Everyone's being very coy about whether Paul Ryan will resign as House speaker -- or possibly from Congress. But according to Politico, two of the nuttiest guys in the Republican fruitcake factory plan to fight for control of the party's reanimated corpse.
Yes, both Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise are lining up support to seek control.
Scalise said in an interview that he would not challenge McCarthy for speaker — “I’m not running against Kevin for anything,” he told POLITICO — while McCarthy said he’s focused solely on keeping the House in November and pursuing President Donald Trump’s agenda. But Scalise also expressed interest in leading the conference someday — remarks that only intensified simmering speculation in GOP circles about his intentions. Adding to the intrigue, some of Scalise’s allies have urged him to be ready if McCarthy falls short for speaker, as he did in 2015.
Besides obstruction of anything put up by Democrats, their right-wing credentials are impeccable. McCarthy was head of the extremist Republican Study Committee, and Scalise got shot at a softball practice and STILL came out against gun control, bless his heart. (He also muttered something about God saving him for a reason.) Scalise also loves himself some oil and gas companies!
“Everyone is talking about this,” said one veteran Republican House member who asked not to be named of the brewing rivalry. “We’re sizing them up, seeing who would be a better fit. It’s the prism that we look at them through now.”
For a while, Kevin McCarthy was the face of the congressional Tea Party and tight with the Freedom Caucus. But things cooled off after he became majority whip. Oh well!
He's also famous for this:
He sounds too reality-based for this Republican party!
