House speaker debacle underscores tensions between 'pre- and post-Trump GOP': analysis

19 October 2023

More than two weeks after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was ousted as House speaker, a replacement has yet to be confirmed. Far-right Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), nominated for speaker by House Republicans, lost votes on October 17 and 18.

Despite efforts by Fox News' Sean Hannity and "War Room" host Steve Bannon to bully and coerce GOP holdouts into supporting Jordan, 20 Republicans voted against him on October 17 — and the number increased to 22 the next day.

Politico's Jonathan Martin, in an article published on October 18, stresses that the battle for House speaker is a symptom of a broader problem: bitter divisions within the GOP.

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"There is no longer a cohesive Republican Party," Martin explains. "There's a pre-Trump GOP and a post-Trump GOP, living together uneasily. They may be roommates, but they're not married."

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) described the GOP's House majority as "basically a bifurcated coalition government."

Ryan told Politico, "This is a political-leaning conference right now, not a policy-leaning conference…. Our party is a populist-leaning party right now, not a policy-leaning party."

Martin describes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a Republican who has "sought to blur the lines between the pre- and post-Trump party." But DeSantis' presidential campaign is struggling, and Maritn notes that he has "alienated both groups of Republican voters."

"The future of the GOP is on hold as long as it's in the hands of a strongman whose persona, and every whim, shapes the party he's remade," Martin observes. "Ryan didn't disagree."

Ryan told Politico, "He puts his thumb on the scale, he's like the Don Corleone."

Read Jonathan Martin's full article for Politico at this link.

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