The House GOP s Mercenary Caucus – WSJ

Top blame for this embarrassment still rests with Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and his unmerry band of exhibitionists, who gutted Mr. McCarthy s speakership and left their party in a slow bleed. They had no follow-up plan to the McCarthy ouster beyond also blocking his obvious replacement, Majority Leader Steve Scalise. One notable joke is that the Gaetz crew claimed the putsch necessary to stop House chaos and return to regular order. Two weeks into this spectacle and standstill, how s that going?

Yet two failed votes into Mr. Jordan s so-far-unsuccessful bid to take the gavel, the fault has spread to a different band of malcontents. Just as a small minority bucked the will of a conference that overwhelmingly backed Mr. McCarthy, a small minority is now bucking the will of a conference that this week overwhelmingly voted to give Mr. Jordan the job. This might all be over save for a new crew of limelighters.

via www.wsj.com

Kimberly Strassel