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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Washington Post, HuffPost, Axios, Just The News, Mother Jones, NBC News, Los Angeles Times, IJR, NPR, CBS News, New York Daily News, Washington Times, CBS News, Rolling Stone, Politico, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Alabama Political Reporter, Digby's Hullabaloo, The Guardian, Outside the Beltway, Slate, Washington Post, Vanity Fair, CNN, Super-Probably Relevant …, New York Magazine, Evening Post and Mail, Newsbusters, Florida Politics, The Guardian, The Daily Caller, Roll Call, Debatably Useful, Deadline, RedState, USA Today, Washington Examiner, Insider, The Daily Beast, CNN, Sacramento Bee, KTLA, Washington Free Beacon, Al Jazeera, Ryan Grim, Washington Examiner, The Bulwark, The Independent, Notes on the News, Fox News, NBC 6 South Florida, Mediaite, Reuters and Lawyers, Guns & Money
RELATED:
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'
Discussion:
CNBC, Mediaite, The Daily Signal, Semafor, Raw Story, IJR, The Daily Caller, New York Daily News, Florida Phoenix, National Review, NBC 6 South Florida, The Daily Caller, New Republic, Slay News, Forbes, Washington Times, BizPac Review, The Floridian, New York Post, Raw Story, Daily News, Fox News, RedState, Bloomberg, Washington Post and Insider
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.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, HuffPost, MSNBC, Fox News, Jezebel, TheBlaze, National Review, The Daily Caller, Political Wire, Fox News, PoliticusUSA, The Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, Mike the Mad Biologist, IJR, NOQ Report, Digby's Hullabaloo, PoliticusUSA, Associated Press, RedState, Washington Times, Political Wire, Insider, Florida Politics, Conservative Brief, Breitbart, The Hill, Mediaite, New York Post, The Intercept and The Independent
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
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.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Fox News, Semafor, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Post, NBC News, Washington Examiner, HuffPost, Insider, Human Events, National Review, Politico, Mediaite, Vanity Fair, Roll Call, Fox News, The Post Millennial, Breitbart, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, PJ Media, Washington Times, Today's Edition Newsletter, Los Angeles Times, ABC News, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Rolling Stone, The Hill, IJR, Axios, Just The News, Conservative Brief and Forbes
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:
The Nation, ABC News, New York Daily News, Digby's Hullabaloo, Vox and The Hill
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:
The Hill, Insider, Fox News, Bloomberg, CNN, Washington Times, New York Post, PoliticusUSA, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Washington Post and Axios
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, Washington Examiner, Political Wire, Reuters and USA Today
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 …
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion
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, Washington Examiner, The Hill and Dylan's Substack
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, The Hill, NBC News, Breitbart, Semafor, Wall Street Journal, ABC7, Associated Press and Washington Post
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 and New York Post
New York Times:
How Far Right Are the 20 Republicans Who Voted Against McCarthy
How Far Right Are the 20 Republicans Who Voted Against McCarthy
Discussion:
FiveThirtyEight, Politico, Washington Post, Balloon Juice, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Mediaite, New Republic, Vox Dextra, Washington Times and The Hill
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:
Los Angeles Times and Raw Story
Politico:
Biden world both humored and terrified by McCarthy meltdown
Biden world both humored and terrified by McCarthy meltdown
Discussion:
RedState, New York Post, The Hill, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Washington Times, Political Wire and Common Dreams
John Cassidy / New Yorker:
Behind the Humiliation of Kevin McCarthy
Behind the Humiliation of Kevin McCarthy
Discussion:
New York Daily News, Raw Story and Washington Monthly
Erin Doherty / Axios:
What happens if there's no House speaker
What happens if there's no House speaker
Discussion:
The Hill, NBC News, New York Times, Washington Post, Insider, Associated Press, New York Post, Florida Politics, Washington Post, Snapshot, IJR, Raw Story, The Floridian, Washington Times, PoliticusUSA, Roll Call, New York Daily News, Just The News, Forbes, PIX11, Metro.co.uk, The Daily Caller, CNN, UPI and Bloomberg
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:
CNN, New York Times, Deadline, The Texan, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, Just The News, Fox News and Michigan Advance
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:
Al Jazeera, Politico, CNN, Political Wire and New York 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, Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, The Hill and Forbes
RELATED:
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:
Washington Examiner, New York Post, The Hill and UPROXX
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, Rolling Stone and Slate
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 …
RELATED:
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.
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.
Discussion:
MoD Russia, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Metro.co.uk and The Bulwark
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.
Discussion:
Politico
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, The Columbus Dispatch, Associated Press and Pluribus News
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 …