Top Items:
John F. Harris / Politico:
After Another Failed Vote, McCarthy's Speaker Bid Is Starting to Look Pathetic — Just two months ago, when Republicans underperformed historical trends in the midterm elections and a bunch of extremist candidates lost winnable races, the consensus view among many commentators …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Hill, Mediaite and Fox News
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Brady Knox / Washington Examiner:
Karl Rove: House speaker saga is an ‘unmitigated disaster’ for Republicans — Former White House adviser Karl Rove predicted that the inability of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to secure the speakership is likely just the beginning of the chaos. — McCarthy's worst fears came true Tuesday …
Tara Palmeri / Puck:
We Need to Talk About Kevin — News and notes on the local political tragedy under the dome. — Yes, it was supposed to be bad for Kevin McCarthy, but not this bad. — As anyone who has been reading my dispatches since September well knows, McCarthy's speakership only ever seemed fully …
Discussion:
USA Today, Semafor, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Breitbart, New Republic, Fox News and CNN
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: How long can McCarthy hang on? — Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross — DRIVING THE DAY — So how does this end? And how long will it take to end it? — Those are the questions towering over the new House Republican majority …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NBC News, Axios, Semafor, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, KRON4, ABC7 and Associated Press
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
Speaker Fight Reveals a Divided and Disoriented House Majority — In failing to coalesce around Kevin McCarthy for speaker, Republicans showcased divisions that portend real difficulties in governing. — WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Tuesday began their new majority rule with a chaotic …
Discussion:
The Hill, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, New York Daily News and Reuters
David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
Kevin McCarthy's Loyalty to Trump Got Him Nothing — High-level politics is fundamentally about dealmaking. You can't succeed as anything more than a back-bencher if you aren't willing to make a deal with almost anyone on almost anything. In Faust, a deal with the devil is fatal; on Capitol Hill, it's how you survive.
Politico:
Biden world both humored and terrified by McCarthy meltdown — Staff throughout the West Wing wouldn't cop to watching live coverage of Rep. Kevin McCarthy failing to get enough votes to become speaker of the House. But, to a person, they were more than aware of the fiasco that was unfolding …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, Fox News, New York Post, Washington Times and Political Wire
Amy Gardner / Washington Post:
All but two McCarthy defectors in House are election deniers — The tally reflects the degree to which Republicans who reject or question the 2020 results dominate the GOP caucus — All but two of the 20 Republican House members who voted against Kevin McCarthy for speaker …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Mediaite, Washington Times and Vox Dextra
Erin Doherty / Axios:
What happens if there's no House speaker — The longest House speaker election in history spanned two months and took 133 ballots — providing a warning sign for the 118th Congress. … - Members of the 118th Congress can't be sworn in, the House can't set rules to govern itself …
Discussion:
IJR, Just The News, PoliticusUSA, New York Daily News, The Daily Caller, Sky Dancing, Bloomberg, KTLA and Today's Edition Newsletter
Punchbowl News:
1/4/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM … THE HOUSE WILL GAVEL IN AT NOON. IF THERE'S BEEN PROGRESS TOWARD A DEAL, GOP LEADERS WILL MOVE FOR ANOTHER VOTE FOR SPEAKER. IF NOT, THEY WILL NEED TO TRY TO ADJOURN AGAIN UNTIL LATER IN THE DAY OR EVEN THURSDAY.
Ryan Grim / The Intercept:
What Matt Gaetz and AOC Talked About During Kevin McCarthy's Speaker Vote … Opponents of Rep. Kevin McCarthy's bid for the House speakership are digging in after a tense discussion on the House floor between Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
Discussion:
Fox News, MSNBC, NBC News, The Guardian, IJR, Mother Jones, The Floridian, Politico, Washington Post, Conservative Brief, Super-Probably Relevant …, Ryan Grim, PoliticusUSA, RedState, Mediaite, The Hill, Breitbart, National Review, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Florida Politics, Insider, Vanity Fair, KTLA, Political Wire, Digby's Hullabaloo, CNN, Washington Times and USA Today
Tim Miller / The Bulwark:
Never Trumpers Understood Kevin McCarthy's Conference Better Than He Did
Never Trumpers Understood Kevin McCarthy's Conference Better Than He Did
Discussion:
The Independent, Overtime, The Hill, Raw Story and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Dan Ladden-Hall / The Daily Beast:
Trump Begs House Republicans to Back Kevin McCarthy's Speakership Bid
Trump Begs House Republicans to Back Kevin McCarthy's Speakership Bid
Discussion:
NBC News, Fox News, The Guardian, PJ Media, Washington Times, The Daily Caller and Just The News
NBC News:
Kevin McCarthy's bid for House speaker: Live updates
Kevin McCarthy's bid for House speaker: Live updates
Discussion:
Semafor, Axios, HuffPost, Washington Post, Bloomberg, PennLive, New York Times, BRIGHT, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, The Daily Caller, 77 WABC, The Hill, Reuters, New York Magazine, Roll Call, Forbes, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, PIX11, RedState, Daily News, The Floridian, CBS News, CNBC, Metro.co.uk, CNN, Fox News, Breitbart, Sacramento Bee, Times of San Diego, Insider, Florida Politics, The Daily Beast, Al Jazeera, National Review, IJR, UPI, NPR, Politico, ABC News and The Guardian
Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Whoever the next GOP speaker is, the job will be a living hell
Whoever the next GOP speaker is, the job will be a living hell
Discussion:
Politico, Political Wire, Las Vegas Review-Journal and Al Jazeera
Washington Post:
As McCarthy struggles in House, McConnell to appear with Biden in Ky.
As McCarthy struggles in House, McConnell to appear with Biden in Ky.
Discussion:
CNN, Reuters, Politico, USA Today, New York Times, Associated Press, Bloomberg, HuffPost and Mayer's Morning Rundown
Cheryl Teh / Insider:
Matt Gaetz is accusing Kevin McCarthy of squatting in the speaker's office before he's even got the job
Matt Gaetz is accusing Kevin McCarthy of squatting in the speaker's office before he's even got the job
Discussion:
The Hill, Mediaite, Louder With Crowder, The Floridian, PoliticusUSA, Fox News, New York Post, RedState, Raw Story, NOQ Report, Washington Times, Political Wire and Associated Press
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Kevin McCarthy wasn't ‘the one’ 7 years ago. He wasn't on Tuesday, either.
Kevin McCarthy wasn't ‘the one’ 7 years ago. He wasn't on Tuesday, either.
Discussion:
Deadline, Washington Examiner, Just The News and Raw Story
Eric Garcia / The Independent:
AOC reveals why she was chatting with GOP opponent who fantasised about killing her in anime video
AOC reveals why she was chatting with GOP opponent who fantasised about killing her in anime video
Discussion:
CNN, Talking Points Memo, Fox News, New York Post, Mediaite, Reuters, Washington Times, PoliticusUSA, Washington Examiner and Breitbart
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Here's What McCarthy's Detractors Are Demanding
Here's What McCarthy's Detractors Are Demanding
Discussion:
NPR, CNN, Vanity Fair, Michigan Advance, Daily News, ABC News, Washington Examiner, Notes on the News, Reason, The Moderate Voice, TheBlaze, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Common Dreams, Insider, Breitbart, Fox News, NBC 6 South Florida, 77 WABC, TIME, NBC News, Jezebel and Morning Shots, more at Mediagazer »
Washington Post:
George Santos had an awkward first day at the office — The New York Republican, accused of fabricating details of his biography, got a taste of scrutiny that comes with his new job — On Tuesday, looking very much like a freshman at a prep school in hell, congressman-elect George Santos wore …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, The Hill, Forbes, New York Daily News and The Guardian
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Representative George Santos:
Taking the Oath of Office — Swearing in as Member of the 118th Congress — U.S. Representative George Santos was sworn in as a Member of the United States House of Representatives by the Speaker of the House on January 3rd, 2023. — The Honorable George Santos was elected to serve …
Ashton Pittman / Mississippi Free Press:
Mississippi Health Care Faces ‘Looming Disaster,’ Medical Group Warns Lawmakers — Mississippi's healthcare crisis is worsening and an overhaul of the state's “current system of care is unmistakably essential,” a leading medical group warned hours before the State Legislature was set to begin its 2023 session at noon Monday.
Sanjana Friedman / Pirate Wires:
Transmaxxing: the Incel-To-Transwoman Pipeline — why a community of depressed young men with nothing to lose is convinced the only way out of their misery is gender transition … Imagine you're a depressed young man in a developed country. Maybe you work long hours for low pay, maybe you're unemployed.
Discussion:
Sensible Medicine
Sarah Jones / PoliticusUSA:
Sean Hannity Warns that Republicans Are On Verge of Becoming a Total Clown Show — Sean Hannity had a brief moment in reality Tuesday night, in which he admitted that House Republicans are on the verge of becoming a total clown show. — “It is day one of the 188 Congress (sic*) …
Discussion:
HuffPost and Media Matters for America
Mark Paoletta / National Review:
On Mark Stern's Smear of Clarence Thomas — Lefty legal commentator Mark Joseph Stern can't stop attacking Justice Thomas, this time perpetuating a smear about a photo Justice Thomas took with Herschel Walker. — The J6 Committee released the transcript of Ginni Thomas's interview last week …