Free Republic

It offered no explanation, though there has been some speculation that enough revolting Republicans would shift to supporting the current GOP House leader. And former President Donald Trump today backed McCarthy for the job. “When we all went to bed last night it seemed like there could be a long, drawn-out battle approach. Kevin McCarthy was losing votes to become speaker of the House and no end seemed to be in sight. In fact, the books had seen his odds go to +115, or an implied 46.5% chance, while Steve Scalise was cut all the way down to +160, or...

California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy lost his bid for speaker on the chamber's third vote, losing one additional vote as Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds broke ranks to back Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan.McCarthy claimed 202 votes, all from Republicans, while Jordan gained one additional vote for a total of 20. Donalds previously voted for McCarthy twice.California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy failed to clinch the Speaker's gavel on the second chamber-wide vote, as a number of conservatives in the Republican caucus lined up behind Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan.McCarthy became the first speaker candidate to lose on the first round...

When it came to discussing the House speakership quandary, Joe Scarborough suffered from something of a split personality on today's Morning Joe. On the one hand, Scarborough supported Newt Gingrich's take that the "Never Kevin" Republicans refusing to support McCarthy are risking the "meltdown" of the GOP. It's Kevin or chaos! On the other hand, Scarborough noted that in 1998, he was one of five Republican House members who drove Newt out of the speakership. There was no such split opinion from Charlie Sykes. The Never Trumper and MSNBC columnist couldn't keep himself from literally laughing at the Republicans' predicament,...

During his Tuesday broadcast, FNC host Tucker Carlson spoke approvingly of the gridlock in the House of Representatives over electing the next House Speaker, calling it “democracy in action.” However, Carlson suggested McCarthy agree to release all files regarding the January 6, 2021 Capitol Hill riot and put Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) in charge of a Church-style committee to investigate the FBI and other intelligence agencies.

Donald Trump endorsed Kevin McCarthy for House Speaker early Wednesday, after a day of waffling by the former president — and a day of chaos on the House floor — kept the new GOP majority without an official leader. “Some really good conversations took place last night,” Trump posted to Truth Social (with caps for emphasis), “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.” Emphasis in the original, because Trump. McCarthy, a rare...

Reps. Matt Gaetz and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz told Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about a possible Democrat-led bail-out during Tuesday’s House vote, according to The Intercept. Inaudible footage showed Gaetz and Ocasio-Cortez speaking to each other during the vote for the new House speaker. Gaetz, an opponent of Speaker-designate McCarthy, told Ocasio-Cortez that McCarthy believed Democrats would bail him out, allowing him to win the speakership, The Intercept reported. Ocasio-Cortez assured Gaetz her party would not vote in favor of McCarthy, and that she’d spoken to other Democrats who backed her answer, according to The...

People do not uproot themselves and leave the rhythms of home “for light and transient causes.” People are not coming to Florida just for the weather. They are fleeing the woke regime of blue America—an abusive, lawless, totalitarian regime which is waging war against American principles and the American way of life...For the American regime, a just society is one in which free men and women pursue happiness according to their abilities and according to nature. Such a society is one where merit rules. For the woke regime, on the other hand, a just society is one where the regime...

The new House of Representatives gaveled into its first session on Tuesday Nearly two dozen of Kevin McCarthy's fellow Republicans voted against his bid to be House Speaker in the first and second rounds Voting is expected to continue until a Speaker candidate wins a majority Nineteen Republican rebels have derailed House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy's second vote to become Speaker, throwing the party into chaos on their first day in the majority. The group of dissenters are refusing to back McCarthy and instead threw their weight behind GOP Rep. Jim Jordan in the second ballot of the process that...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is quickly becoming the favorite of the globalist RINO mega donors who want to “move on” from Donald Trump.Ken Griffin, a globalist RINO mega donor, talked to Politico about why he is backing DeSantis because he sees him as the vehicle to move on from Trump and his brand of populism that has made the GOP less hospitable for soulless corporations that have sold America down the river.“He did a lot of things really well and missed the mark on some important areas,” Griffin said. “And for a litany of reasons, I think it’s time to...

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has fallen short during the first ballot vote for speaker, forcing additional rounds of balloting until one candidate is able to secure a majority in the House of Representatives. No candidate running for speaker has lost a first-round vote in a century. At the end of the first ballot, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), leader of the Democratic caucus, received 212 votes, while McCarthy received 203. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) received 10, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) received six, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) received one, former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) received one, and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) received...

GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to secure victory in his long-running quest to become Speaker of the House in the first round Tuesday afternoon, a setback for both McCarthy and House Republicans who have an uphill battle to prove Republican leadership can govern with a narrow majority following last November's midterm elections. The selection of House Speaker is generally a procedural step in a new majority's work to take control of the lower chamber, but Republicans in the House have had a rough go of it between the midterm elections and Tuesday's vote. GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed...

Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) said the hard-line opponents to House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) becoming the next Speaker “are enemies now.” Crenshaw told CNN’s Manu Raju on Tuesday ahead of the Speakership vote that those dug in against McCarthy will “obviously” not get the committee assignments they want over their defiance, but “it’s going to be so much worse than that.” “They are enemies now,” he said. “They have made it clear that they prefer a Democrat agenda than a Republican one.” Crenshaw earlier on Tuesday dismissed the idea that opponents to McCarthy had a viable alternative who could...

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) fell short of the votes needed to secure the speaker’s gavel on the first ballot, with his chances of obtaining the long-coveted role remaining in doubt as conservatives continue to withhold their support for the California Republican. Nineteen GOP lawmakers voted against him Tuesday afternoon as they push for the conference to rally around a different “consensus candidate.” The chamber is slated to move on to a second ballot for the first time since 1923, with McCarthy allies hoping that he garners more support as both the “Never Kevin” and “Only Kevin” factions of the GOP...

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) called a speech by Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) ahead of the vote for next House speaker "bulls***" on Tuesday. The word slipped out after McCarthy attempted to unite the party during a meeting of the House GOP conference, with Boebert muttering "this is bulls***" under her breath. A Boebert official said it was not yelled or spoken into a microphone, according to Fox News. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), who has vowed not to vote for McCarthy for speaker, said the whole meeting was tense and hostile. "The meeting was very hostile, and I don’t think...

Steve Bannon, former adviser to former President Donald Trump, said Friday that Representative Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, is essentially going to be the "de facto" House speaker in the next Congress. His remarks come after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy offered a key concession to conservatives criticizing his speakership bid, CNN reported Friday, citing Republican sources who were familiar with the private conversations that McCarthy had with GOP lawmakers. In a phone interview on Saturday, Bannon told Newsweek that there is "no chance" that Gaetz would be elected House speaker. However, he added the Florida Republican and Representative Marjorie...

FNC co-host Brian Kilmeade said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends” said the Republican members who are refusing to vote for leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) House speakership bid were “looking like idiots.” Kilmeade said, “If they said ‘Hey, listen, he won’t do anything on the border. He’s not doing anything with Hunter Biden. He is not going to do anything to go reduce spending.’ None of this is true, so it’s almost as if they’re debating things that are their egos, nothing to do with America. I’m not even talking about Republicans. Republicans or Democrats, they can’t grab onto anything...

electing a new House speaker could take hours or even days. “It’s going to be a chaotic day,” a top aide to one of the GOP holdouts told The Washington Times on Tuesday. “Could this last for days? Yeah, it could.” Rep. Scott Perry, a conservative Republican from Pennsylvania, outlined the demands Mr. McCarthy has so far rejected, including commitments to consider term limits for members of Congress, a balanced budget measure and legislation to replace income taxes with a national sales tax. “Kevin McCarthy had an opportunity to be speaker of the House,” Rep. Mr. Perry said Tuesday. “He...

“In his 14 years in Republican Leadership, McCarthy has repeatedly failed to demonstrate any desire to meaningfully change the status quo in Washington,” Rep. Perry declared. Perry said McCarthy presented a “vague ultimatum” lacking in specifics and substance over the holiday weekend after months of dragging his feet. He said he and other GOP members who have been skeptical of McCarthy approached him with an offer to get him to the 218 votes he needs to win the speakership, asking for “firm” commitments to hold votes on four policy proposals. The policies are creating a balanced budget, replacing national income,...