And that’s not saying much—I want to get that out of the way. We’re a few weeks into the new session of Congress, but McCarthy has done two things that may point to him growing a spine: he’s booted Ilhan Omar and other insufferable Democrats for their committee assignments. Eric Swalwell is one of those clowns who lost his seat on the House Intelligence Committee, along with Adam Schiff, the former chairman. McCarthy has also held firm on Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who the press has hounded for serial inconsistencies with his résumé. So far, Speaker McCarthy has done what he said he would do.
The fight over Omar’s committee assignment did yield some of the most delicious meltdowns from congressional Democrats. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and others spewed hellfire on the House floor, which voted to remove Ilhan Omar from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. This motion wasn’t a smooth ride. There were at least a few Republicans who weren’t keen on removing Omar, who has a history of anti-Semitic posts on social media.
Losing two votes puts immense pressure on McCarthy, who is working with a slim majority, much like Pelosi did in the previous session, though she had an iron grip on her caucus. It’s unknown with McCarthy, who had to go through 15 ballots before clinching enough votes to become House speaker.
Santos would have had to resign by now, pre-2016. The Republican Party’s penchant for playing by the rules and looking honorable would have generated enough pressure for this man, duly elected, to vacate his seat. We cannot let that happen, no matter how much he has lied, since a) he’s committed no crime that we know of, and b) McCarthy cannot afford to have his working majority get chipped away by one. Tread water is the game, and Santos, who hails from a swing district, will probably be gone in 2024—but the GOP must hope it can win more seats next election to establish a more manageable governing position.
The speaker also knows that—which is why he’s keeping his mouth shut, and good on him. Also, no one cares about Santos’ past life. The GOP base wants to win and elect anyone who will help push that agenda—liar or saint. It’s the great irony of this whole game: we strive to elect moral men and women, but the truth is, the entire Congress is a snake pit. Voters expect corruption and lies. Santos seemingly decided to skip the lead-up to the palace intrigue. He’s no worse than any of the other sociopaths that have sat in those seats before him.
Circling back to Omar’s removal, McCarthy maneuvered the potential defections by ensuring due process with the Minnesota Democrat’s purge from her committee assignments, allowing this motion to pass. It could have quickly gone the other way, highlighting a speaker’s criticism of getting vote counts right.
So, at least when it comes to being brazen and having a spine, McCarthy appears to be growing, but let’s hold off on an official declaration. Significant fights are ahead, specifically with the debt ceiling. Let’s see things play out when the decisive duels begin.
