Today in Politics, Bulletin 39. 1/3/25

… Mike Johnson was elected Speaker today on a party-line vote of 218-215, with Thomas Massie voting for Tom Emmer. Johnson failed to get to the needed 218 when the first votes were cast. Then he went outside and huddled with two of the holdouts - Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Keith Self (R-TX) for about 45 minutes, then came back in and Norman and Self switched their votes to Johnson.

… After Norman voted against Johnson, Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who used to hold Norman’s seat in Congress before him, threatened to help defeat him in the next Republican primary. Republican consultant Wesley Donehue posted: “I have a team of 90 political operatives I’m ready to put to work to take out Norman. I know every inch of the district like the back of my hand. He doesn’t support MAGA and he’s an embarrassment to SC.”

… Fox is reporting that Nancy Mace brought Norman and Self together in a side room outside the Chamber and Trump was put on speaker phone. According to Bret Baier, Trump told them: “It would be disrespectful to Americans who voted in a historic presidential election to have this Speaker’s vote go to a 2nd or 3rd ballot, and it would be disrespectful to me.”

… Keith Self told CNN that he and Trump had a “lively discussion.”

… Meanwhile, Marge Greene plopped down next to Massie and was on her phone speaking with someone and relaying the conversation to him. We were able to get a screenshot of it when she turned away and it said that the person on the call was Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

… When Massie was asked why he wouldn’t budge regardless of all the pressure that was put on him, he reportedly referenced his wife who recently died: “If they thought I had fucks to give before, I have no fucks to give now. I’m a single man now. I lost my wife and she was probably the nicest part of me. What do I have to lose?”

… Massie posted from the floor: “433 members of Congress are being sworn in today, and I’m being sworn at.”

… Matt Gaetz responded: “I know the feeling.”

… Chip Roy backed down earlier in the day after a call from Trump. He reportedly wanted Johnson to appoint him Chair of the Rules Committee to change his vote, but Johnson told him if he did that he would lose 200 Republicans who hate Roy. Rep. Don Bacon confirmed that to NOTUS: “Putting Chip Roy in charge of the Rules Committee is like putting Stalin in charge of amnesty and diplomacy.”

… So after Johnson said he would make no promises or threats, it seems that promises and threats were made to get him over the top.

… The lesson Republicans should learn from this is that they should try to work with Democrats to get things done given their tiny majority, but they will not. So they will have to remain near unanimous on every bill. They have never been able to do that before over the past two years on anything, so good luck to them.

… Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) stood up after the initial vote to make a protest that the representatives for US territories and DC who represent a combined 4 million Americans with the highest per-capita population of military veterans do not get to vote for Speaker. She received a loud standing ovation from Democrats.

… Matt Gaetz’s resignation was officially entered into the record today, but an odd twist is that he was on Charlie Kirk’s show at the same time and said this: “If this had been a close one, I would have been there. I had a certificate of election. But I spoke to Mike Johnson last night and he exhibited great confidence that after Trump spoke with our colleagues that today would have been ceremonial. If my vote was needed I would have been there. I had a flight booked and everything.”

… So Gaetz was planning to vote for Johnson and then resign if his vote was needed.

… Kirk then responded: “But we have about 3,000 emails that have come in over the last 30 minutes and it’s 99% against Speaker Johnson. They can’t stand him. They call him a gutless wonder. They say he’s a liar, he’s deceived us, he’s misled us.”

… When the Clerk announced on the floor that the Gaetz resignation was officially entered into the record, the House erupted in loud cheers.

… Gaetz also posted this today: “South Korea’s president instituted Marshall Law for a day and they’re trying to arrest him. Fauci basically instituted Marshall Law for months.” He is now a very edgy TV man with hot takes.

… And it’s “martial” law. Not Marshall.

… Meanwhile, over in the Senate, Republicans officially took over as the majority and Chuck Grassley was sworn in as President pro tempore of the Senate, making the 91-year old 3rd in line to the presidency.

… New Senate Majority Leader John Thune pledged that he will keep the filibuster intact, saying that it “has the greatest impact in preserving the Founders’ vision of the Senate,” and how it is supposed to work as a deliberative body that arrives at consensus rather than straight majority rule like the House.

… Inner City Press reported from the courtroom that Rudy Giuliani was held in contempt of court today after he testified in front of a New York judge. He was found to have violated the court’s order by refusing to turn over his grandfather’s watch and his signed NY Yankees Joe Dimaggio jersey to the attorneys for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.

… The hearing was then continued to next week for proceedings on the remaining parts of the contempt motion dealing with his refusal to participate in discovery. So no punishment has been handed down yet, if there is going to be any.

… Judge Merchan issued an order today where he signaled that he intends to grant Trump a “unconditional discharge” on his criminal case where he was found guilty by a jury. That essentially means he will face no jail time or probation and the case will be closed. He will still be sentenced on January 10, but he can appear virtually and that will be the result.

… But Trump’s Communications Director Steven Cheung still isn’t happy with that: “This lawless case should have never been brought and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed. There should be no sentencing, and President Trump will continue fighting against these hoaxes until they are all dead.”

… Susan Collins, who is up for reelection in Maine next year, appeared on NewsCenter Maine and was asked her thoughts about Trump’s nominees. Collins said, “I always give great deference to presidents to build their own teams.”

… Except that she voted against 85 Biden nominees. And she is in a Democratic state, which she has been able to win for many years by painting herself as a moderate. But if she votes for the Trump agenda, that won’t be moderate, and certainly won’t reflect the values of the majority of voters in Maine.

… Trump released an incredibly bizarre statement that he was appointing Morgan Ortagus as his Dep. Special Envoy to the Middle East. This is what he said: “Morgan fought me for 3 years, but hopefully has learned her lesson. These things usually don’t work out, but she has strong Republican support. Let’s see what happens. I expect great results, and soon!”

… He’s just a despicable man, and you have to have no pride or self-respect to accept this appointment after that. She obviously groveled to get it and now he’s just shaming her for it. Ortagus could take a highly principled stand and reject the appointment after that demeaning announcement. But she won’t. That is how it is now in Trump’s Republican Party.

… He got even more despicable with another post today where he complained about the American flag being at “half mast during my inauguration” because of the death of Jimmy Carter (they are flown half staff for 30 days after the death of a president). Trump: “Because of the death of Jimmy Carter, the Flag may, for the first time ever during an inauguration of a future President, be at half mast. Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out.”

… And it’s “half staff” not “half mast.” Dipshit.

… MAGA conspiracies about the man who killed himself in the Cybertruck outside Trump’s hotel in Vegas seem to be fizzling out pretty quickly with every new fact we learn. In addition to his family telling media outlets that he “loved Trump” and was a registered Republican, they are now reporting that he was distraught because his wife told him she wanted a divorce two days before the incident, and he was suffering from PTSD from his military service. Not sounding like ISIS or Antifa.

… Law enforcement released his suicide message to the public this afternoon, where he said: “This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives. Why did I personally do it now? I needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I’ve took.”

… Charlie Kirk still isn’t buying it though. He is certain the New Orleans and Las Vegas attacks were coordinated terrorism: “Everyone is acting alone except for the fact the two suspects attacked on the same day, rented their cars from the same company, and served on the same military base. Got it.” Turo is a App that is used by millions of people to rent cars and millions of people were stationed at that base over the years. Not sure why that is so fantastical to QAnon Charlie.

… The FBI released additional information about the J6 pipe bomber, stating that the person’s height is 5’7”. For those of you who had Marge Greene on your scorecard (I never did) - she is 5’3”. However, the person who I have predicted was the pipe bomber since early 2021 just so happens to be … 5’7”.