Leave it to Republicans to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Things were going too smoothly so now we must be punished.

There’s a pretty sweet job position up for grabs in Washington, D.C. Currently, we have no Speaker of the House because Rep. Matt Gaetz had a temper tantrum when his anger toward Speaker McCarthy got out of control. Gaetz, currently under investigation for ethics violations, is resentful that McCarthy didn’t bail him out of the investigation so Gaetz went in for a pound of flesh. He got it. McCarthy is out as speaker and he will not run to get his job back.

With the usual amount of foresight, there is no plan as to who will be speaker. Does Gaetz think he is going to be speaker? He says not and he may as well say that because it ain’t happening. He’s a dead man walking in the House. He was a back-bencher anyway, though he does have a talent for getting attention. He has no legislative or policy accomplishments, though. He is the target of resentment after this stunt. McCarthy is the first speaker to be ousted from his job. Gaetz and seven other Republicans voted with all the Democrats to oust a Republican from the speakership. RINOs, eh? I mean, think of the House Democrats and those were Gaetz’s supporters in getting rid of McCarthy. We’re talking about AOC, Ilhan Omar, Hakeem Jeffries (who is chomping at he bit to become speaker now), Rashid Talib, Eric Swalwell, Adam Schiff, and on and on with the Marxist left. This may be the thing his voters expect and appreciate from him but only die-hard burn the place down people are supporting this move.

It’s the short-sightedness that gets me. Just when Republicans have control of oversight committee hearings and investigative hearings in the House – with the Biden crime family on the ropes – this is where we are. Democrats are loving it. Not only did they get rid of a Republican speaker but they now can point to how badly Republicans manage the House when they are in the (very slim) majority.

The House is scheduled to have next week off. Hopefully they will cancel that and lock themselves somewhere and not come out until a new speaker is lined up. Republicans are losing time and there are elections we need to win in 2024. Maybe McCarthy hasn’t done everything he said he would do or maybe some thought he worked with Democrats too much. Republicans have a very slim majority. He had to work with the other side.

Rant off.

So, who’s going to take the helm? Anyone but Hakeem Jeffries, please. Equally unacceptable is Donald Trump. That’s right, some supporters are saying he should be the speaker until he wins the presidential election in 2024. Either way, he’s going to be in court for much of the time leading up to the election so how would he lead the House?

Texas Rep. Troy Nehls said in a statement Tuesday afternoon his first order of business when the House reconvenes “will be to nominate Donald J. Trump for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

“President Trump, the greatest President of my lifetime, has a proven record of putting America First and will make the House great again,” he said.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., followed suit in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday evening: “@realDonaldTrump for Speaker.”

The speaker doesn’t have to be a member of Congress but all of them have been. Gaetz voted for Trump back in January when McCarthy got the job. So, the suggestion isn’t completely out of the blue. It’s just not a good suggestion.

Gaetz gives his blessing to a few Republicans.

In a gaggle with reporters on the Hill after the vote Tuesday, Gaetz said he’d support several members of Congress should they decide run for the post, including GOP Reps. Tom Emmer, Mike Johnson, Jodey Arrington, Kevin Hern, or Steve Scalise, none of whom voted to oust McCarthy.

House Financial Services chairman Rep. Patrick McHenry will serve as interim Speaker until a replacement for McCarthy is chosen.

Did you see McHenry slam down the gavel when he was put in temporary charge as speaker pro tempore? It was impressive. Clearly McHenry was angry.

The Rep. Patrick McHenry gavel slam …. pic.twitter.com/TV1VGbkT7Y

— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) October 3, 2023

He could always be put in as speaker. I would think that at the top of the list, though, is Rep. Steve Scalise from Louisiana. He is the House Majority Leader. He knows how things work. Scalise is being treated for blood cancer, though, and he describes his treatments as “aggressive.” So far, so good for his treatment. Sources say that Scalise “has been making calls behind the scenes to shore up support ahead a possible vote Wednesday to select the next speaker.”

I tend to go with Scalise. He is a worker and has been more behind-the-scenes in counting votes for legislation or whatever. I don’t know how the stress of the job would affect his cancer treatment.

I hope Republicans can come together more easily now than what happened in January. We have a country to save and that means we have to hold the House, flip the Senate, and win the White House. We need all hands on deck.