#Rep. Scott Perry

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Leadership of the House of Representatives remains in limbo as California GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy faces internal opposition to his bid for Speaker.

On the first day of the new Congress, McCarthy failed to secure the 218 votes necessary to become Speaker of the House in three rounds of voting. The House cannot conduct any business, including swearing in new members, until a Speaker is chosen.

Tuesday's vote was the first time in a century that the election of a House Speaker took multiple ballots to complete. The longest vote in U.S. history took place in 1855, lasting 133 rounds over two months, from December 1855 to February 1856.

McCarthy faces a Republican bloc of critics who want changes to the way the House operates. Although he's given in to many of their demands, he remains short of the votes needed.

Instead of celebrating their return to the majority on the first day, McCarthy and other GOP leaders were sorting out how to respond to an open rebellion that showcased division and cast doubt on their ability to govern.

McCarthy maintains he will not step down and balloting will continue until he can secure the necessary support.

"They can go through whoever they want to go through, and they'll come to the conclusion that they don't, they can't get there," McCarthy told reporters outside of the House floor.

House members voted Tuesday to adjourn until noon ET on Wednesday, when a fourth vote is expected to take place.

HOW THE VOTES SHOOK OUT

Republicans hold the majority in the House now, but it's customary for the minority party to nominate their leader for speaker, and Democrat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York had more votes than McCarthy in all three voting rounds.

Round 1 saw: Jeffries, 212; McCarthy, 203; and 19 votes for other Republicans. In Round 2, the counts for Jeffries and McCarthy stayed the same, however, 19 votes went to Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan.

In Round 3, the vote breakdown was similar, but McCarthy lost one Republican — Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida — who voted for Jordan.

Jordan spoke in support of McCarthy on the House floor just before the second round began, encouraging his colleagues to vote for him.

"The differences we may have ... pale in comparison to us and the left, which now unfortunately controls the other party," Jordan said. "So, we had better come together. ... That's what the people want us to do, and I think Kevin McCarthy is the right guy to lead us, I really do, or else I wouldn't be up here giving this speech."

Speaking to reporters Tuesday — before he was nominated — Jordan said that he wouldn't want that job. "I'm for Kevin McCarthy and I've told you guys I don't know how many times, I want to chair the Judiciary Committee," he said.

Florida's Rep. Matt Gaetz nominated Jordan after the first round of voting, saying that perhaps the person best suited for the job is the person who doesn't want it.

"Maybe the right person for the job of Speaker of the House isn't someone who wants it so bad," Gaetz said. "Maybe the right person for the job of Speaker of the House isn't someone who has sold shares of himself for more than a decade to get it. Maybe Jim Jordan is the right person for Speaker of the House because he is not beholden to the lobbyists and special interests who have corrupted this place and corrupted this nation under the leadership under both Republicans and Democrats."

Democrats stuck together with overwhelming support of Jeffries, noting his historical nomination as first Black legislator to lead a congressional chamber. Many who voted for Jeffries did so enthusiastically and often intoning the names of civil rights leaders and other notable Black members of Congress as they did so. There is no expectation at this point that any Democratic lawmaker will cross party lines to assist McCarthy's path to the Speakership.

WHAT DEFECTORS WANT

Of those who voted against McCarthy on Tuesday, many holdouts sought and got support for new rules on how legislation is considered in the House, and how oversight investigations of the Biden administration will be structured.

McCarthy also agreed to to change a rule that would allow a group of five members to offer a resolution to remove the Speaker. He insisted for weeks he wouldn't agree to lower the threshold on how many sponsors are needed on a "motion to vacate the chair" because it effectively weakens the power of the Speaker. But McCarthy gave into pressure from those on the right since he has such a small margin and can't afford more than a few defections.

Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Scott Perry, a leading McCarthy critic who signed onto a letter with nine other Republicans circulated on New Year's day, tweeted: "nothing changes when nothing changes." He cited the letter, which states "the times call for a radical departure of the status quo — not a continuation of the past, and ongoing Republican failures."

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Perry said he and other members planning to vote against McCarthy took a plan to him Monday night, outlining what he needed to do to win their support, and thus 218 votes to win. While McCarthy agreed to some of their requests, McCarthy still rejected other demands, like bringing a bill to the floor to impose term limits for representatives.

"We took an offer to him last night with things that are completely and wholly within his purview. He rejected it summarily," Perry said Tuesday morning.

CHAOS IS ON DISPLAY

A first-ballot failure is embarrassing to the top Republican who led his party's efforts to win back the majority.

McCarthy ran for speaker in 2015 when then House Speaker John Boehner stepped down, but withdrew abruptly from the race after conceding he didn't have the votes to win.

In the last couple of election cycles, McCarthy led the political effort for House Republicans — raising, along with affiliated super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, roughly a half a trillion dollars and campaigning for GOP candidates across the country. He and his allies predicted a "red wave" in the fall, but ended up eking out just a four-seat majority.

The public vote on the House floor showcased the GOP divisions and chaos. Ahead of the vote, McCarthy's allies insisted they won't vote for any alternative candidate, and even if it's messy, they will stick with him.

But nothing else can happen in the House of Representatives until a Speaker is elected. It's the only leadership position mentioned in the Constitution.

There have been some discussions about trying to rally around a consensus candidate, but McCarthy's allies have been pushing what they say is an "O.K." strategy — "Only Kevin." There is potential for the process to drag out for hours or even days if McCarthy is unable to convince some of the holdouts to back him.

McCarthy's No. 2, Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, has publicly backed McCarthy and predicted he will be elected Speaker. But if McCarthy fails to convince enough members to back him GOP members could turn to Scalise as a potential alternative — or some other conservative candidate.

Scalise, who is in line to serve as House Majority Leader, released an agenda for the first two weeks of January. He pledged the House would vote on measures to cancel the boost in funding to hire more IRS agents, and bills dealing with border security and abortion. But until the Speaker is elected, the House Committees can't form, members cannot be sworn in to start the new session, and the rest of the business is stalled out.

#us politics #news #2023 #118th congress #tweet #twitter #republicans #conservatives #gop #speaker of the house #rep. kevin mccarthy #rep. steve scalise #rep. jim jordan #rep. matt gaetz #Rep. Hakeem Jeffries #Rep. Byron Donalds #Rep. Scott Perry #Congressional Leadership Fund #republican platform #npr

[midnightfunk]

#rep. scott perry #pennsylvania #january 6th #sedition #insurrection #treason

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

#us politics #twitter #tweet #capitol riot #capitol protests #capitol riot investigation #trump administration #donald trump #presidential pardon #pardons #blanket pardon #matthew miller #2022 #house judiciary committee #gop #conservatives #Republicans #rep. jim jordan #rep. scott perry #rep. paul gosar

[donald-trump-official]

August, so far:

- The entire contents of Alex Jones’s phone are accidentally turned over to a lawyer representing parents from Sandy Hook

- He learns about it while on the witness stand

- The jury orders him to pay $50 million in damages

- Alex Jones’s phone end up in the hands of the J6 committee

- the J6 committee secured the testimony from numerous members of Donald Trump’s cabinet

- Donald Trump was deposed in the NYAG’s civil lawsuit against the Trump Organization

- he plead the 5th 400+ times

- the Trump Organization’s Chief Financial Officer lost a lawsuit intended to dismiss the criminal charges levied against him and the Trump Org

- the Trump Org’s CFO will plead guilty

- Rep. Scott Perry had his phone seized by the FBI, presumably for his involvement in the fake electors scheme

- Pat Cippolone, the former White House counsel, testified to a federal grand jury

- Rudy Giuliani received a letter from the Fulton County DA’s office letting him know he is a target of their criminal investigation

- the FBI executed a search warrant on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort

- the warrant revealed the former president is under criminal investigation for violating the espionage act

- the warrant also revealed the former president had highly classified documents at Mar-a-Lago

#what a month it’s been #holy shit #trump speaks again #satire #donald trump #parody

[trickricksblog08]

Multimillionaire climate grifter, John Kerry, gets absolutely destroyed by Rep. Scott Perry for peddling the #ClimateScam, before being called out as the grifter he is, right to his face.

#when you know you know #nothing can stop what is coming #no rest for the wicked #wwg1wga #now we know

[cleolinda]

January 7, 2023

It’s finally over. After days of negotiations and 14 failed ballots—the most since 1860—Republican Kevin McCarthy was officially elected speaker of the House early Saturday morning. In exchange for the necessary votes to get him elected, the congressman had to beg, barter, and plead with a group of hardline Republicans who held out for a litany of concessions.

Since Wednesday, McCarthy and his supporters have been negotiating with several far-right GOPers, including some who have been implicated in Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, as my colleague Dan Friedman previously reported. House members like Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) all held out on their votes, until McCarthy eventually won them over.

According to CNN, here’s what the holdouts got from McCarthy in exchange for the speakership:

Any member can call for a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair

October 3, 2023

#politics #us politics #they specifically put that clause in eight months ago so they could do this #dance with the devil and see what happens #do you know why I had that link ready? #because they’re Chekhov’s assholes

[socialjusticeinamerica]

F-cking idiotic, conspiracy spewing RepubliKKKlan propagandist.

🖕🤡

💆‍♀️🤦🤬

#Republican Scott Perry #trump sycophants #RepubliKKKlan projection #projection #republican assholes #never trump #traitor trump #crooked donald #republican hypocrisy #republican party #white replacement conspiracy theory #KKK is a RepubliKKKlan organization #Scott Perry is a fucking idiot

[pennsyltuckyheathen]

MAGA Scott Perry - a traitor to the USA and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who was involved in Trump’s conspiracy to remain in office - shares a post from a racist organization on Facebook.  

Yet another reason to vote for his Democrat challenger in Election 2024!

#ScottPerry #TraitorPerry #FreedomCaucus #SeditionCaucus #MAGATraitors #CorruptMAGA #FakePatriot #Election2024 #VoteBlue

[uboat53]

Cabinet Endorsements

One thing that's flown a bit below the radar in this election is that former cabinet members haven't been acting like they usually do. Normally, former cabinet members will automatically endorse their former boss for re-election, but Trump's have not been doing that.

This is of particular interest because, while we, the voters, get to see the President give speeches and the like, we don't actually work with him. Presumably a cabinet member is someone who agrees with the president and who the president trusts and who gets to work closely with the president, so their opinion of the president is an important benchmark.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the 44 former cabinet members of the Donald J. Trump administration and the 2 former cabinet members of the Joseph R. Biden administration. I'll put an (E) next to the ones that have endorsed their former boss, an (H) next to the ones who haven't yet, and an (R) next to the ones who have outright refused to do so.

Cabinet Members of the Donald J. Trump Administration (R) VP Mike Pence (H) Sec. State Rex Tillerson (H) Sec. State/CIA Director Mike Pompeo (E) Sec. Treasury Steven Mnuchin (R) Sec. Defense James Mattis (H) Sec. Defense Patrick Shanahan (nominated) (R) Sec. Defense Mark Esper (H) Sec. Defense Christopher Miller (acting) (H) AG Jeff Sessions (R) AG William Barr (H) AG Jeffrey Rosen (acting) (E) Sec. Interior Ryan Zinke (H) Sec. Interior David Bernhardt (H) Sec. Agriculture Sonny Perdue (E) Sec. Commerce Wilbur Ross (H) Sec. Labor Andrew Puzder (nominated) (H) Sec. Labor Alex Acosta (H) Sec. Labor Eugene Scalia (H) Sec. HHS Tom Price (H) Sec. HHS Alex Azar (H) Sec. HHS Pete Gaynor (E) Sec. HUD Ben Carson (H) Sec. Transporation Elaine Chao (H) Sec. Transportation Steven Bradbury (acting) (H) Sec. Energy Rick Perry (H) Sec. Energy Dan Brouillette (H) Sec. Education Besty DeVos (H) Sec. Education Mick Zais (acting) (H) Sec. VA David Shulkin (E) Sec. VA Ronny Jackson (nominated) (H) Sec. VA Robert Wilkie (R) Sec. HS John Kelly (H) Sec. HS Kirstjen Nielsen (H) Sec. HS Chad Wolf (nominated) (E) US Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer (H) DNI Dan Coats (H) DNI John Ratcliffe (H) UN Ambassador Nikki Haley (H) OMB Directory Mick Mulvaney (E) OMB Director Russel Vought (H) CIA Director Gina Haspel (H) EPA Admin. Scott Pruitt (H) EPA Admin. Andrew Wheeler (H) SBA Admin. Linda McMahon (H) SBA Admin. Jovita Caranza

Cabinet Members of the Joseph R. Biden Administration (E) Sec. Labor Marty Walsh (E) OMB Director Neera Tanden (nominated) (H) Office of Science and Tech. Director Eric Lander

The first thing we notice, obviously, is that there are a whole lot more former Trump cabinet members. This is partially because Biden is still in office so his 23 current cabinet members are not counted (it'd be a huge surprise if they didn't endorse him and they probably wouldn't still be working for him if they didn't), but it's also because Trump had way above average turnover for cabinet officials, 19 in the first four years not including the 5 who resigned due to his handling of the 2020 election results (not included because Biden hasn't reached that point in his first term yet), while Biden has had far below average turnover, only 3 so far.

So a lot more people shuffling in and out of the Trump administration, but we also notice a ton more H's than E's there. Heck, there's almost as many R's among Trump's people as there are E's (5 to 7). Meanwhile, Biden's shooting 2 for 3 and the third one hasn't (at least not that I could find) ruled out endorsing him.

Keep in mind, endorsing the nominee of your party is pretty much the bare minimum that any party operative needs to do. Imagine if you applied for a job somewhere, the first question was "do you think this company should be in business", and you answered "no". You probably wouldn't be getting a job there. In other words, refusing to endorse has some big consequences for the people doing it, not just costing them a job in the potential next Republican presidency, but locking them out of the party entirely, and yet a good deal of the people who worked for Trump disliked working with him so much that they're doing it anyways.

As I said, this tends to fly below the radar because it's kind of a formulaic ritual; of course members of the President's party who are closely tied to him are going to endorse him for re-election! That's why you should pay attention now that most of the people who've worked with Trump aren't doing so. It says something, something big.

#politics #us politics #trump #biden #2024 elections

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Eric Hananoki at MMFA:

In previously unreported activity, Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) shared a post claiming that “indigenous Brits are LITERALLY being replaced by foreign men.” Perry’s post was taken from a social media account that has promoted pro-Nazi material, shared white nationalist propaganda, and attacked people for being Jewish (as when it posted, “shut up jew boy,” in response to a comment).  This isn’t the first time that Media Matters has documented a Republican member of the House of Representatives sharing material from a pro-Nazi media source: Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus with Perry, last year twice promoted sites that denied the Holocaust and praised Adolf Hitler. Media Matters has also repeatedly documented how Republican officeholders have engaged with or shared content from extremist and bigoted accounts. Perry is a far-right member of Congress who frequently appears in right-wing media. He has a history of promoting conspiracy theories and played a key role in the Republican attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania.  On February 20, Perry shared a post from the social media account “UltraDane” promoting the white nationalist “great replacement” theory. (UltraDane, which has more than 150,000 followers, frequently promotes the conspiracy theory to disparage non-whites.) 

Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) is the latest GOP Congressperson to share from white nationalist and antisemitic accounts.

#Scott Perry #Neo Nazis #Nazism #White Nationalism #Antisemitism #Paul Gosar #House Freedom Caucus #UltraDane

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Members of the House Freedom Caucus discussed potentially ousting Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from the conservative group during a closed-door meeting on Friday morning, three sources familiar with the conversation confirmed to Axios.

WHY IT MATTERS: The discussion comes in the wake of Greene taking aim at Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Co.) on the House floor, where Greene called the Colorado Republican a "nasty little bitch" after Boebert introduced competing impeachment resolutions.

• Two sources said they felt Greene's behavior was "unprofessional," with one critic arguing that members are becoming increasingly frustrated with the Georgia conservative for a variety of reasons.

• "No decisions were made," one GOP lawmaker said, adding that the group had a "wide-ranging" discussion on a variety of topics.

• Three GOP lawmakers cast doubt that an ouster would actually take place, noting some long standing members have reservations about the move and a removal would require an 8o% majority.

THE INTRIGUE: Conservative critics beyond Boebert have taken issue with Greene shifting from being one of leadership’s leading critics to a vocal ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

• Two HFC members recently floating to Chairman Scott Perry (R-Penn.) the idea of removing Greene and other members that don’t fully align with where the group stands, Politico first reported.

• Boebert and Greene have a history of feuding, with the two getting into a heated altercation in the women’s bathroom at the Capitol where Boebert told Greene “don’t be ugly” during the midst of the speaker battle.

THE BIG PICTURE: While the HFC has fractured on certain issues, it still has played a sizable role in strong-arming leadership into moving legislation to the right and prioritizing their goals by using procedural tactics.

• The group is expected to continue to have a strong influence on the House GOP’s agenda as it navigates a narrow majority for the remainder of the Congress.

#us politics #news #republicans #conservatives #house freedom caucus #alt right #gop #us house of representatives #rep. marjorie taylor greene #rep. lauren boebert #2023 #axios #rep. kevin mccarthy #rep. scott perry

[midnightfunk]

#rep. scott perry #house freedom caucus #sedition #treason #insurrection #january 6th

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

#us politics #tweet #twitter #2022 #capitol riot investigation #house select committee #presidential pardon #blanket pardon #pardons #capitol protests #capitol riot #us house of representatives #house of representatives #republicans #conservatives #gop #rep. jim jordan #rep. scott perry #rep. paul gosar

[cacowboysblog59]

OLD, WHITE, RACIST, HATEFUL FASCIST! REMEMBER, EVERY ACCUSATION IS A CONFESSION!

🗳️💙VOTE BLUE 🗳️💙 ITS THAT SIMPLE!

[soberscientistlife]

Here's to the officers and families who refused today to shake hands with McConnell or McCarthy when accepting Congressional Medals for their Jan 6th service!

WOULD YOU BELIEVE 21 HOUSE GOP REPS VOTED AGAINST honoring these officers who were savagely beaten, and some killed, to defend our democracy and the lives of our representatives that day!!!

THOSE 21 are on the side of the insurrectionist mob to their eternal disgrace -- they include:

Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Andy Harris (Md.), Lance Gooden (Tex.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Louie Gohmert (Tex.), Michael Cloud (Tex.), Andrew S. Clyde (Ga.), Greg Steube (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.) and John Rose (Tenn.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Barry Moore (Ala.), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Matthew M. Rosendale (Mont.), Chip Roy (Tex.), Paul A. Gosar (Ariz.), Warren Davidson (Ohio), Scott Perry (Pa.), Jody Hice (Ga.) and Mary Miller (Ill.).

In contrast, Pelosi gives her heartfelt thanks to one of the officers. (Officer Michael Fanone)

H/T E Q Freeman

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Excellent!