Things have gotten so crazy in Washington DC that all hell appears to be breaking loose! The vote for House Speaker has caused a Civil War within House Republicans, and as if things couldn’t get more chaotic, Kevin McCarthy’s office had a massive stack of pizzas delivered! So desperate to gain crucial votes, McCarthy hosted a “Pizza Party” complete with all the trimmings. The whole debacle has led President Trump to ask conservative lawmakers to get behind McCarthy. However Matt Gaetz called his endorsement ‘sad!’ while Marjorie Taylor Greene went all in and voted for McCarthy. This all adds up to an unpredictable mess that certainly has all eyes on Washington DC. What will happen next?
All hell is breaking loose in Washington DC after Kevin McCarthy failed to reach 218 votes three times, causing a deadlock on the speakership. It seems all chaos has ensued as demonstrated by the video of a pizza delivery heading towards McCarthy’s office – PizzaVote in DC has become all too real! The desperate House Minority Leader has resorted to trading ‘pizza for votes’, while President Trump urges conservative lawmakers to support McCarthy in his bid for the House Speaker office. Despite all this, Matt Gaetz responded with a resounding no, saying “Sad!”. It looks like all the pizza in DC won’t be able to solve this crisis!
On Truth Social, former President Donald Trump urged all Republicans to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as the next Speaker of the House, posting “Some really good conversations took place last night,” he posted, “and it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY & WATCH CRAZY NANCY PELOSI FLY BACK HOME TO A VERY BROKEN CALIFORNIA, THE ONLY SPEAKER IN U.S. HISTORY TO HAVE LOST THE ‘HOUSE’ TWICE!
This prompted Congressman Matt Gaetz to push back, in a rare rebuke of Trump. The congressman told Fox News Digital that Trump’s endorsement of McCarthy for speaker hasn’t changed his opinion of the former president or GOP leader.
In a statement on Wednesday, Gaetz said, “Sad! This changes neither my view of McCarthy, nor Trump, nor my vote.”
In another rare break, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a longtime ally of Gaetz, is standing behind House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s faltering speakership bid, criticizing hardliners who have turned against him.
Axios notes, it’s part of Greene’s strategy to gain influence and legitimacy in the GOP by linking herself with McCarthy.
In response to a tweet from Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk about rumors that some Republicans could join forces with Democrats to choose the next speaker she tweeted, “If the base only understood that 19 Republicans voting against McCarthy are playing Russian roulette with our hard earned Republican majority right now. This is the worst thing that could possibly happen.”
This is the first time in 100 years that a Speaker has not been chosen on the first ballot.
It’s a sad day for democracy when Republicans squander the long-awaited opportunity to overtake the Democratic Party in what feels like a pattern of hapless failure.
Rep. Gaetz refuses to let McCarthy, who he referred to as a “squatter” after his unlawful takeover of the speaker’s office, get away with it.
McCarthy is closely connected with lobbyists and has made several controversial political deals, so Gaetz sent a letter to the 12th Architect of the Capitol asking for McCarthy to be removed from his position until he can be properly replaced. This power struggle could potentially have dangerous outcomes if McCarthy remains in office and gets his hands on even more control.
Yesterday Gaetz slammed McCarthy’s leadership saying, “If you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge of the exercise.”
Meanwhile, As the House resumed voting on Wednesday, Rep.-elect Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., reaffirmed his support for McCarthy, on Fox News calling out the Jordan/Gaetz wing of the party as “an embarrassment to the party” while reacting to Donald Trump’s post on Truth Social/
It is clear that Republicans have failed to take advantage of their chance to overtake the Democratic party this time around. With Kevin McCarthy’s office receiving a huge stack of pizzas, it signals desperation from his office. While former President Donald Trump has urged the Republican party to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker, Matt Gaetz’s open defiance further deepens the rift within the GOP camp. Remarkably, even Marjorie Taylor Greene has shifted gears and is now supporting McCarthy’s speakership bid – making this historically the first time in 100 years that no candidate was elected on the first ballot for Speaker position. This turn of events couldn’t be a more ironic situation – Democrats are likely celebrating while Republicans must regroup after such chaos in the Capitol!
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