Illiberalism · Gilead · Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2023-2024

Illiberalism

Gilead

Speaker of the House of Representatives, 2023-2024

Fig. 1. Photograph credited to Office of Congressman Kevin McCarthy, date inconsistent with title but given as November 9, 2022, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Natalie Andrews and Eliza Collins, “Kevin McCarthy Falls Short of House Speaker Win in Three Rounds of Voting,” Wall Street Journal, January 3, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-prepares-to-vote-for-speaker-as-kevin-mccarthy-tries-to-rally-support-11672750973

Kurt Bardella, “Kevin McCarthy’s speaker-election fiasco has been brewing in the GOP for years,” Los Angeles Times, January 3, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-01-03/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-of-the-house-election-republicans

Aaron Blake, “McCarthy’s big concession — and how it could hamstring a GOP speaker,” Washington Post, January 3, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/03/motion-vacate-house-speaker/

John Cassidy, “Behind the Humiliation of Kevin McCarthy,” New Yorker, January 3, 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/behind-the-humiliation-of-kevin-mccarthy

Clare Foran et al., “House adjourns after chaotic day without electing a speaker as McCarthy fails to lock down votes,” CNN, January 3, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/03/politics/house-speaker-vote-mccarthy/index.html

Tara Palmeri, “We Need to Talk About Kevin, ” Puck News, January 3, 2023, https://puck.news/we-need-to-talk-about-kevin/

Clare Foran et al., “House adjourns for second day without electing a speaker with McCarthy’s bid in peril,” CNN, January 4, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/04/politics/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-vote/index.html

Molly Jong-Fast, “The Kevin McCarthy Mess Is Peak Trumpism,” Vanity Fair, January 4, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-vote-gop-trumpism

Nolan D. McCaskill, “Deadlocked House adjourns until evening after Kevin McCarthy racks up yet another defeat,” Los Angeles Times, January 4, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-01-04/trump-mccarthy-speaker-votes

Tara Palmeri, “Scalise Smoke Signals,” Puck News, January 4, 2023, https://puck.news/scalise-smoke-signals/

Ashley Parker and Josh Dawsey, “The House hard-liners blocking McCarthy aren’t listening to Trump,” Washington Post, January 4, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/04/trump-mccarthy-speaker/

Dan Zak and Ben Terris, “Does the House even exist right now?” Washington Post, January 4, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/01/04/house-of-representatives-in-purgatory-without-speaker/

Olivia Beavers et al., “McCarthy nears tentative deal with conservatives after days of stalemate,” Politico, January 5, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/05/mccarthy-bid-00076520

Aaron Blake, “What McCarthy’s concessions could cost him — and the GOP,” Washington Post, January 5, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/05/mccarthy-concessions-gop/

Bess Levin, “Kevin McCarthy Debases Himself in Hopes of Finally Winning Speaker Vote, Then Loses Again (And Again, And Again),” Vanity Fair, January 5, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-vote-concessions

Eric Levitz, “The GOP Is More Ungovernable Than Ever Before,” New York, January 5, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/01/the-gop-is-more-ungovernable-than-ever-before.html

Nolan D. McCaskill, “House adjourns for night after McCarthy amasses 11 speaker vote losses,” Los Angeles Times, January 5, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-01-05/mccarthy-speaker-thursday-votes

Tina Nguyen, “McCarthy’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold,” Puck News, January 5, 2023, https://puck.news/mccarthys-chronicle-of-a-death-foretold/

Mark Z. Barabak, “Kevin McCarthy ‘won’ the House speakership. Now the country will pay the price,” Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-01-06/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-house-vote

Jenavieve Hatch, Gillian Brassil, and David Lightman, “California GOP on McCarthy Speaker bid: ‘The Republican Party is entirely dependent on him,’” Sacramento Bee, January 6, 2023, https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article270831322.html

Eric Lutz, “Kevin McCarthy Waved Away January 6. Now He Has Left Us With No Congress,” Vanity Fair, January 6, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/kevin-mccarthy-tries-to-save-speaker-bid-on-january-6-anniversary

Nolan D. McCaskill, “Kevin McCarthy wins House speakership on 15th vote,” Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-01-06/mccarthy-speaker-jan-6-anniversary

Tara Palmeri, “The McCarthy-Scalise Detente,” Puck News, January 6, 2023, https://puck.news/the-mccarthy-scalise-detente/

Natalie Andrews, “What’s in Kevin McCarthy’s Deal With Conservatives,” Wall Street Journal, January 8, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/whats-in-kevin-mccarthys-deal-with-conservatives-11673188873

David Morgan and Moira Warburton, “U.S. House adopts rules sought by hardliners to control McCarthy,” Reuters, January 9, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-vote-rules-that-will-constrain-mccarthys-power-2023-01-09/

Julia Ioffe, “Kevin McCarthy’s Permanent Crisis,” Puck News, January 10, 2023, https://puck.news/kevin-mccarthys-permanent-crisis/

Tina Nguyen, “Kevaggedon and the Discontents,” Puck News, January 11, 2023, https://puck.news/kevaggedon-the-discontents/

Tara Palmeri, “Motion to Vacate Roulette,” Puck News, January 12, 2023, https://puck.news/motion-to-vacate-roulette/

Tara Palmeri, “McCarthy’s Horse-Trading Nightmare,” Puck News, February 2, 2023, https://puck.news/mccarthys-horse-trading-nightmare/

Sarah Ferris and Olivia Beavers, “How Jim Jordan and Marjorie Taylor Greene helped McCarthy get his debt deal through,” Politico, June 1, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/31/mccarthy-debt-limit-deal-gop-divisions-00099567

Tina Nguyen, “The Taliban 20’s McCarthy Red Line,” Puck, June 1, 2023, https://puck.news/the-taliban-20s-mccarthy-red-line/

Abigail Tracy, “Kevin McCarthy Got a Debt Deal Passed. It May Cost Him,” Vanity Fair, June 1, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/06/kevin-mccarthy-joe-biden-debt-deal-house-republicans

Marianna Sotomayor et al., “Hard-right Republicans, still angry over debt ceiling, foil McCarthy on vote,” Washington Post, June 6, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/06/house-republicans-debt-ceiling-mccarthy-procedural-vote/

Marianna Sotomayor and Leigh Ann Caldwell, “McCarthy, Republican lawmakers reach deal to end House floor standoff for now,” Washington Post, June 13, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/12/house-republicans-impasse-mccarthy-debt-ceiling-negotiations/

Alex Shephard, “Kevin McCarthy Is Losing His Grip on House Republicans—and Power,” New Republic, June 15, 2023, https://newrepublic.com/article/173658/kevin-mccarthy-losing-grip-house-republicansand-power

Tina Nguyen, “McCarthy’s Impeachment Theater,” Puck, September 7, 2023, https://puck.news/mccarthys-impeachment-theater/

Joan E. Greve, “McCarthy’s House speakership hangs by a thread as US shutdown looms,” Guardian, September 22, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/22/government-shutdown-house-speaker-kevin-mccarthy

Siobhan Hughes, “Senators Unveil Bipartisan Funding Deal to Avert Government Shutdown,” Wall Street Journal, September 26, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-vote-government-shutdown-cf1d41fc

Abigail Tracy, “Kevin McCarthy’s Juggling Act Can’t Go On Forever,” Vanity Fair, September 27, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/09/house-republicans-kevin-mccarthy-joe-biden-government-shutdown

Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Hard-liners plot to replace McCarthy with a deputy as shutdown looms,” Washington Post, September 28, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/28/kevin-mccarthy-tom-emmer-government-shutdown-motion-vacate/

Lauren Fedor, Colby Smith, and James Politi, “US lawmakers pass short-term deal to avoid government shutdown,” Financial Times, September 30, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/1723e6e8-495d-4e0c-bf18-6c91e106e71a

Sarah Ferris, Olivia Beavers, and Jordain Carney, “‘It is a surrender’: Why McCarthy reversed with his survival uncertain,” Politico, September 30, 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/30/kevin-mccarthy-government-shutdown-deal-00119290

Erin B. Logan, “Kevin McCarthy may avoid a shutdown. But the fiasco shows he’s weaker than ever,” Los Angeles Times, September 30, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-09-30/government-shutdown-shows-kevin-mccarthy-weaker-than-ever

Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade, and Eugene Daniels to Playbook list, “Inside the chess match between McCarthy, Jeffries and Gaetz,” Politico, October 1, 2023, https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/10/01/inside-the-chess-match-between-mccarthy-jeffries-and-gaetz-00119335

Kristina Peterson and Lindsay Wise, “Matt Gaetz Plans Vote to Oust Kevin McCarthy After Speaker Avoids Shutdown,” Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz-government-shutdown-1e838cda

Marianna Sotomayor and Mariana Alfaro, “Matt Gaetz files motion to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker,” Washington Post, October 2, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/02/kevin-mccarthy-matt-gaetz/

Erin B. Logan and Cameron Joseph, “Kevin McCarthy ousted as speaker, throwing Washington into chaos,” Los Angeles Times, October 3, 2023, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-10-03/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-matt-gaetz-house-republicans

Adela Suliman, “Trump endorses Jim Jordan for House speaker after Kevin McCarthy ouster,” Washington Post, October 6, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/06/donald-trump-endorses-jim-jordan-house-speaker/

Ishaan Tharoor, “Chaos in Congress points to failures in the U.S. system,” Washington Post, October 6, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/06/us-congress-global-europe-analysts-failure-dysfunction/

Tina Nguyen, “War & Scalise,” Puck, October 11, 2023, https://puck.news/war-scalise/

Kristina Peterson and Siobhan Hughes, “Republicans Nominate Steve Scalise for House Speaker Over Jim Jordan,” Wall Street Journal, October 11, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/republican-speaker-vote-jim-jordan-stevescalise-2419cbf6

Marianna Sotomayor, Leigh Ann Caldwell, and Jacqueline Alemany, “Republicans fail to coalesce around speaker choice, leaving House in limbo,” Washington Post, October 11, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/11/steve-scalise-jim-jordan-house-speaker/

Lauren Fedor, “Steve Scalise withdraws from US House Speaker race,” Financial Times, October 12, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/b3bca5a5-789e-4afb-ad75-684b7cba8a79

Theodoric Meyer and Leigh Ann Caldwell with Tobi Raji, “Scalise’s potentially fatal mistake,” Washington Post, October 12, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/12/scalises-potentially-fatal-mistake/

Siobhan Hughes et al., “Jim Jordan Wins GOP Nod for Speaker, but Hurdles Remain,” Wall Street Journal, October 13, 2023, https://www.wsj.com/politics/house-republicans-pursue-new-speaker-plans-after-steve-scalise-exits-race-8ec48b57

Aaron Blake, “The effort to install Jim Jordan is getting ugly. But will it work?” Washington Post, October 16, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/16/jim-jordan-speaker-hardball-tactics/

Gabriella Ferrigine, “‘Approximately’ 20 Republicans plot to block Jim Jordan amid the ‘dumbest’ pressure campaign,” Salon, October 16, 2023, https://www.salon.com/2023/10/16/approximately-20-plot-to-block-jim-jordan-amid-the-dumbest-pressure-campaign/

Lauren Fedor, “Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan loses vote for US House Speaker,” Financial Times, October 17, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/0c94c4e7-21b2-419e-8f87-97026914b4b1

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, “House Chamber Gasps as GOP Rep. Makes Very Unexpected Dip Into Jordan’s Résumé,” New Republic, October 17, 2023, https://newrepublic.com/post/176300/house-chamber-gasps-elise-stefanik-jim-jordan-wrestling-past

Lauren Fedor, “Jim Jordan loses second vote for US House Speaker,” Financiall Times, October 18, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/03cd7560-f918-449a-beb8-209c24b2a71c

Ben Jacobs, “Jim Jordan Didn’t Just Lose. The Hard Right Did Too,” New York, October 18, 2023, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/10/jim-jordan-didnt-just-lose-the-hard-right-did-too.html

Lauren Fedor and Alex Rogers, “Jim Jordan pauses US House Speaker bid and backs interim candidate,” Financial Times, October 19, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/6b3cf1ee-25b1-499b-86f0-cc9a33304258

Victor Reklaitis, “House speaker election: Jordan says he’s aiming for third vote, as measure backing McHenry stalls,” MarketWatch, October 19, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jordan-wont-seek-third-vote-today-for-house-speaker-and-will-back-mchenry-reports-c10bf055

Maegan Vazquez, Mariana Alfaro, and Jacqueline Alemany, “Jordan denounces threats against Republicans who oppose his speaker bid,” Washington Post, October 19, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/18/jordan-republican-threats/

Seth Klamann, “Ken Buck says he’s received 4 death threats, eviction notice over his House speaker votes,” Denver Post, October 20, 2023, https://www.denverpost.com/2023/10/20/ken-buck-threats-house-speaker-vote/

James Politi, “Republican disarray deepens as House members axe Jordan’s Speaker bid,” Financial Times, October 20, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/cf1c242c-94be-45ed-a334-c81685274427

Clare Foran et al., “Tom Emmer drops out of speaker’s race, hours after being nominated,” CNN, October 24, 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/24/politics/house-republicans-speaker-nominee/index.html

Victor Reklaitis, “Tom Emmer nominated for speaker by House Republicans,” MarketWatch, October 24, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/tom-emmer-nominated-for-speaker-by-house-republicans-ed81287a

Victor Reklaitis, “Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson nominated for speaker by House Republicans,” MarketWatch, October 24, 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/louisiana-rep-mike-johnson-nominated-for-speaker-by-house-republicans-60cc9810

Lauren Fedor, “Donald Trump ally Mike Johnson elected US House Speaker after weeks of gridlock,” Financial Times, October 25, 2023, https://www.ft.com/content/1744b79e-f137-4f81-bdba-f3f2bd5b04f3

Bess Levin, “Mike Johnson Said Same-Sex Marriage Would Lead to People Marrying Their Pets, Wanted to Sentence Abortion Doctors to ‘Hard Labor,’” Vanity Fair, October 25, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/10/mike-johnson-said-same-sex-marriage-would-lead-to-people-marrying-their-pets

Bess Levin, “Election Denial, ‘Sexual Anarchy,’ Noah’s Ark: All the Mike Johnson Details We Regret to Inform You Of,” Vanity Fair, October 26, 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/10/everything-to-know-about-mike-johnson

Tina Nguyen, “Does Mike Johnson Have a Clue?” Puck, November 1, 2023, https://puck.news/does-mike-johnson-have-a-clue/

Tina Nguyen, “Johnson Gets the McCarthy Treatment,” Puck, January 10, 2024, https://puck.news/johnson-gets-the-mccarthy-treatment/

Tina Nguyen, “The Johnson Piñata,” Puck, February 7, 2024, https://puck.news/the-johnson-pinata/

Victor Reklaitis, “Speaker Johnson faces ouster motion as bill to avert shutdown passes House,” Market Watch, March 22, 2024, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/house-passes-package-that-prevents-government-shutdown-ce0b032b

Maegan Vazquez and Mariana Alfaro, “Weakened House GOP majority reckons with Johnson’s leadership,” Washington Post, March 24, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/24/house-speaker-johnson-spending-complaints/

Leigh Ann Caldwell and Marianna Sotomayor, “Bipartisan House coalition advances Ukraine aid,” Washington Post, April 19, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/19/israel-ukraine-aid-house-speaker-mike-johnson/

Danielle Paquette et al., “House approves Ukraine, Israel aid bills,” Washington Post, April 20, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/20/house-vote-ukraine-israel-aid-johnson/

Leigh Ann Caldwell and Theodoric Meyer with Tobi Raji, “The House has a bipartisan governing coalition,” Washington Post, April 22, 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/22/house-has-bipartisan-governing-coalition/