38 R’s Voted Against Trump/Musk and Johnson. Government May Shut Down In GOP Hands

38 is a big number. Earlier in the day Donald Trump had Chip Roy in the crosshairs but he was still quiet about his sycophant Thomas Massie, also a fiscal hawk. Now it really doesn’t matter, since they and 36 other Republicans voted down Mike Johnson’s Plan B. So are Trump and Elon Musk going to primary 38 members of congress? That’s a lot. And that’s not the main focus of business right now. The main focus is that Hakeem Jeffries is not going to bail out the GOP. They’re going to have to figure it out all on their own. This is what he said.

We reached a bipartisan agreement to provide disaster assistance to people who had their lives turned upside down by extreme weather events, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and wildfires all across America. We reached a bipartisan agreement to be there for farmers and families, children, seniors, and working-class Americans all across the country. The men and women who serve this country in uniform and are veterans, House Republicans have abandoned that bipartisan agreement that we entered into in good faith, a bill that House Republicans negotiated. It was a Republican drafted bill that was posted by House Republicans.

And then, one or two puppet masters weigh in, and the extreme MAGA Republicans decide to do the bidding of the wealthy, the well-off, The well-connected millionaires and billionaires, not working-class people all across America. The bill that is before us today is just part of an effort to shut down the government.

Unless we, as representatives of the American people, bend to the will of just a handful of millionaires and billionaires because of the provisions in this bill, particularly as it relates to suspending the debt ceiling for two years, are designed to bring about a massive tax cut unpaid for, for wealthy donors, and for wealthy corporations, for millionaires and billionaires who clearly some in this Congress are working for.

And this bill is validation for it. Now, what’s been interesting to me is that for decades, the Republican Party has lectured America. About fiscal responsibility. About the debt. And the deficit. It’s always been phony. This bill proves it. The one thing we do know is that every time a Republican president comes into office.

The one thing we can count on Republicans to do is to pass a massive tax cut. For wealthy Americans and, in the process, stick working-class Americans with the bill.

And Johnson is gone, or so the smart money says. He’s going to have an even more humiliating takedown than Kevin McCarthy, from the looks of it. Meidas Touch:

… Democrats caucused and remained unified. CBS reporter Scott Macfarlane said he could hear them yelling, “Hell no!” behind closed doors. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: “The Musk/Johnson proposal is not serious. It’s laughable.”

… So, with Nancy Pelosi absent while recovering from hip replacement surgery, could Republicans unite behind Trump, Musk and Johnson and pass the bill?

… The answer was, you guess it, no. It failed miserably by a vote of 235-174, with 38 Republicans joining Democrats to vote against the bill.

… So, since Trump and Musk said they were going to run primary challengers against every Republican to vote against the bill, that means they have 38 MAGA Republicans to go after now. VOTE THEM OUT!

… Rand Paul called for Elon Musk to replace Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House. That would make Musk both President and Speaker while Trump works on his golf game so he can defend his Club Championship at Doral this summer. Maybe MAGA Mike can be his new caddie. Trump appointed his old caddie Dan Scavino to Deputy WH Chief of Staff, so that has proven to be a good stepping stone to bigger and better things.

… Marge Greene: “I’d be open to supporting Elon Musk for Speaker. The establishment needs to be shattered just like it was yesterday. This could be the way.”

… Sen Mike Lee (R-UT): “House Republicans should hire either Elon Musk or Vivek Ramaswamy as Speaker.”

… Alex Jones (R-Looneyville): “Not only do I support making Elon Musk the Speaker, we need to make it a reality ASAP. Anything the Left hates we must do!”

… Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC): “Elon Musk is a successful businessman. If he was Speaker, I think he would do a great job. But it’s a different world up here. That would make it interesting.”

… Trump told Fox: “If the Speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all the traps set by Democrats, he will easily remain Speaker.”

… Rep Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) walking into the House today: “James Comer for Speaker! He’s the hero Republicans need!”

… Fox is reporting that a group of House Republicans have decided to try and oust Johnson from the Speakership when the election is held on January 3. They report that 3 names are being considered: Tom Emmer, Jim Jordan, and Byron Donalds.

… Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY): “I’ll vote for somebody else. I’ve got a few in mind. I’m not going to say who yet.”

… Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL): “I hope that there are no problems with the Speaker’s race. We don’t have time for that. But the fact remains that this package is doing incredible damage within the conference. I’ve already seen one of my colleagues make a statement that he won’t be supporting Johnson. I hope we can work through this because Americans deserve far better than personality conflicts and temper tantrums.”

… CBS asked Sen Josh Hawley if Trump expressed frustration with Mike Johnson to him when he spoke with him: “Yes. Yes, he did.”

… More Hawley: “This song and dance has really gotten old. Johnson WROTE this bill. It is 100% his. The secret pay raises, the Obamacare carve-outs, the Pharma giveaways, the censorship funding – all of it.”

In fact Johnson didn’t write the bill. Meidas is reporting that Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith wrote it. But Johnson’s getting blamed for it. And he knows he’s on the way out. Johnson will not be in Arizona tomorrow for Charlie Kirk’s AmFest event. He doesn’t want to be booed off stage. Johnson may have been a High Priest of MAGA at one point but he’s orange-tinted dung right now.

Poor Mikey. He was just a nondescript GOP Rep. from a southern state that nobody had ever heard of. And then a fickle fate put him in the spotlight and now that same fate is casting him into the abyss.

Such is Trump 2.0. And we’re still in the transition. Imagine what Day One is going to look like. At this point either the GOP has to get its ducks in a row and pass a bill or they shut down the government. The voters put them in charge. Fine. Let the voters see what that looks like.

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