knocked McCarthy out of the Speakers job—the first time ever in American history.
Florida’s Matt Gaetz, who is rumored to be considering a run for Governor of the Sunshine State, led the attack and delivered a total of eight Republicans along with every single Democrat to make McCarthy the Former Speaker of the House.
So far, those eight have not said who they will support to replace McCarthy—and in fact, Andy Biggs, the Congressman from Arizona, told me yesterday that he is being treated like a pariah and will not tell anyone who he will or will not support because his endorsement is enough right now to keep someone from gaining the gavel.
And make no mistake, there is plenty of anger right now aimed at Gaetz, Biggs, and the rest of the rogue eight who were the demise of the former Speaker—and that anger is certainly not settled yet, with shots still being fired on national television questioning Gaetz’s motives and accusing him of acting in bad faith.
This extends to the eight. As Congressman Biggs told me, he is a pariah right now—but they will need his vote going forward, so I am guessing this, too, shall pass. After all, it’s politics, and as soon as they need a vote for a new Speaker, they will be far more polite. But we are not there yet.
The Democrats are still celebrating the downfall of McCarthy, of course. Not because they think the next Speaker will be any better for them, but because if, for just a moment, it takes everyone’s eyes off the border, the economy of Bidenomics, and all the rest of Joe Biden’s failures that come with putting America last. In fact, Biden’s concern with the House has nothing to do with the debt but rather getting more money to Ukraine.
One of the leading candidates for the job now is Jim Jordan of Ohio, who has long been a favorite of strong conservatives and a guy who might be able to bring all factions together in the Republican Party—at least for a little while.
And like I said to Democrats, do not take too many victory laps because, by this time next week, you can expect a new owner of the Speakers gavel—and if it is Jim Jordan, I will be more optimistic than I was when McCarthy got the job.
Another thing Democrats have failed at—other than the laundry list I give you here daily—is keeping crime under control. We are in about the worst place I have ever seen when it comes to crime in America—and I am hopeful that whoever gets the gavel will make supporting the police and protecting regular Americans from criminals a top issue to deal with.
A Democrat member of Congress was just held up at gunpoint less than a mile from the House of Representatives—and the blue team acts like it’s no big deal. Rather, predictably, they found a way to blame Republicans for the incident.
And why are Democrats always so eager to paint nasty criminals as the victims? Why do they think that property crimes don’t really matter? It must be because it’s not their property, and they don’t really care.
Philly DA Larry Krasner even called the massive thefts acts of “individual justice.”
For some, it has gotten to the point that they fear for their lives. Just two days ago, New York City poet Ryan Carson and his girlfriend were walking home from a wedding after dark when he was savagely attacked and stabbed to death without any provocation.
This is where we are right now.
We had better hope that Matt Gaetz’s move to take out Kevin McCarthy works out for us—otherwise, it might be just a lot more of the same—and that isn’t working for any of us.