Yet…
Don’t be like Lobsta Mickey!
Lobsta Mickey reads Wide World of News every day, but he has never become a voluntary paid contributor or subscriber.
You have the opportunity today to be different.
Choose to pay for WWoN as a subscriber:
Or you can make a voluntary contribution in the amount of your choice via any of these methods:
* Check. Send a simple email to markhalperintalk@gmail.com and ask how you can mail in some money.
• PayPal. markhalperinnyc@gmail.com
• Venmo. Mark-Halperin-4 (telephone number ends in x3226)
• Zelle. markhalperinnyc@gmail.com
* Buying me a cocktail (at Four Seasons prices….), tax and server tip included, by clicking here.
* Buying me a cup of coffee (or a week’s worth) by clicking here.
Wide World of News is produced by me and me alone, with no advertisers, corporate backers, researchers, or editors.
Unlike some paid-subscription-only Substack newsletters, the Wide World of News comes out daily!
Thank you for your voluntary support.
Mark
****
ESSENTIAL VIEWING
****
ESSENTIAL READING
* None, except for what is below about the Republicans in the House.
****
What Kevin McCarthy (still) has going for him: About 200 House Conference members who remain committed to voting for him – and the reality that there is no other clear option who can get that many votes (let alone the about 15 more needed for the gavel).
The odds on Steve Scalise have come down for now because at least some of the rebels say they won’t support him.
And now Team McCarthy at least has the narrative momentum of ongoing negotiations.
And the rebels at some point might tire of being beat up by conservative media (even if their grassroots support is not insignificant).
The three big related questions at this writing are
1. Can McCarthy make a deal with some of the rebels to get within striking distance of a majority?
2. How will other pro-McCarthy members feel about (and react to) that deal (a/k/a “extraordinary surrender of power before taking office”)?
3. How could McCarthy then find a way to get the remaining votes required?
No one knows how this ends, but the house is still more likely to be speaker of the House than McCarthy is.
I might update you later today!
****
CNN on the Wednesday night talks between Team McCarthy and the rebels:
McCarthy’s latest concession would be a significant win for hardline conservatives – after the California Republican had already proposed a five-member threshold, down from current conference rules that require half of the GOP to call for such a vote. But many more moderate members had been concerned about giving in to the far-right on this matter since it could weaken the speakership and cause chaos in the ranks.
In two more concessions, the sources said, he’s also agreed to allow for more members of the Freedom Caucus to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee, which dictates how and whether bills come to the floor, and to vote on a handful of bills that are priorities for the holdouts, including proposing term limits on members and a border security plan….
Texas Rep. Chip Roy, one of the conservatives who has voted against McCarthy’s speakership bid, told GOP leaders that he thinks he can get 10 holdouts to come along if these ongoing negotiations pan out, according to GOP sources familiar with the internal discussions, and that there are additional detractors who may be willing to vote “present.”
Sources said the talks Wednesday between McCarthy allies and holdouts have been the most productive and serious ones to date. And in one sign of a breakthrough, a McCarthy-aligned super PAC agreed to not play in open Republican primaries in safe seats – one of the big demands that conservatives had asked for but that McCarthy had resisted until this point….
Still, even if these negotiations prove successful and 10 lawmakers do flip to McCarthy’s column – which is far from certain – that doesn’t get McCarthy to the 218 votes to win the speakership, so he would still have more work to do.
Halperin says: This would be a ceding of power unprecedented in modern times by a speaker. Paul Ryan or John Boehner would have stepped down before agreeing to any such thing. Nancy Pelosi must be laughing to the point of a spit take filled with chocolate ice cream. But it is quintessential McCarthy; if this is what it takes to get the gavel, sure.
****
Here’s what’s being discussed, according to one well-placed source familiar with these talks. And, keep in mind, negotiations are ongoing and fluid:
· A one-member “motion to vacate”: The GOP leader appears to have finally acquiesced to a demand to lower the threshold needed to force a vote ousting a speaker to just one member. While McCarthy originally indicated that restoring the one-member “motion to vacate” was a red line, his allies now argue that there’s not a huge practical difference between this and his previous offer of requiring five members to trigger the vote.
· Rules Committee seats for the Freedom Caucus: McCarthy is prepared to give the House Freedom Caucus two seats on the powerful House Rules Committee, which oversees the amendment process for the floor. (Some conservatives are still holding out for four seats on the panel.) There are also talks about giving a third seat to a conservative close to the Freedom Caucus but not in it — someone like Reps. THOMAS MASSIE(R-Ky.). Who will pick those members? We’re told there is ongoing haggling. Typically, it’s the speaker’s prerogative, but conservatives want to choose their own members for these jobs.
· A vote on term limits: This is a key demand of Rep. RALPH NORMAN (R-S.C.), who has proposed a constitutional amendment limiting lawmakers to three terms in the House.
· Major changes to the appropriations process: Fears of another trillion-plus-dollar omnibus spending bill have been a major driver of the conservative backlash to McCarthy. The brewing deal includes a promise for standalone votes on each of the 12 yearly appropriations bills, which would be considered under what is known as an “open rule,” allowing floor amendments to be offered by any lawmaker. Conservatives also won a concession to carve out any earmarks included in those packages for separate votes, though it’s unclear if they’d be voted on as one package or separately.
The late-night exchange of paper followed another major breakthrough for the GOP leader: The McCarthy-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund reached a deal with the conservative Club for Growth, which had initially signaled opposition to a Speaker McCarthy, to stay out of open House primaries for safe Republican seats. In the past, the two groups often found themselves at war with each other, with CLF pouring in millions to back establishment candidates while the Club endorsed those on the far right. In return for that promise, the Club has dropped its opposition to McCarthy….
· One GOP leadership source told us they believe there are still five “hard nos” against him — Reps. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.), LAUREN BOEBERT (R-Colo.), ANDY BIGGS (R-Ariz.), BOB GOOD (R-Va.) and MATT ROSENDALE (R-Mont.). Reminder: He can only lose four.
· As he left the Capitol Wednesday night, Rep. Norman told reporters he hadn’t changed his position on opposing McCarthy. But the terms of this possible deal were still being ironed out at that point, and the nod to his own term-limits proposal might well change things.
· McCarthy allies are also worried about freshman Rep. ELI CRANE (R-Ariz.), who we hear has shown no indication of moving.
****
It remained unclear late Wednesday if the concessions could move the holdouts. But moderates have grown irate at the offer, after pledging last month they would never support a rules package that gives one member the power to vacate the speaker.
Halperin says: Back-of-the-envelope guess is that McCarthy supporters in the House will swallow this stuff to get the nightmare to end.
****
The Wall Street Journal on the old talks, which provide a clue to additional concessions:
On Monday night, ahead of the first speaker vote Tuesday, Ms. Boebert, Mr. Perry and Mr. Gaetz went to Mr. McCarthy with a list of requests, which they said could get him to 218 votes if he committed to all of them.
That package included demands that Mr. McCarthy promise to hold a vote on a proposal to secure the border put forward by Texas Republicans, a vote to place congressional term limits, and a tax bill that would replace income, payroll and other taxes with a consumption tax. The group also asked for any earmark that gets tacked on to legislation to be approved with a two-thirds vote, and that anytime an amendment to cut spending is proposed it be brought to the floor. Those requests considered together could mean lengthy floor vote series even if they don’t pass.
Finally, the group requested that Mr. McCarthy not support specific members in primaries. A super PAC aligned with Mr. McCarthy has been willing to support specific candidates in primaries they believe have a better chance of winning.
In a party meeting Monday morning, the group also listed the committees they wanted members to be placed on, which they said Mr. McCarthy had asked for. Mr. McCarthy didn’t agree to the full package, and he and allies accused the members of prioritizing their own self-interest over the party and the country.
Halperin says: Getting a deal with the holdouts seems very hard!
****
Shocking but not surprising via the Washington Post:
Two Trump advisers said that Trump’s call with NBC News, as well as a subsequent one with Punchbowl News, were the result of the reporters directly calling one of the former president’s cellphones and were not orchestrated by his team. “He just answers the phone,” one of these people said, who like some others interviewed for this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal details, and added that Trump was considering take [sic] that cellphone out of rotation for a while.
Halperin says: Nothing…because…. there…are…no…words.
****
Dan Balz brings the truth:
When a new speaker is chosen, McCarthy or someone else, that person will enter the office weakened and compromised, presiding over a majority that is not just fragile but also highly volatile. This is a dangerous combination not just for the party but for the country. The power of the Freedom Caucus rebels, who have demonstrated an insatiable appetite to claim power and extract concessions, means that even the most basic but essential functions of Congress — among them passing a budget and raising the debt ceiling limit to cover previously authorized spending — will be difficult to achieve.
****
****
Corrections: In Wednesday’s edition, wrote “selfless” when I meant to write “selfish.” I wrote that Steve Scalise had a 53% chance of becoming speaker, when it should have said 55%, which is no longer operative anyway.