House Republicans pull the plug on Speaker debacle

Earlier today House Republicans narrowly selected Steve Scalise (measles) over Jim Jordan (chicken pox) as their nominee for Speaker of the House, and they announced that a full floor vote would take place this afternoon.

But then various House Republicans began announcing that they intended to vote against Scalise, making clear that the initial round of voting (and perhaps the first several rounds) would result in no Speaker. Accordingly, House Republicans have now announced that they will not be holding a vote for Speaker of the House today.

This is sheer unadulterated chaos. And it’s profoundly humiliating for House Republicans. This is a time of global conflict, the budget agreement runs out in four weeks, and these idiots can’t even so much as hold a vote to pick a Speaker of the House.

House Republicans are handing us our messaging. Let’s make sure we take advantage of it. That messaging is not “oh no, there’s no Speaker, we’re doomed.” The messaging is “Republicans are incapable of governing, replace them with Democrats in 2024.”