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Congress GOP Kevin McCarthy

Hakeem Jeffries Just Put Kevin McCarthy On Notice

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has just put Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on notice regarding committee assignments, and if McCarthy ignores the warning it could well make his tenure as Speaker shorter than he ever imagined.

The Washington Post reports that Jeffries wrote McCarthy to let him know he was recommending Reps. Adam B. Schiff and Eric Swalwell be reappointed to the House Intelligence Committee, which Schiff once chaired.

In a letter dated Saturday, Jeffries argued that McCarthy has no justifiable reason not to accept his appointments of Schiff, who served as chairman of the Intelligence panel until Republicans took control of the chamber, and Swalwell.

In his letter, Jeffries writes:

“It is my understanding that you intend to break with the longstanding House tradition of deference to the minority party Intelligence Committee recommendations and deny seats to Ranking Member Schiff and Representative Swalwell. The denial of seats to duly elected Members of the House Democratic Caucus runs counter to the serious and sober mission of the Intelligence Committee.”

McCarthy has said he will not place Schiff and Swalwell on the Intelligence Committee, seeking to exact revenge on Democrats for removing Reps. Paul Gosar (AZ) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) from committee assignments. But as Jeffries notes in his letter, both Gosar and Greene were removed by a vote of the full House.

Greene and Gosar were removed “after a bipartisan vote of the House found them unfit to serve on standing committees for directly inciting violence against their colleagues. It does not serve as precedent or justification for the removal of Representatives Schiff and Swalwell, given that they have never exhibited violent thoughts or behavior.”

Jeffries also pointed out that McCarthy had no problem appointing “serial fraudster” George Santos (R-NY) to committees despite the fact that he is facing multiple investigations, including from the House Ethics Committee and may also be subjected to criminal prosecution for lying in order to win his congressional seat.

If McCarthy insists on refusing to seat Schiff and Swalwell, Democrats could call for a motion to vacate, a procedure which would result in a formal vote to remove McCarthy from the Speaker’s chair. Considering that McCarthy only holds a slim majority in the House, such a move could further weaken him.

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Congress GOP Kevin McCarthy

McCarthy Gets Hit With A Brutal Fact-Check After Bragging About GOP ‘Accomplishments’

According to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Republicans have already achieved amazing accomplishments since taking control of the lower chamber of Congress.

McCarthy decided to toot his own horn in an op-ed he penned for the right-wing New York Post, writing:

While President Joe Biden wants to control the kind of stove Americans can cook on, House Republicans are certainly cooking with gas. It has been only one week since the 118th Congress was sworn in, and House Republicans have already shown we will keep our Commitment to America, work on behalf of the American people and deliver them a better future.

This isn’t just the start of a new Congress. This is the start of a new direction in Washington.

But as is the case with 99.9% of everything Republicans say or do, McCarthy’s bragging is complete bullshit.

Steve Benen of MSNBC decided to take a closer look at what exactly the GOP has accomplished during their first few days in power, and he laid a brutal fact-check on McCarthy.

The new GOP majority approved a new rules package that, among other things, weakened congressional ethics rules.

House Republicans approved a bill to increase the deficit, help tax cheats, and target IRS agents who do not actually exist.

The new GOP majority created a dangerous new committee to investigate the “weaponization” of government, which will pursue ridiculous conspiracy theories, while clashing with law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

House Republicans opened the door to impeaching a cabinet secretary, while simultaneously opening the door to undoing at least one of Donald Trump’s impeachments.

If those are “accomplishments,” then the American people are indeed screwed for the next two years.

Kevin McCarthy is and always has been a political hack. He’s a man so spineless that he gave into the blackmail, demands, and threats of extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-UT), both of whom should be fitted with straitjackets and placed in a padded room where they can’t harm themselves or anyone else.

The only good news is that McCarthy and his Republican colleagues are about to create such a massive clusterfuck that the GOP will likely never again win a majority in either house of Congress. Until then, we’ll just have to try and hang on until 2024 rolls around.

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Congress GOP Kevin McCarthy

GOP Congressman GOES OFF On Kevin McCarthy For Not Making Him Committee Chair: ‘You F**ked Me!!’

Though he’s only been Speaker of the House for 10 days, Kevin McCarthy is already caught up in a major controversy which could result in him losing the Speaker’s chair a hell of a lot sooner than he ever expected.

One of the longest-serving members of the GOP House caucus, Rep. Vern Buchanan (FL) is reportedly furious with McCarthy for passing him over to be chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and handing the post to Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), who just so happens to be a close ally of McCarthy’s but doesn’t have nearly as much seniority as Buchanan.

According to Tara Palmeri of Puck, Buchanan gave McCarthy one hell of a verbal lashing once he found out the Speaker had just stabbed him in the back.

Just how angry was he? Well, a source on the House floor during the vote told me that while McCarthy was gaveling down the votes, Buchanan walked up to McCarthy and said, “You fucked me, I know it was you, you whipped against me.” He then proceeded to chew out McCarthy’s deputy chief of staff for floor operations, John Leganski. It was shocking to see such fury from Buchanan, who’s known for being mild mannered. Indeed, I heard that the tirade was so heated that the Speaker’s security detail stepped in with a light touch. (McCarthy’s spokesperson Matt Sparks disputed this detail saying, “at no point did anyone have to step in.” A spokesperson for Buchanan declined to comment.)

Is McCarthy already attempting to solidify his position by pushing out those who haven’t shown proper loyalty to him? If so, such a move could have negative consequence for him, especially since he just barely gained the Speaker’s chair by a few votes, some of which — Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert — are said to be ready to oust him the moment they feel the least bit slighted or ignored.

Don’t be surprised if a motion to vacate is called for within the next couple of weeks, meaning McCarthy will again have to struggle to find the 218 votes he needs to remain Speaker. He certainly won’t be getting Vern Buchanan to cast a ballot for him.

Here’s more on McCarthy’s first few days as Speaker:

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Congress GOP

Marjorie Taylor Greene Confronts Lauren Boebert In House Restroom: ‘Don’t Be Ugly!’

The growing divide between Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) began on January 3, 2023, the first day of the new Congress.

Greene had already aligned herself with then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), making it clear she planned to support him in his bid to be the next Speaker of the House.

Boebert, on the other hand, was in the Anyone But McCarthy camp, and a confrontation between her and Greene seemed inevitable.

As debate began on who would be Speaker, Boebert and Greene had a nasty tête-à-tête in a House restroom, according to The Daily Beast.

According to multiple sources, the two women were nearly in a screaming match in the Speaker’s lobby ladies room just off the House floor.

“Greene questioned Boebert’s loyalty to McCarthy, and after a few words were exchanged, Boebert stormed out,” a source familiar with the fight told The Daily Beast.

According to another source familiar, while in the bathroom, Greene asked Boebert, “You were OK taking millions of dollars from McCarthy but you refuse to vote for him for Speaker, Lauren?”

That wasn’t all that took place, the source noted. As Greene continued to press Boebert, the Colorado congresswoman ran away like a child.

The first source said Greene was in a stall and, upon coming out, confronted Boebert about taking money from McCarthy for her re-election and then turning against McCarthy when it came time to vote. The Colorado Republican was allegedly unaware that Greene was also in the bathroom at the time.

“That’s when Lauren said, ‘Don’t be ugly,’” the first source said, before she—in the words of this source—“ran out like a little schoolgirl.”

When confronted with details of the dustup between the two women, Boebert again ran away, telling a reporter, “See you later. Bye.”

The two women are also going in opposite directions when it comes to supporting Donald Trump in his 2024 bid for the White House.

On one hand, Greene issued an early endorsement of the ex-president. Boebert, on the other hand, has left the door open to backing a Republican 2024 presidential contender that isn’t Trump.

“I certainly would not turn my back on President Trump. I am a huge supporter of his,” Boebert told a local Colorado CBS affiliate back in November, while not pledging her alliance to Trump’s 2024 presidential endeavor. The lawmaker went on to add that she also does “love” Trump foe Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor.

What remains unclear is whether it will be Boebert or Greene who winds up surviving in the new cutthroat world now that Republicans control the House. McCarthy is hanging on as Speaker by the skin of his teeth, and some in the GOP are already hinting they want to see him deposed and replaced by a more right-wing Republican.

Boebert and Greene, meanwhile, may need to try and coordinate their bathroom breaks to avoid future confrontations.

 

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Congress GOP

Adam Kinzinger Says What We’re All Thinking: Kevin McCarthy Is ‘A Piece Of Sh*t’

If perhaps you were wondering exactly what sort of person Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is, there’s no one better to ask than someone who has worked around him and with him for years.

That’s where former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) comes into the picture, making it clear that McCarthy is a pathetic excuse of a human being, afraid, unprincipled, and utterly incapable of doing anything good for anyone but himself.

Speaking with Charlie Sykes on The Bulwark podcast, Kinzinger noted:

“Kevin’s a piece of shit. And let’s just be honest about this, because he will say whatever he needs to say to stay in power. I’m not even saying that gratuitously to be mean to him. It’s just a fact.”

If you doubt that, consider news that broke yesterday regarding McCarthy’s willingness to try and expunge failed, one-term, twice-impeached former president Donald Trump’s two impeachments, with The Washington Post reporting:

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he’s willing to take a look at expunging an impeachment of former president Donald Trump by the Democratic-led House. … Asked at a news conference about the prospect of an expungement now that Republicans control the House, McCarthy said, “I would understand why members would want to bring that forward.”

Asked about the matter of Rep. George Santos (R-NY), Kinzinger said McCarthy won’t make a move to expel him from Congress for his endless lies about his past and personal history, explaining, “Kevin needs his vote. If this was a 20 vote majority, he’d throw Santos under the bus, but it’s a five-vote so he needs him.”

Of course, it’s not just McCarthy who’s a massive piece of excrement. 99% of the GOP House caucus is just as gutless and soulless as the Speaker. They all need to be replaced, but so many of them are from heavily gerrymandered districts that they’re virtually unbeatable.