We Have a Speaker, Again

For John, BLUF:  I was impressed that our US Representative, Ms Lori Trahan, had an announcement on the election of a new Speaker out so quickly.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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I have good news and bad news

A letter from Representative Lori Trahan.

Here is the lede plus one:

First the good news: The House finally has a new speaker. Like you and so many folks across our district, I’m fed up with the failure of Republican leadership we’ve had to watch over the past three weeks. With a new speaker now in place, Congress can finally get back to work passing laws, holding hearings, and delivering for the hardworking families we represent.

Now, the bad news: The new speaker is Mike Johnson. It’s important for folks to know how Republicans got to this point – electing Speaker Mike Johnson on a party line vote. Rather than House Democrats to find a bipartisan path forward – one we offered countless times over the past 22 days – the GOP cycled through multiple losing candidates before picking Mike Johnson, a Congressman from Louisiana.

The problem with this missive is that our Representative, Ms Lori Trahan, and her friends, could have prevented the loss of Speaker McCarthy, by voting present or by abstaining from voting, giving Rep McCarthy a majority of those present and voting.  But, no, she helped in Speaker McCarthy's downfall.  She could have done the same thing when Speaker Steve Scalise♠  was nominated for Speaker.  She didn,'t, perhaps for partisan reasons.

So, the House Republicans had to fix their own problem, which they did.  They took a numberf votes to do it, but, in the mean time, the sky didn't fall in.  They are now ready to deal with the President's request for funds for Israejl and Ukraine.  And they have just over three weeks to pass a Federal Budget.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Remember Rep Steve Scalise?  He was the member of the House Republican Baseball Team, who was seriously injured in the mass shooting by Bernie Bro James Hodgkinson, of Belleville, IL