Regardless of who ends up being the Speaker, he or she will be a Speaker in name only. The 20 Republican insurrectionists who have turned the party into a laughing stock will be in a position to do this over and over again:
More than half of the lawmakers who voted against Mr. McCarthy explicitly denied the results of the 2020 election, compared with about 15 percent of the 222 total members in the Republican caucus, according to a New York Times analysis. These Republicans said that the election had been stolen or rigged — or that Donald J. Trump was the rightful winner — even though Joe Biden earned seven million more votes and 74 more electors than Mr. Trump.
“President Trump won that election,” said Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, one of the five newcomers who opposed Mr. McCarthy’s speaker bid. Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Andy Biggs of Arizona, who have emerged as ringleaders against Mr. McCarthy’s bid, have also called the 2020 election stolen.
Nearly all of the lawmakers who voted against Mr. McCarthy made statements casting doubt on the 2020 election, often repeatedly, not unlike the overall Republican caucus. At least 180 of the 222 House Republicans have questioned 2020, according to The Times’s analysis.
Most of the lawmakers who voted against Mr. McCarthy — at least 95 percent — are members of the House Freedom Caucus or were recently endorsed by its campaign arm. By contrast, just about a fifth of all House Republicans are estimated to be part of the ultraconservative caucus, considered to be one of the farthest-right groups in the House.
In the third round of voting on Tuesday, all 20 of the lawmakers defying Mr. McCarthy voted for Jim Jordan of Ohio instead. Mr. Jordan, who himself voted for Mr. McCarthy, is a founding member of the Freedom Caucus and has repeatedly cast doubt on the 2020 election. In the fourth and fifth rounds, held Wednesday, the same 20 lawmakers voted for Byron Donalds of Florida, also a member of the Freedom Caucus, instead of Mr. McCarthy.
Fourteen of the 15 incumbents who voted against Mr. McCarthy were among the 139 House Republicans who, on Jan. 6, 2021, voted to overturn the 2020 Electoral College results. Comparatively, fewer than two-thirds of House Republican incumbents were objectors.
Trump endorsed most of them:
At least 85 percent of the lawmakers who voted against Mr. McCarthy were endorsed by Mr. Trump before the 2022 midterm election, a higher share than the 67 percent in the Republican caucus as a whole.
Still, these lawmakers were steadfast in their opposition to Mr. McCarthy on Tuesday, despite reports that Mr. Trump had been lobbying on behalf of the California Republican, whom he has called “My Kevin.”
It’s fine. The Insurrectionists know that he needs them more than they need him now. They’ll mend their fences although many of them may just keep their powder dry on the nomination.
And I’m sure this will shock you:
Nearly half of the lawmakers who opposed Mr. McCarthy represent districts in three states: Texas, Arizona and Florida.
They aren’t going anywhere folks. They now hold the GOP House hostage. For the most part it won’t make a difference to the country — except for legislation like the debt ceiling that must be passed or the country will blow up. And God help us if we have another emergency.