Matthew Foldi Profile picture
Jan 11 42 tweets 18 min read
New from me @TheSpectator:

I gave everyone anonymity to take a closer look at what happened last week...and how we finally got to the long-awaited @SpeakerMcCarthy!

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(1/xx)
And then there was Kevin.

In the wake of a forecasted red wave that never materialized, now-@SpeakerMcCarthy plotted with friends and foes alike to secure the magical 218 votes necessary to take the helm of a rowdy, openly feuding House GOP.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(2/xx)
After fifteen rounds of voting, Republicans eventually united behind him. Key players in the machinations spoke with @TheSpectator about the breakdown in the negotiations that had started in earnest after November’s elections.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(3/xx)
“Whirlwind.” “Shitshow.” “Weird.” At times, last week’s history-making votes felt more like a slog through purgatory than a victory lap over the long-awaited firing of Nancy Pelosi.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(4/xx)
The work was so all-consuming that some staffers even say they had C-SPAN-infused dreams and nightmares when they were able to catch a few hours’ worth of sleep.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(5/xx)
NOTE: I think it is a triumph of America exceptionalism that I got a @MeekMill reference through the editing process of a British magazine

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸



(6/xx)
The drama also collided with the onset of Dry January, making for some tough choices. One congressman debated with me about whether he earned a mulligan after a particularly long day of voting.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(7/xx)
Important time to reference a separate piece @TheSpectator on how Dry January is cruel

thespectator.com/topic/dry-janu…

(8/xx)
On the first day, when it became clear that the impasse wouldn’t be solved, Congress adjourned — to the swearing-in parties that had been planned for weeks.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(9/xx)
For much of the negotiations, the elephant in the room was the *lack* of elephants in the room. House Republicans had a smaller than expected conference, giving each member leverage they would have lacked had the GOP picked up a historic majority

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(10/xx)
One source close to the negotiations among McCarthy’s opponents said that the stage was actually set months ago: “This started with the rules package that [the House Freedom Caucus] introduced in the summer.”

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(11/xx)
But it was only after Republicans gained the same slim five-seat majority that Democrats had for two years that the talks really heat up.

“Leadership didn’t really want to engage until after the elections,” one closely involved staffer told me.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(12/xx)
Going into the week’s votes, a small handful of Republican members made it clear that they were opposed to McCarthy — but the initial rounds had up to twenty congressmen voting against the eventual speaker.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(13/xx)
One of the players in the anti-McCarthy camp said this came down to members’ preferences. “Some people were genuinely undecided until right before...those who came out first had to take a lot of the heat and anger before everyone else did.”

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(14/xx)
While McCarthy’s opponents insist that they had several alternatives to him — which some staffers are surprised never leaked — one thing they never took seriously was the idea of a West Wing-style unity speaker backed by members of both parties.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(15/xx)
As the week dragged on, and bets on political betting sites like PredictIt swelled, frustration mounted. Republicans took to media outlets on the left, right and alleged center to push their talking points.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(16/xx)
In fact, CNN played center stage to the drama at times! @ByronDonalds told @jaketapper that McCarthy didn’t have the necessary votes at one point; Donalds briefly became a McCarthy alternative before voting to push McCarthy over the top.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(17/xx)
A veteran GOP communications director on the Hill considered the uptick in Republicans on CNN notable — and said it could portend a broader trend with freshmen who like watching themselves on TV.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(18/xx)
A counterpart of his disagreed: she thinks CNN and MSNBC will drop their newfound Republican friends because their liberal audiences don’t want to hear from them — unless they are engaged in a GOP civil war like they were last week.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(19/xx)
While the specifics of the deal-making that took place may never be fully public, several stakeholders told me that the horse-trading will make for an even more fragile majority than many expected.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(20/xx)
“You can only give so much to the Freedom Caucus without taking from the normie Republicans,” one told me. Some of this has already played out in the immediate aftermath, with the high-stakes battle for the House’s Homeland Security chairmanship.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(21/xx)
For example, @DanCrenshawTX had been campaigning to take over the prestigious committee for nearly a year, only to see the spot awarded to Freedom Caucus member Mark Green at the last minute.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(22/xx)
One source who was enmeshed with the Republicans’ Steering Committee pointed to this as the first big concession McCarthy made.

“There are lots of unwritten, back-door deals that McCarthy agreed to just to secure his votes for speaker,” she said

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(23/xx)
One source reminded me that the new ability for anyone to invoke the motion to vacate could be used by any Republican, not just McCarthy’s foes.

Most think someone will invoke it, a possibility @GOPoversight's @RepJamesComer acknowledged.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(24/xx)
The intra-GOP infighting didn’t happen in a vacuum, of course. House Democrats, fresh off of jettisoning their aging leadership, presented a united front behind Hakeem Jeffries.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(25/xx)
Hakeem Jeffries notched a unanimous 212 votes in all but one round, when notoriously absent Rep. David Trone from #MD06 was absent for surgery

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(26/xx)
“Sometimes it felt like they were trying to hold the rest of us hostage,” a comms director for a pro-McCarthy member told me. “It felt like some members refused to negotiate in good faith and were out there for clicks and attention.”

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(27/xx)
Finally, however, both sides had seen enough. While some pro-McCarthy voices told me that "McCarthy negotiated way too much," his opponents welcomed his team’s willingness to "engage in earnest, good faith negotiations."

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(28/xx)
The more optimistic view among McCarthy’s detractors is that this fight was worthwhile, because it can lead to a House of Representatives that is “more open, more democratic [and] more accountable.”

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(29/xx)
Many staffers from both sides of the divide did agree that much of this should have taken place months ago. But some among the anti-McCarthy crowd delighted in the public blood-letting, arguing that it was good for the party—or their bosses.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(30/xx)
A Hill staffer joining her second office, that of a pro-McCarthy freshman, echoed the complaints of many to me when complaining about the lack of a united front the GOP showed, and that there was never going to be a credible alternative.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(31/xx)
The week’s chaos not only affected the basic functioning of the House, but also constituent services. All new Hill staff were frozen out of their government email addresses until the impasse was breached.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(32/xx)
A comms director for a freshman member resorted to sending direct messages on Twitter to journalists to make sure that his boss’s voice was included in their coverage, because he was unable to email them.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(33/xx)
Even staffers who transferred from one office to another had their government email accounts frozen. Had the deadlock continued, the salaries of both members of Congress and their staff would have been thrown into limbo.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(34/xx)
#WI08's @RepGallagher pointed out that he lost security clearance because he was technically unemployed. He learned this when attempting to enter a SCIF when he was “informed by House security that technically I don’t have a clearance.”

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(35/xx)
The entire Congress were sworn in as one on January 7 after midnight. This foiled the plans of many families who flew in to celebrate their spouses, parents or siblings, because they had to return to their day jobs or classes across the country.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(36/xx)
One member’s family told me they flew in, toured some museums, but were unable to extend their stay long enough to properly celebrate after the swearing-ins were delayed repeatedly.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(37/xx)
Another disappointed group is the DC lobbyist crew. One lobbyist who made the rounds told me it wasn’t a surprise that Congress dispersed, because “members had receptions for donors, lobbyists, family and friends (in that order of importance).”

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(38/xx)
#FL01's @mattgaetz, who swore off fundraising from corporate money, was able to keep his campaign coffers full by sending out fundraising missive after fundraising missive over email and text about his work “stopping McCarthy.”

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(39/xx)
Meanwhile, the Republican Party’s larger donor fundraising was cryogenically frozen. A party fundraiser told me that until the speaker’s race was decided, all big donors wanted to do was talk about how the speaker’s race was unsettled.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(40/xx)
Meanwhile, small-dollar donors were flocking to the Republicans who were fighting the “establishment” harder than they fight against Democrats.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(41/xx)
One Republican member noted to me that the motives of many of McCarthy’s foes were selfish. In addition to the fundraising hauls, she pointed to several who are likely to mount statewide bids, using their anti-McCarthy stances in GOP primaries.

thespectator.com/topic/behind-s…

(42/xx)

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More from @MatthewFoldi

Jan 5
New from me @TheSpectator:

The REAL @katieporteroc scandal that literally everyone is ignoring is the fact it took an anonymous instagram account, @DWS________, to do the job that the Capitol Hill press corps *exists to do*

Here we go...

thespectator.com/topic/katie-po…

(1/xx)
#CA47's @katieporteroc, darling of the liberal media, is having a rough couple of weeks. The congresswoman has recently been accused of: firing an employee who allegedly gave her Covid; using racist language, and fostering a hostile workplace!

thespectator.com/topic/katie-po…

(2/xx)
These are explosive allegations to be levied against @katieporteroc, yet the general public would NEVER have heard of any of them were it not for @DWS________, an anonymous Instagram account that did the job of the *entire* DC press corps.

thespectator.com/topic/katie-po…

(3/xx)
Read 34 tweets
Dec 28, 2022
Going to do a thread on some WILD admissions by New York Times staff that show how wildly out of touch they are with America, biology, and basically the entire world

Starting off with how they admit they want to erase pregnant women

(1/x) Image
Here, one of their editors admits she won’t use the term “pro-life”…because that’s not the preferred term of the left, which is obviously their entire readership

(2/x) Image
Here, they discuss the term “master bedroom,” and admit the term has nothing to do with slavery, but that they understand why people would be triggered and want to stop using it anyway

(3/x) Image
Read 9 tweets
Dec 22, 2022
New from me @TheSpectator:

Newly-Independent #AZSEN @kyrstensinema's use of @actblue directly violates the platform's policy that it is ONLY for Democrats

It's huge trouble for Independent Sens. @BernieSanders and @AngusforMaine #VTSEN #MESEN

thespectator.com/topic/kyrsten-…

(1/xx)
Let's be clear from the onset:

@ActBlue is ONLY for Democrats...as it makes clear on its own website.

@kyrstensinema, @BernieSanders, and @AngusforMaine are NOT Democrats #azsen #vtsen #mesen

thespectator.com/topic/kyrsten-…

(2/xx)
If you're even passingly familiar with my reporting, you'll know that I've covered @ActBlue's whimsical and nonsensical policies for years

We talked about @kyrstensinema specifically on @newsmax last week with @JohnFBachman and @BiancaDLGarza



(3/xx)
Read 29 tweets
Dec 21, 2022
The #TopMinion phone bank is the unsung hero of 2022

We made over 1,OOO,OOO calls for Republicans around the country, helping our friends win primaries and general elections

While some of them came up short, I'm confident we'll see them soon

Here's who we called for...

(1/xx) Image
The #TopMinion Phone Bank called all over New York, starting with @claudiatenney in her primary in the new #NY24 district, which she resoundingly won en route to a landslide victory in November

(2/x) Image
If at first you don't succeed...

@EliseStefanik is a huge supporter of @marcmolinaro, and when her team asked if the #TopMinion Phone Bank could call for him, we did over 5O,OOO calls for him in the #NY19 special

While he came up just short then, he won in November!

(3/xx) Image
Read 15 tweets
Dec 12, 2022
New from me @TheSpectator:

My Christmas wishlist is fairly simple–I'd love for a ban on @tiktok_us, a Chinese spyware system that's being used by the CCP to spy on Americans

Read on for how I could get my wish!

spectatorworld.com/topic/want-chr…

(1/xx)
What do Santa Claus and the Chinese Communist Party have in common?

They both see you when you’re sleeping, and they both know when you’re awake — especially if you have communist spyware like @tiktok_us installed on your phone!

spectatorworld.com/topic/want-chr…

(2/xx)
Whether you’re a teenage girl or a government employee with a top secret clearance, @tiktok_us wants to brainwash you and steal your secrets — maybe even both!

spectatorworld.com/topic/want-chr…

(3/xx)
Read 36 tweets
Dec 7, 2022
My latest @Newsweek:

I bet you had no idea that China wants to pillage America's lithium reserves like we're one of their subservient client states–and that the Biden admin, led by @JenGranholm, is poised to help them do so!

newsweek.com/biden-administ…

(1/xx)
We know the Chinese Communist Party is pillaging Africa for rare earth elements and other raw materials integral to modern life. What disturbingly few people know is how close Beijing came—and might still be coming—to doing the same thing here!

newsweek.com/biden-administ…

(2/xx)
Lithium Americas, a Canadian company whose single largest shareholder has direct ties to the CCP, wants to mine the largest lithium deposit in North America with the benefit of taxpayer-funded loans—and the Biden admin is doing nothing about it!

newsweek.com/biden-administ…

(3/xx)
Read 20 tweets

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