One of the ugliest debacles in political history just mercifully came to an end. Jim Jordan has withdrawn his name from consideration for Speaker of the House. He’s not up for the brutal 15-round battle that Kevin McCarthy endured in order to obtain the gavel.
And that's the ball game! Jim Jordan will NOT be Speaker. He waves the white flag of surrender and bows out. No more self-humiliation for him. Losing twice was enough, I suppose. Hakeem Jeffries says Patrick McHenry is someone Democrats can work with. I hope that's the case. pic.twitter.com/cCBzx7HIgu
— Russell Drew (@RussOnPolitics) October 19, 2023
What’s that you say? What’s going to be different in January? Dunno, but at least if the House is even minimally functional the government could get funded. Funding runs out November 17.
Or, is Jordan saying that he’ll try again in January? Maybe he’s figuring he can persuade people who won’t vote for him now to vote for him then.
Who knows? The problem with what’s happening in the House is that Matt Gaetz got rid of Kevin McCarthy with no plan for a replacement in sight, and that led to all this ridiculous flailing.
It looks like a coalition government is afoot. Maybe Hakeem Jeffries will not be the titular Speaker but let’s face it, if a compromise, ad hoc, emergency level leadership is being cobbled together, Jeffries will figure strongly in getting the actual work done.
At least McHenry is somebody with experience and he can work with Jeffries. This could be the start of something big. The only downside is that the Constitution states what the Interim Speaker can and cannot do.
Here’s a transcript of a conversation blogger John Stoehr had with Georgetown University law professor Josh Chavetz.
| JS: Did Jordan’s “hardball” tactics backfire? |
| JC: I would guess that they backfired in terms of the total number of his opponents, but I’m skeptical that he could have gotten to 217 [which is the victory threshold], even had he played his cards perfectly. |
| JS: What’s next? Speaker McHenry? |
| JC: My best guess from the very beginning of all this is that the House would have to figure out some way to do business under McHenry, either by making him speaker pro tem (ie, no longer acting speaker pro tem) or by simply allowing the House to move business with an acting speaker pro tem in the chair. So my best guess is that they start to move some business under McHenry. For how long … who knows? |
| JS: If so, what about the “motion to vacate” rule that doomed McCarthy? That would in theory give a veto to one Democrat, too. |
| JC: Sure, except that’s just the authority to bring the resolution to the floor. You still need a floor majority that’s willing to dump the speaker. |
| JS: Some anti-Jordan Republicans really seem invested in their reputations among constituents and the press for wanting to govern reasonably, as opposed to some of their colleagues who don’t seem to care. Is that an indication of the future or a leftover from a bygone era? |
| JC: I think there will probably always be members of both parties who are show horses and members who are workhorses. The House GOP conference seems pretty heavy on show horses right now, but in a closely divided House, the workhorses — like pretty much any small group — can hold the balance in their hands if they work together. |
| JS: Lots of people blame the Democrats for this mess. Fair? |
| JC: No. The minority party always votes for its own candidate for speaker. If the majority wants to break that norm, it needs to offer something juicy in return. By all accounts, the Republicans have not offered the Democrats anything. You don’t trade something for nothing. |
| JS: As an expert on the Congress, does this one rank pretty high in the history of chaotic Congresses? Put it in some historical perspective. |
| JC: This is pretty chaotic, to be sure. But I think the only way to judge is to wait and see. If this causes a long-term inability to do business, leading to a long shutdown, etc., it will start to rank high on the chaos-meter. If not, maybe not so much. There’s also the longer term question of what this means for GOP conference dynamics going forward: just how much will this whole incident reset norms about voting with your party on procedural matters? Only way to know is to wait and see. |
As always in the Trump era, historical events happen every day. Anthony Scaramucci made an observation which I now regard as profound. You may recall him saying, “The fish stinks from the head down,” which is a revision of the actual maxim, “the fish rots from the head down.” The standard bearer of the GOP is still Donald Trump. The GOP-led House reflects their standard bearer, i.e., rudderless and out of control.
It’s head spinning push and pull now, the basic rules and laws in this Country have been abused until the bruises may not heal for a large amount of time … The WORST EVER excuse for a president has now been left out of office, but, He continues being exactly the moron he always was, performing his stunts of on-mike arm-twisting and ranting to his dwindling followers in the Trump cult, with violence promotions against the Judge’s, AG’s and DOJ in the air …
THAT HAS TO STOP NOW, because the Judges WILL exterminate what little freedom he has left … However, the spine that supports Trump gets no boost from his actions … He is a born coward and con at the same time … His Fire and Brimstone rants were a staged photo op for Trump and a brain washing for the Maga’s, EVERYTHING TRUMP, is now without merit, or a shiny new dime …
Oh look, big tarnished Brass letters, T.R.U.M.P, laying on the ground all around the World, a sight, long coming, and a note to torment Trump even more … The World’s biggest failure, is the cheapest, most moronic clown EVER …
Good Luck Donald, Paybacks can be a downpour on your future …
I look forward to my pre-cocktail chant this afternoon: “Jordan’s a loser, just like his Orange Orangutan leader! Another loser!”
Beware the Rs sucking in the Democratic Party and finding their own devious ways to blame this all on the Ds. They keep trying, even if it’s only in getting the MSM to ask the question: “Isn’t this the Democrats’ fault?” It puts the incredibly crazy ‘concept’ out there. Any time it comes up the answer should be “Hell No, it is the Republicans’ own majority who picks the Speaker, not the Democratic minority.” People who ask this question don’t understand math.
Thanks so much to PZ for keeping us posted on what’s really happening.