Now that the pathetic Kevin McCarthy is out as Speaker of the House, the rumblings of who could replace him have been getting louder and scarier. The Republican party doesn’t have too many decent people to choose from, to be honest. But then again, who says they want a decent person for the job? They’ve done nothing to indicate decency or even competence are important qualifications to lead their party.
Immediately following the vote to oust McCarthy, North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry was appointed acting speaker for a LIMITED time. Being from NC myself, I know that McHenry is also not a great character. But his main role will be to help find a new speaker. How fun!
The Speaker of the House is a hugely impactful role. Well, except if your name is Kevin McCarthy. That person becomes 2nd in line to become President, after ONLY the Vice President. So I mean, they should be competent, yes? Legislatively, they set the agenda for the House. No other business, including further action on bills to fund the government, will likely take place until a new speaker is chosen. Republicans must come together and unify, mostly, to make this happen.
As the minority party, Democrats do not have enough votes to make their choice, Hakeem Jeffries, the speaker, no matter how good he would be at the job. In an alternate universe, reasonable Republicans would come to the Democrats’ side and support Jeffries anyway. There is no rule that says the speaker has to come from the majority party. That is WILDLY unlikely, though, especially after the Democrats refused to save Republicans from their own mess this week.
So who could be the next in line for the worst current job in DC? There are a few names being thrown out. Perhaps the favorite to become the next speaker is Steve Scalise. Scalise has tried to establish a brand for himself as a more “reasonable” Republican, even going so far as to apologize for past involvement with a David Duke-founded white supremacy group. (Behavior which, in the years since, has come back around to a mainstream GOP activity.) Personally, though, I remember watching coverage of him being shot a few years ago—a horrific event of course, yet, didn’t move him at all on gun reform. Very wild.
Jim Jordan is another terrible guy whose name is floating around. According to MSNBC, both Scalise and Jordan have announced their runs. Jordan is a constant trainwreck in the House, often making a name for himself with his outrageous lines of questioning during various Congressional hearings. Some other names to look out for include, but are not limited to: Elise Stefanik, Tom Emmer, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Byron Donalds, and Rich Hudson. But maybe the most stomach-churning name that has been thrown out is Donald Trump. Yes, it’s true. He has reportedly said he doesn’t want the job, but sources allegedly told conservative commentator Sean Hannity that he is “open” to it. Trump is running for President so I don’t know why in the world he would want to be speaker. He is not someone I think of as having legislative prowess. I mean, can you imagine?!
Many people don’t know that the Speaker of the House does NOT have to be a sitting member of Congress. This is why Trump could be an actual possibility, though I think it is unlikely.
HOWEVER. That does open us up to some pretty incredible possibilities. For example:
See also:
I laughed out loud at that one because sadly, a dog may be better than many candidates that Republicans have to offer. Red rover red rover let Fido take over!
(featured image: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
