A quick thread here on the GOP leadership situation:
Last time, McCarthy was silent on Cheney, and then backed her when they were in the closed-door meeting.
This time, he’s out against her publicly, suggesting that she no longer has a place on his leadership team.
McCarthy said pretty much the same thing last wk when I asked him in Orlando, but this is as clear of a push as i’ve ever seen covering the hill leadership.
So what does this mean? Someone will inevitably file a motion to dump cheney. They’ll have tacit permission from McCarthy.
This is way, way worse than even the low point of the Boehner/Cantor tussels in the early 2010s. That was a low simmer. This is a full boil. And, according to people around McCarthy and the leadership, they are better off ripping off this bandaid now instead of waiting.
Republicans don’t want to hear what Cheney has to say — even if she is telling the truth.
So, i can’t imagine we get through this month of May without another snap vote on Cheney’s spot in leadership.
In @PunchbowlNews this morning, we listed some candidates for Cheney’s job. it needs to be a woman, because McCarthy and Scalise are two men.
Top tier: @EliseStefanik. This is who most people seem to want.
> People complaining about her ability to run the House R msging apparatus when she is promotion a msg few agree with
> There’s already loud chatter about ppl calling for another vote on her ldrshp position
@PunchbowlNews@Liz_Cheney@GOPLeader Cheney allies, however, are sick of this criticism, and they point out that she just won re-election to her leadership post by a big margin.
They say McCarthy screwed up on Fox News, and that’s why she’s getting questions. They say Cheney is simply speaking truth about Trump
In @PunchbowlNews AM this morning, we tried to bring Biden’s lofty goals in line with the reality that he has a 5-seat majority in the House and an evenly split Senate.
His ambitious agenda will now be in the hands of a dysfunctional Congress run by a few mercurial members
@PunchbowlNews Biden’s speech was an enunciation of the agenda he’s been talking about now for months. he’s been talking about transformational change since he got into the job
@PunchbowlNews This adminstration has a plan and theory of the case of how to get things through Congress. They have a president who has been on message and purposeful about talking about an agenda. He talked about it last night to millions of ppl
An America First Caucus is recruiting lawmakers calling for "common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions” and a return to architectural style that “befits the progeny of European architecture.”
→ Under the “Immigration” section: “America is a nation with a border, and a culture, strengthened by a common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions"
→ Under the “Infrastructure” section: “The America First Caucus will work towards an infrastructure that reflects the architectural, engineering and aesthetic value that befits the progeny of European architecture …
A @PunchbowlNews special report this morning 100 days after the insurrection.
We noticed a trend: Lawmakers who have spoken out against Trump are spending tens of thousands of dollars protecting themselves and their families.
@PunchbowlNews >@SenToomey spent 70k on a variety of security services, including with Fortified Estate, which brands itself as “The Leader In Refined Ballistic Doors, Windows, Walls & Panic Rooms”
It’s Wednesday. There’s a Nats double header today. Great weather.
In @PunchbowlNews this AM, we ran down our first list of people to watch in the infrastructure process.
Remember: Biden is trying to spend $2.5T more on a massive public works program. This is gigantic.
@PunchbowlNews → @SpeakerPelosi will be driving this train, but she faces a very delicate task here. Pelosi will have a three or four-seat majority, depending on when the American Jobs Plan gets to the floor.
@PunchbowlNews@SpeakerPelosi She has a ton of decisions to make. How will package be structured? Is there more than one reconciliation bill? If so, how does she divvy them up? What order is the leg voted on? All of these tactical decisions will help guide Pelosi as she tries to steer this through the House.
We at @PunchbowlNews have a lot of reporting and thoughts about the parliamentarian/reconciliation stuff.
@PunchbowlNews We have heard Schumer describe the parl's ruling. Everyone is now waiting to see what the ruling says.
There will be a lot of discussion on what it means and how it would work. Schumer’s office even nods to this in its statement: “some parameters still need to be worked out.”
@PunchbowlNews Republicans, for their part, are withholding official comment on this until they work through it as well. Privately, senior GOP officials are telling us the ruling doesn’t say exactly what Democrats are saying it does. So there will be a lot on this in the coming days.