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, “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 California Republican, failed to secure enough support from members of his own party in three separate votes. It’s been more than a century since a would-be Speaker has struggled this hard, but 19 Republicans remain determined to get their way — or risk turning over the Speaker’s gavel to Nancy Pelosi’s protégé, Hakeem Jeffries.
“A group of five conservatives led by [Arizona Republican Andy] Biggs and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.),” PJ Media’s Matt Margolis wrote last night, “have publicly stated that they will not support McCarthy under any circumstances and have called on him to stand down to make room for a more viable candidate.”
So here’s the trillion-dollar question: Will even Trump’s endorsement be sufficient to move Biggs’ and Gaetz’s MAGAmeter far enough to vote for McCarthy?
“Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!” Trump wrote in his endorsement. But Gaetz himself said Tuesday that “If you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge of the exercise.”
Maybe today is the day McCarthy bows out “for the good of the party” or some other reason, to give the GOP caucus a chance to settle on a compromise Speaker — although the pickings are fairly slim.
Or maybe today is the day we find out whether Trump’s endorsement mojo is still all it once was, after that disappointing midterm election.
Stay tuned to PJ Media — the House is scheduled to reconvene at noon Eastern today.
Recommended: Eugenics Experts Advise Having Sex with Short People
Join the conversation as a VIP Member