Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Mike Rogers of Alabama harmoniously supported Kevin McCarthy’s bid for the Speakership through fourteen humiliating defeats, and then things got interesting. You see, everyone had expected the fourteenth vote to be the charm. McCarthy had all but declared victory, and they’d already scheduled the next steps, which included swearing in all the House members and passing a rules package before wrapping up for the night around two in the morning.
But Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida had other plans. When his turn came up to vote, he was absent. When he dramatically returned, he voted “present” rather than for McCarthy, leading to a 216-216 tie and another failure to elect a Speaker. McCarthy looked red-faced and raised his voice at Gaetz while pointing a finger. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, acting as a peacemaker, shooed McCarthy back to his seat.
Then, as the House prepared to vote on whether to adjourn until noon on Monday, a scuffle broke out. It appeared Gaetz had indicated that he would back down on the fifteenth vote and Rep. Rogers believed that Gaetz had been offered a subcommittee chair on the Armed Services Committee in return for his vote.
The CSPAN camera was initially following McCarthy as he wheeled around to see what the commotion was, but we now know that Rogers lunged at Gaetz while making ominous threats about ruining his career.
Wild scene as Rep. Mike Rogers has to be physically restrained by another member while going after Gaetz as McCarthy tries to secure final votes pic.twitter.com/c0u2lZxgYr
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) January 7, 2023
Unfortunately, Rogers attempted to push through not only McHenry but also Burchett on his way to Gaetz. And that almost resulted in another fight. Burchett later said Rogers “crossed a line,” called him a “redneck” and accused him of being drunk. Then he promised he could “drop him like a bag of dirt.”
“I would drop him like a bag of dirt,” Burchett said of Rogers. “Nobody's gonna put their hands on me. Nobody's gonna threaten me."
— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) January 7, 2023
“It's just one of those things — you've been around fights before, you’ve seen it. Some guy gets in your face and then it's just an unfortunate moment is all it was. It shouldn’t have happened. He shouldn’t have crossed that line,” Burchett said.
— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) January 7, 2023
The Democrats decried the display which took place in front of dozens of overtired children. But it was a momentary setback for the Republicans. The remaining anti-McCarthy holdouts, Andy Biggs and Eli Crane of Arizona, Matt Rosendale of Montana and Bob Good of Virginia dropped other candidates and voted “present.” This gave McCarthy a 216-212 majority and, at long last, the Speakers’ gavel.
Rep. Hudson, R-N.C., left, pulls Rep. Rogers, R-Ala., as he confronts Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., during the 14th round of voting for speaker as the House meets for the fourth day to try and elect a speaker in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (@AP Photo/@andyharnik) pic.twitter.com/ok3K8ERtfU
— Andrew Harnik (@andyharnik) January 7, 2023
Of course, McCarthy never did win a majority of the House, but only a majority of those voting for a candidate by name. His true caucus (216 out of 434 current members) is a minority, and his victory was almost certainly pyrrhic since it cannot last.
The internecine fighting among House Republicans has only begun. On Monday, they will vote on the rules package. We’ll see how many “moderate” Republicans can stomach the ransom McCarthy made to far right lunatics, charlatans and insurrectionists in return for the right to sit in the Speaker’s chair.
I honestly don’t know why the other Republicans didn’t just start making unreasonable demands in exchange for their vote too. Why let the sedition caucus get all the cookies just because they’re being intransigent? What benefit do the others get for being team players?
Maybe it’s just me but that photo is reminiscent of the famous Lee Oswald/Jack Ruby shooting.
Preston Brooks v. Charles Sumner