Republicans, in fabled disarray this week after eight members of their party joined with the more unified House Democrats to ultimately boot Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House Speaker, are lashing out. The party’s reshuffled leadership in that chamber pushed Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) from what’s known as a hideaway office at the Capitol that she’d been utilizing — forcing the change while she was out of D.C. for a funeral (that of the late Dianne Feinstein).
And they only gave her team a day! Americans need, at a very base level, action in the immediate future in areas like government funding, and this is what Republicans are coming up with for now? “Taking vengeance against the Speaker Emerita while she is at Senator Feinstein’s funeral is petty, vindictive, and juvenile. And it isn’t very smart either,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said. Beyer is, among other roles, the senior House Democrat on a Congressional entity called the Joint Economic Committee, which includes members from both the House and Senate.
Pelosi, for her part, was characteristically measured in her response to the widely denounced antics from Republicans. “This eviction is a sharp departure from tradition,” she said, adding: “Office space doesn’t matter to me, but it seems to be important to them. Now that the new Republican Leadership has settled this important matter, let’s hope they get to work on what’s truly important for the American people.”
A perhaps more likely scenario, at least for now, is that House Republicans keep complaining about Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who formally filed the challenge that sparked McCarthy’s removal. A single member was able to bring what became a successful motion to vacate (meaning boot McCarthy) because of a House rules package to which McCarthy and other Republicans agreed around the time the Californian first became Speaker earlier this year!
Taking vengeance against the Speaker Emerita while she is at Senator Feinstein’s funeral is petty, vindictive, and juvenile. And it isn’t very smart either. https://t.co/Dgs9UcNOY2
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) October 4, 2023
