By any fair measure, the House Republican conference has seen better days. This was, after all, the week in which a sitting GOP House speaker faced a successful revolt launched by members of his own party, leading to the first such ouster in American history.
A day later, a New York Times analysis argued persuasively that House Republicans “have become ungovernable.” Politico published a related assessment, under a headline that read, “The House GOP is a failed state.”
It’s against this backdrop that House Republicans are engaged in a difficult process of choosing new leadership, with the hopes of electing a new speaker next week. It’s fair to say this process, at least for now, isn’t going especially well.
Indeed, a certain former president has made the mess just a bit messier. NBC News reported:
Former President Donald Trump waded into the contested race for House speaker Friday, throwing his support behind one of his top allies on Capitol Hill, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan.
Trump’s announcement came on the heels of a similar endorsement from Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
Political insiders weren’t exactly surprised to see Trump endorse his far-right, election-denying ally, but his intervention in the race for the gavel complicates an intra-party dispute that isn’t moving any closer to a resolution.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise — who’s served as the #2 GOP leader in the chamber this year — is effectively the heir apparent to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the Louisiana Republican kicked off his bid for the gavel this week, picking up considerable support from his GOP colleagues.
But Jordan’s rival bid, now backed by Trump, raises the prospect of a divided caucus — or more to the point, an even more divided caucus.
In fact, one House Republican, California’s Tom McClintock, described the situation as an “impasse,” and issued a written statement overnight that concluded, “The only workable outcome is to restore Kevin McCarthy as Speaker under party rules that respect and enforce the right of the majority party to elect him.”
There’s no reason to believe McCarthy would reclaim the gavel — he withdrew from consideration after the motion to vacate succeeded — but at this point, I wouldn’t rule out any possibilities. Making matters slightly worse, Trump is reportedly weighing the possibility of an in-person Capitol Hill visit next week, and according to an unconfirmed Fox News report, the former president is willing to “accept a short-term role as speaker of the House of Representatives to serve as a ‘unifier’ for the Republican Party until lawmakers reach a decision on who should take on the post.” It’s not altogether clear what the point would be — GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is already wielding the gavel, and he enjoys broad support in the party — but reports suggest Trump is prepared to serve in the role anyway. And what about existing Republican rules that would prevent Trump from serving in the House leadership? GOP Rep. Greg Steube of Florida appeared on Newsmax last night and said that House Republicans are prepared to change the rules in order to assist the former president. Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
