January 6: Kevin McCarthy, Home Alone?

In which, Kevin McCarthy wishes he could make his family disappear, President Biden finally engages the border issue, and Putin calls a “ceasefire” in Ukraine.

New year, new Congress

The 118th Congress was seated this week and got right down to the people’s business of… removing metal detectors. The new GOP-controlled House immediately set about reversing numerous changes to the rules and procedures of the House that had been set in place during Nancy Pelosi’s last turn as Speaker. While that might sound vindictive or petty, it’s totally normal whenever control of the chamber changes hands. The new majority party gets to set the proverbial table to its taste. And, given the number of conservative populists that now make up a portion of the GOP majority, you can expect that there will be quite a push for getting rid of anything Speaker Pelosi put in place that is perceived as creating distance between Congress and the public. That kind of “return power to the people” dynamic in the Republican majority goes beyond metal detectors though, and surfaces a key divide in the Republican Party with real consequences for appointing the next Speaker of the House.

Kevin McCarthy, Home Alone?

It was no secret that California Republican Kevin McCarthy was the frontrunner to be the next Speaker, and that he’d be angling for the job ever since it became clear that the GOP would take back the House. However, his alliance with Donald Trump coupled with the poor showing of Trump-backed candidates in the recent midterms gave McCarthy a problem on his right flank: the conservative populists in the House don’t want McCarthy in the Speaker’s chair and with the slim majority Republicans hold, McCarthy doesn’t have the votes to win an appointment. 

Kevin McCarthy be like:

As of this writing, after eleven ballots and numerous appeals, the Speaker’s chair remains elusive for Kevin McCarthy. 

Depending on who you are, this rather unique situation is either highly entertaining, a sign of the end times, or a return to a more decentralized House - an old norm.

Practically speaking, the drama around McCarthy’s increasingly quixotic bid for the Speaker’s gavel means that the House can’t proceed with committee assignments and new legislative business. Almost everything in the House is on pause until this position is filled. 

Pseudo ceasefire in Ukraine

With Epiphany happening this weekend, the close of the Christmas season and the celebration of Christmas in the Eastern Orthodox Church is upon us. Russian President Vladmir Putin sought to spread some Christmas cheer by proposing a three-day ceasefire over the holiday weekend. Awwww, what a guy!

I’d do that too if my newly mobilized troops were getting destroyed in the war zone, fresh armaments were getting to Ukraine that indicate preparations for a renewed offensive, and my own defense minister was appearing to phone it in. 

Truth be told, Putin needs (and has needed) the breathing room to get his feet back under him and get more soldiers to the Ukraine front, but Ukrainian pressure has been relentless.

So, it should come as no surprise that Putin’s proposed ceasefire was instantly rejected.