Top Items:
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 …
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Houston Keene / Fox News:
Matt Gaetz responds after Trump urges support for McCarthy: ‘Sad!’ — Gaetz says Trump's endorsement of embattled Republican ‘change neither my view of McCarthy nor Trump nor my vote.’ — Newt Gingrich rips Republican holdouts as ‘blackmailers’: 'Don't know what their endgame is'
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Jared Gans / The Hill:
Ocasio-Cortez on conversations with Gosar, Gaetz: ‘In chaos, anything is possible’ — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday said, “In chaos, anything is possible,” after she was seen in floor conversations with GOP Reps. Paul Gosar (Ariz.) and Matt Gaetz (Fla.) during the vote for House Speaker.
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The Daily Caller, MSNBC, HuffPost, Breitbart, Twitchy, PoliticusUSA, Raw Story, National Review, Jezebel, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, PoliticusUSA, The Gateway Pundit, Mike the Mad Biologist, TheBlaze, IJR, Fox News, The Guardian, NOQ Report, Digby's Hullabaloo, PoliticusUSA, Associated Press, RedState, Washington Times, Political Wire, Florida Politics, Insider, Conservative Brief, Breitbart, The Hill, Mediaite and New York Post
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
The humiliation of Kevin McCarthy — Post-policy Republicans prefer posturing and tormenting each other to governing. — Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy went down to humiliating defeat in his bid to take the speaker's gavel Tuesday. Not satisfied with that, he then went down to humiliating defeat again.
Discussion:
ABC News, Newsbusters, Vox and Digby's Hullabaloo
Jared Gans / The Hill:
Trump calls for all Republicans to back McCarthy for Speaker — Former President Trump called on House Republicans to unite behind House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) for the Speakership, announcing early Wednesday that he is standing by McCarthy despite opposition from some hard-line members of the party.
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The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Semafor, CBS News, Roll Call, Washington Free Beacon, National Review, Breitbart, Washington Post, Times of San Diego, Human Events, HuffPost, One America News Network, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, Insider, Vanity Fair, Breitbart, New York Post, Politico, Los Angeles Times, The Post Millennial, Bloomberg, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Washington Times, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, PJ Media, Los Angeles Times, ABC News, The Hill, Today's Edition Newsletter, IJR, Just The News, Axios, Conservative Brief and Forbes
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 Atlantic and Mediaite
Tal Kopan / The Boston Globe:
'There isn't any House': Speaker drama ripples throughout basic congressional function — WASHINGTON—As the second day of the 118th Congress dawned Wednesday, one chamber technically had no members. — “There isn't any House,” said California Democratic Representative Anna Eshoo, who has served since 1993.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Fox News, New York Daily News, CNN and Reuters
Jim Geraghty / National Review:
What the Speaker Fight Says about the Republican Party — On the menu today: The fight over whether Kevin McCarthy becomes the next speaker of the House continues, and after three failed votes yesterday, his prospects don't look great. The notion that 19 or 20 Republicans could force …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The Hill, IJR, Washington Examiner and Dylan's Substack
Punchbowl News:
1/4/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM — The House in crisis January 4, 2023 BY PUNCHBOWL NEWS STAFF THE TOP Happy Wednesday morning. The House begins today in a state of crisis. A small but growing faction of House Republicans - 10% of the Republican conference …
Wall Street Journal:
The GOP's Chaos Caucus Returns — A rump faction blocks McCarthy's Speaker bid, and for what? — By The Editorial Board — WSJ Opinion: Congress Is Now Officially Divided — YOU MAY ALSO LIKE — Created with sketchtool. — 1x — House Republicans say they want to drain …
Discussion:
Fox News, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Post
Kelly Garrity / Politico:
Biden: GOP speaker drama ‘embarrassing’ and ‘not my problem’ — President Joe Biden on Wednesday called the fight unfolding in the race for House speaker “embarrassing,” after House Republicans failed to coalesce around one candidate during three separate votes Tuesday.
Discussion:
CNN, Fox News, Insider, The Hill, Breitbart, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, RedState, Washington Times, PoliticusUSA, New York Post, Raw Story, Washington Post and Axios
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: How long can McCarthy hang on?
POLITICO Playbook: How long can McCarthy hang on?
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill, Breitbart, Washington Examiner and Semafor
Fox News:
McCarthy loses House speakership in 4th round, splitting votes with Jeffries, Donalds
McCarthy loses House speakership in 4th round, splitting votes with Jeffries, Donalds
Discussion:
HotAir, The Nation, The Hill, Insider, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, HuffPost, CNN, CNBC, Washington Times, Deadline, Patterico's Pontifications, The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, WJAR-TV, The Post Millennial, Al Jazeera, New York Times, The Daily Caller, UPROXX, The Floridian, Plain Dealer and Breitbart
Brady Knox / Washington Examiner:
Karl Rove: House speaker saga is an ‘unmitigated disaster’ for Republicans
Karl Rove: House speaker saga is an ‘unmitigated disaster’ for Republicans
Brooke Singman / Fox News:
Trump warns lawmakers opposing McCarthy for speaker are playing a ‘dangerous game,’ the deal must get done
Trump warns lawmakers opposing McCarthy for speaker are playing a ‘dangerous game,’ the deal must get done
Discussion:
The Hill, UPI and New York Post
John Cassidy / New Yorker:
Behind the Humiliation of Kevin McCarthy
Behind the Humiliation of Kevin McCarthy
Discussion:
The Mahablog and New York Daily News
Matt Bai / Washington Post:
McCarthy is the last of three little pigs. He'd best start packing.
McCarthy is the last of three little pigs. He'd best start packing.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Los Angeles Times
Politico:
Biden world both humored and terrified by McCarthy meltdown
Biden world both humored and terrified by McCarthy meltdown
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Post, New York Times, Washington Examiner, Washington Post and Washington Times
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:
Insider, The Daily Beast and Bloomberg
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CNN:
Rep.-elect George Santos admitted to using stolen checks in Brazil in 2008, documents show
Rep.-elect George Santos admitted to using stolen checks in Brazil in 2008, documents show
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Post and Washington Examiner
Michelangelo Signorile / The Signorile Report:
How we dodged a bullet with the exposé of George Santos
How we dodged a bullet with the exposé of George Santos
Discussion:
The Guardian
Morgan Trau / Ohio Capital Journal:
‘Moderate’ Republican Jason Stephens snatches Ohio House Speaker position in surprise upset — Moderately conservative Republican Jason Stephens, with the help of the Democratic Party, snatched the coveted Ohio House Speaker job Tuesday from a far-right lawmaker who was already elected speaker in a non-official party vote.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Plain Dealer, Associated Press and The Columbus Dispatch
Federal Bureau of Investigation:
FBI Washington Field Office, ATF Washington Field Division, and Metropolitan Police Department Raise Reward for Information About Capitol Hill Pipe Bomber to $500,000 … “For two years, a dedicated team of FBI agents, analysts, and law enforcement partners have been tirelessly reviewing evidence …
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Washington Examiner, NBC News and Politico
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Wall Street Journal:
Biden Considers Visit to U.S.-Mexico Border — The White House weighs adding a long-debated border visit to the president's planned Mexico City summit trip — Migrants in Border Cities Weigh Options After Title 42 Ruling — Created with sketchtool. … 1x
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Newsbusters, Political Wire, LINK nky and Frontpage Mag
Pavel Polityuk / Reuters:
Ukraine says Russia plans new mobilisation to ‘turn tide of war’ — Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was planning to call up more troops for a major new offensive, even as Moscow was facing some of its biggest internal criticism of the war over a strike that killed scores of fresh conscripts.
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Washington Examiner, MoD Russia, Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Guardian, Metro.co.uk and The Bulwark
Pam Belluck / New York Times:
Abortion Pills Can Now Be Offered at Retail Pharmacies, F.D.A. Says — Mifepristone, the first of two drugs in medication abortions, previously had to be dispensed only by clinics, doctors or a few mail-order pharmacies. Now, if local drugstores or chains like CVS agree to certain rules, they can provide it.
Discussion:
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Lee Drutman / Undercurrent Events:
GOP learns the hard way: Turning the base up too high blows out your Speaker — Plus, my take on Independent Sinema, and: why do we all feel like political losers these days? — Hello, and Happy New Year. It's 2023, and the Republican Party is in disarray.
Eric Levitz / New York Magazine:
No, Congress Doesn't Need More ‘Independents’ Like Sinema — Kyrsten Sinema believes that private-equity billionaires should pay a smaller income-tax rate than public-school teachers, that Medicare should not have broad authority to negotiate lower drug prices, and that America's corporations …