Good Day, Everyone! What a day yesterday, huh? Looks like Kevin has reached the finding out stage of selling your soul to the devil! Our Dem house leader, Hakeem Jeffries received the most votes (212) in every one of the 3 votes. The House clerk, Cheryl Johnson will continue to run the House until a Speaker is eventually elected. What a day in history as the first black House leader stands tall and the first black woman House clerk currently is running everything.
Today they all try again starting noon ET, so get ready for what will no doubt be another entertaining day in the House!
I am having internet issues so my GNR today will be shorter than usual as I am afraid I will lose everything... again.
Republicans in Disarray
McCarthy faces open GOP revolt as House fails to elect speaker, Marianna Sotomayor and Jacqueline Alemany, Washington Post, January 3, 2023.
McCarthy’s inability to clinch the necessary 218 votes to become speaker in one day — something that hasn’t happened since 1923 — has led members into uncertain territory and undermined Republicans’ goal to govern now that they have the majority. As a result, the GOP’s intraparty fighting only grew more fervent and transparent as the day went on, with many no longer holding back insults toward the detractors.
“I think that we have to make a choice today: Are we going to be the party of the radical 2 percent? said Rep. Kat Cammack (Fla.), visibly frustrated after a morning conference meeting in which McCarthy made his case once more to his colleagues. “Because that’s what it comes down to, the 2 percent that are being the most vocal.”
It is unclear what McCarthy will do now to win over the 20 who voted against him.✂️
After leaving the floor for the evening, the “Only Kevin” crowd refused to entertain the idea that the detractors’ pick, Jordan, would actually become speaker. Rep. Don Bacon (Neb.) said that while Jordan is a “nice man” and “made a good team with Kevin McCarthy,” it’s not worth accommodating “a small group that essentially have you hostage, and that’s what’s going on here.”
Memo to Rs — loyalty to TFG is a one-way street:
Kevin McCarthy’s Loyalty to Trump Got Him Nothing, David A Graham, the Atlantic, January 3, 2023.
But those “almosts” are essential, a lesson Kevin McCarthy is demonstrating this week. More politically disastrous than a deal with the devil, the Californian made a deal with Donald Trump, and now he’s learning how little it was worth. McCarthy decided early on to stay as close to the former president as possible, but even Trump’s steadfast public support couldn’t prevent embarrassment in today’s vote for speaker of the House. Nearly everyone who has pinned their political hopes on Trump has, for one reason or another, had it backfire on them. McCarthy’s case is just a vivid example.
After three ballots, McCarthy has failed to win enough votes to become speaker of the House, a lifelong ambition. It’s the first time since 1923 that the House has taken multiple rounds to choose its leader, but a small faction of hard-line Republicans has refused to back McCarthy, depriving him of the majority he needs. Early this evening, the House adjourned until noon tomorrow, with the outcome still up in the air. The most likely ends are either that McCarthy withdraws or that he makes concessions to conservatives that will secure their votes but render his control of the caucus and House weak and probably short-lived.✂️
McCarthy broke from Trump only once, briefly, after the January 6 insurrection, when he privately called Trump’s behavior unacceptable and told members he’d ask the president to resign. (He had reason to be angry at Trump, who had flippantly dismissed his pleas for help that day, saying, “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”) But he quickly moved to mend the breach, flying to Mar-a-Lago in late January 2021 to prostrate himself. He also tried to deny his private remarks until reporters produced tapes.
👀🙄🤣 ⬇
Here’s How Liar George Santos’ First Day in Congress Is Going, Alec Karam, Daily Beast, January 3, 2023.
Santos arrived at the U.S. Capitol without his husband—and his wedding band—despite many members bringing along their spouses as they’re sworn in for the 118th Congress.
Speed walking ahead of the press corps, Santos dodged questions about his plethora of lies—which spanned from where he worked, his religion, and his race, to name just a few—before finding himself backed into a corner in the basement of the Longworth House Office Building. He was awkwardly forced to turn around.✂️
Santos has faced significant backlash—even within his own party—for the major fabrications in his resume and biography, losing his endorsement from the Republican Jewish Coalition and facing calls for a probe from fellow newly elected New York Republican Nick NaLota.
With added attention on him, Santos also faces renewed fraud charges from Brazil over allegedly buying $700 worth of merchandise with a stolen checkbook and fake name in 2008.
This guy...🙄
⚖️ Law and Justice ⚖️
These guys are hoping to avoid domestic terrorism charges by saying they blew out the power stations to deprive a business of power so they could steal from its cash register. Ha ha, sure guys. The unnamed “business” can’t be in four locations around the county and this ploy is transparent. Let’s hope they get the book thrown at them:
2 arrested in power substation vandalism in Washington state, Gene Johnson, AP, January 3, 2023.
SEATTLE (AP) — Two men have been arrested and charged with vandalizing electrical substations in Washington state, attacks that left thousands without power over the holidays, and one suspect told authorities they did it so they could break into a business and steal money, U.S. authorities said Tuesday.
Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, both of Puyallup, were arrested Saturday and set to appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Tuesday.
A newly unsealed complaint charged both with conspiracy to damage energy facilities, and it charged Greenwood with possession of a short-barreled rifle and a short-barreled shotgun. Cellphone location data and other evidence tied them to the attacks on the four substations in Pierce County, the complaint said.
Dems in Array
Sen. Patty Murray becomes first female president pro tempore, Rebecca Shabad, msn, January 3, 2023.
WASHINGTON — Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., on Tuesday became the first female Senate president pro tempore, the second-highest-ranking position in the chamber.
The president pro tempore ranks second under the president of the Senate — the vice president — and presides over the floor in the vice president's absence. ✂️
"Making history today: Senator Patty Murray is now the Senate President Pro Tempore, the first woman in the history of the U.S. Senate to hold this title!" Schumer tweeted.
Durbin pushing through historic diversity on federal bench, Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun Times, January 2, 2023.
Taken as a whole, the 136 nominees, according to an analysis by Durbin’s office, break down this way:
- 94 women — 69%
- 90 people of color — 66%
- 61 women of color — 45%
- 9 LGBTQ — 7%
According to the analysis, Biden has tapped at least 30 public defenders, about a dozen civil rights lawyers and at least five lawyers with a labor background in addition to more than 25 prosecutors and an estimated 60 sitting state and federal judges.
Under Biden and Durbin, the faces of federal judges sitting in the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Northern District of Illinois have begun to look a bit more like the populations they serve in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
Since 2021, the Senate has confirmed two Black women to the 7th Circuit: former federal public defender Candace Jackson-Akiwumi — backed by Durbin and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., — and Doris Pryor, supported by Indiana’s two senators, Todd Young and Mike Braun, both Republicans. Pryor, a federal magistrate, is only the third Black judge ever on the 7th Circuit, which held its first session on June 16, 1891. Last September, John Lee, a federal district court judge, became the first Asian American on the 7th Circuit.
Last year, attorney Nancy Maldonado became the first Hispanic woman to sit on the Northern District of Illinois.
Health News
Finally!
Abortion Pills Can Now Be Offered at Retail Pharmacies, F.D.A. Says, Pam Belluck, New York Times, January 3, 2023.
For the first time, retail pharmacies, from corner drugstores to major chains like CVS and Walgreens, will be allowed to offer abortion pills in the United States under a regulatory change made Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration. The action could significantly expand access to abortion through medication.
Until now, mifepristone — the first pill used in the two-drug medication abortion regimen — could be dispensed only by a few mail-order pharmacies or by specially certified doctors or clinics. Under the new F.D.A. rules, patients will still need a prescription from a certified health care provider, but any pharmacy that agrees to accept those prescriptions and abide by certain other criteria can dispense the pills in its stores and by mail order.
The change comes as abortion pills, already used in more than halfof pregnancy terminations in the U.S., are becoming even more sought after in the aftermath of last year’s Supreme Court decision overturning the federal right to abortion. With conservative states banning or sharply restricting abortion, the pills have increasingly become the focus of political and legal battles, which may influence a pharmacy’s decision about whether or not to dispense the medication.
🐩💙 CG’s Picks 💙🐩
Hello Everybody, it’s me, Curlygirl! Mama says I have to hurry because every so often the internet arfs out and then we lose everything and she is NOT going to go find everything again AGAIN!
So, quickly — here is the best “best 2022” video ever!
I could do this, if only Mama would let me have the phone!!
That’s all I have time for today! OK Mama, I am finished quick quick! Post it! Bye for now! Luv, CG 🐾
⚡️ Lightning RoundUp ⚡️
⚡️ We've Got More Nifty Energy And Climate News If You Can Stand It, And We Bet You Can, Doctor Zoom, Wonkette, January 3, 2022.
⚡️ Here's what 2023 has in store, as predicted by experts in 1923, Rachel Treisman, NPR, January 2, 2023.
⚡️ Calendars are for managing your time. But planners are for dreaming without limits, Ariana Stone, NPR, January 2, 2023.
⚡️ How to Build a Happier 2023, Isabel Fattal, the Atlantic, December 29, 2022.
⚡️ Eight Self-Help Books That Actually Help, Eleanor Cummins, the Atlantic, January 3, 2023.
💙 RoundUp WindDown 💙
That’s going to have to be all for this Wednesday from CG and me. Sorry for the abbreviated roundup today but I’m afraid if I don’t get this queued I may lose it again, so this is what we are going with! I’m confident all us gnus in Gnuville can add lots of additional news in the comments like we always do!
Remember to look after yourself. Eat nutritious food, go outside for a breath of fresh air if you can and get some rest. The Rs have shown that they are in such disarray that this year will hold many challenges as well as opportunities. We will need to be rested and ready for both!
Have a great day, Everyone!