1 year ago
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The dayslong process to pick a speaker of the House has left politicians noticeably quippy.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), nominated by his majority party to lead the chamber, has failed in six votes across two days to earn the majority of votes needed to become speaker. He doesn’t have the votes, as 20 far-right holdouts have voted for other members — but at the same time, no other viable candidate has yet emerged to overtake him.
With frustrations mounting, here were some of the most quotable moments from two days of struggle to elect a House speaker.
GOP lawmaker accuses Democrats of drinking and gets booed
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.), who nominated McCarthy for speaker, accused Democrats of drinking on the job as they headed into Wednesday’s third round of votes for the speaker’s office.
“They want us to fight each other. That much has been made clear by the popcorn and blankets and alcohol that has come in over there,” Cammack said, referring to Democrats.
Without a speaker in place to set rules, protesting members had no mechanism to deal with the remark, POLITICO previously noted.
Cammack had another quotable moment in her nomination of McCarthy for the sixth ballot: “It’s Groundhog Day. Again.”
“Maybe even a GREAT JOB.”
Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of McCarthy characteristically had caps-lock on, but the actual words seemed less upbeat.
“REPUBLICANS, DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT,” Trump posted on his own social media, Truth Social. “IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT. Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB.”
The post did not appear to have an effect on House lawmakers, as McCarthy did not earn any additional votes after it went online.
A fake Trump endorsement of Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) for speaker circulated online Wednesday afternoon, and Trump confirmed in a separate post that it was a “forgery.”
Boebert appeals to Trump: Tell McCarthy to withdraw
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a longtime proponent of Trumpism, asked on Wednesday that the former president tell McCarthy to leave the race for speaker entirely.
“The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, sir, you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw,” Boebert said Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
The comment was indicative of a rift between Trump and some of the farthest-right members of the House, caused by the battle for the speakership.
“I’d like to report a squatter.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Twitter accused McCarthy of improperly occupying the speaker’s office, after McCarthy moved in possessions without holding the position.
Gaetz’s post quote-tweeted a message on his own letterhead to the Architect of the Capitol, questioning why McCarthy was allowed to occupy the office. Online, he and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) — another McCarthy opponent — repeatedly called McCarthy a “squatter.”
“It seems Mr. McCarthy can no longer be considered Speaker-Designate following today’s balloting,” Gaetz wrote in the letter.
“Santos. Santos.”
Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.), the embattled Long Island representative who is reported to have falsified much of his biography, appeared to not hear his name during the fifth roll call vote for speaker.
After his name was said twice and the next name had also been called, Santos raised his hand and called out for McCarthy.
“In chaos, anything is possible.”
An alliance between anti-McCarthy Republicans and Democrats is unlikely, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Tuesday night on MSNBC. But she didn’t rule it out entirely.
“In chaos, anything is possible, especially in this era,” Ocasio-Cortez told host Alex Wagner.
The progressive lawmaker was spotted speaking to McCarthy’s opponents, including Gaetz, during votes. In the MSNBC interview, she characterized Gaetz’s questions as fact-checks of claims from Republican Party leadership.
“To be able to fact-check some of the claims that McCarthy is making, whether Democrats are going to defect or not, et cetera, is important in order to keep him honest,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
