Declared Vacant

Hello, it’s the weekend. This is The Weekender ☕

In the span of just a few days, Kevin McCarthy’s political career wholly collapsed. After enduring 15 votes to secure the gavel, he lost it at the hands of Matt Gaetz, one of the least popular — and least powerful — members of his caucus. He announced hours later that he would not run again, and did not bother to name a successor. Now, he reportedly may bow out of his term before its completion. 

It was a pillow to the face of a hugely ambitious man’s political career. 

Now, his caucus is scrambling to pick a replacement. The leading contenders are Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan, both who come saddled with baggage (though not David Duke’s, supposedly). Scalise is undergoing treatment for a very serious form of cancer — but has the advantage of the leadership apparatus, and a relationship with many members thanks to his job as the whip (not that he was all that great at tallying them). Jordan has establishmentized himself in recent years, becoming a McCarthy ally in exchange for a powerful role atop the Judiciary Committee. McCarthy’s staff are reportedly stirring up support for him — but he’s got lots of baggage of his own. 

Both are hard-right Republicans. 

They’re gunning for elections next Wednesday — but it seems doubtful that anyone will be able to rally the troops by then, considering the chamber is in recess until midmorning on Tuesday. 

A couple points of contention are almost sure to arise amid the jockeying for the gavel. One is the motion to vacate rule. When House Republicans came crawling to Paul Ryan in 2015, begging him to take the speakership role, he initially agreed conditionally: He wanted a rule change, so he wouldn’t be so easily deposed. He eventually dropped his insistence amid right-wing pushback. A new speaker could stick to his guns. But who’d oppose that? Gaetz, and others with insatiable main character syndrome. Lauren Boebert, similarly afflicted, has interestingly said that she’d go along with ditching the rule if Jordan is speaker. 

The other big sticking point will be Ukraine aid. It’s very difficult to see anyone get to 218 (sans Democratic help) without promising to cut off funding to Ukraine, which is becoming a litmus test on the right (More on that on TPM’s homepage today). Jordan has already said he wouldn’t support further aid. Scalise has consistently supported aid legislation; we’ll see if that lasts. 

All of this is happening while we barrel towards another shutdown. The government is funded through November 17. That fight is going to pick up sooner rather than later — and related concessions might be part of the candidates’ backslapping and baby kissing to gather support.

More on other news below. Let’s dig in. 

— Kate Riga

George Santos Had Fake Money To Go With His Fake Jobs

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) is a man of many lies. As he made his way to Capitol Hill, Santos touted prestigious jobs and educational achievements that he didn’t actually have. His claims of founding a charity organization for pets are dubious, at best. It’s not even clear what his real name is.
 

Well, now, as the waves of legal drama and scandalous allegations surrounding Santos continue to mount, we can add another lie to the mix: Federal prosecutors say a seven-figure fortune that Santos claimed to have in the bank never actually existed. 
 

In recent months, as TPM covered Santos’ wildly irregular campaign finance filings, his chaotic campaign organization, and allegations he bilked donors, his supposed wealth stood out as a centerpiece of the lingering mysteries in the sordid saga. According to his filings, Santos personally loaned his campaign more than half a million dollars. The money came as Santos reported a massive cash surge that saw him go from earning $55,000 a year to having over a million dollars in the bank and in salary.
 

Santos’ newfound wealth and the massive loan to his campaign raised a series of questions: Where did he get the cash? Was it related to his connections to an alleged pyramid scheme? Was the money real? 
 

It turns out the cash and Santos’ large loan may have been purely imaginary. On Thursday, Santos’ campaign treasurer, the veteran Republican operative Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge related to her work on his campaign. In a court filing for the case, prosecutors described the loan as part of a “scheme” where Santos falsely inflated the amount of money coming into his campaign in order to qualify for a party committee program that would provide him with logistical and financial support. The prosecutors said the loan and Santos’ supposed fortune were both made up since he “did not have the funds necessary to make such loans at the time.”
 

Along with the revelation about Santos’ finances, the filing details panicked text messages, promised wire transfers, and allegedly faked contributions from Santos’ and Marks’ family members. We dug into the mess and talked to a source close to Santos who previewed the strategy the congressman might deploy as he’s fighting his own indictment. Santos is blaming Marks for the impropriety on his campaign. Marks is, in turn, blaming him. And her lawyer offered an all-timer of a soundbite describing the treasurer as having been “mentally seduced.” 

The whole thing is just grift upon grift. Rest assured, we will stick with the Santos story as it continues to unravel.

— Hunter Walker

A Tale Of Two Judges

Trump continued his everlasting bid at eternal delay for legal accountability this week. One was in D.C., where he’s being prosecuted for his 2020 coup attempt. The other took place in his Florida case, where he’s fending off a prosecution over his decision to cling to classified records after allegedly taking them from the White House at the end of his term.

It’s a subtle thing. Defense attorneys in criminal cases will sometimes try to delay proceedings, and will throw arguments against the wall to see what sticks. Finding the line can be a difficult thing.

So, it’s been interesting to see how U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan for the District of Columbia responded this week to Trump’s arguments for delay. She shot down the underpinnings. A request for delay based on classified information access, for example, was met with a terse demand that attorneys get their paperwork in to receive security clearances.

In Florida, however, things are less clear. There, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon for the Southern District of Florida continues to move things along at a slow pace. But, she’s perhaps showing more solicitude towards Trump’s requests for a delay. On Friday, she agreed to briefly stay deadlines in the case so she could mull a request for him to push the trial date back even further.

— Josh Kovensky

Introducing: Belaboring The Point

I’m thrilled to announce that we’re debuting a new podcast under the TPM banner. Belaboring the Point, hosted by me, will encapsulate what I love most about working here: an obsession with ideas, our dedication to cover politics not like sports or a game, but to interrogate how our underlying systems manifest in our politics, and what narratives grow out of those.

Our first episode is my conversation with Josh Kovensky and journalist Tim Mak, who up and moved to Ukraine to better cover the war and the stories of the people caught in it. It’s a fascinating conversation about a uniquely human way to report on the most dehumanizing endeavor we put ourselves through. It, like all of the episodes for the foreseeable future, will be available in the Josh Marshall Podcast feed.

— Kate Riga

“We had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor … of the girls that he had slept with. He’d brag about how he would crush E.D. medicine and chase it with an energy drink so he could go all night.”

That’s Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) talking about MAGA loyalist Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

Gaetz was recently investigated by the Justice Department over sex trafficking accusations tied to an alleged sexual relationship with a 17-year-old. The Florida congressman has long denied the allegations against him and the DOJ ended their sex trafficking investigation into him without charging him with any crimes.

Mullin’s comments, of course, sparked a similar response from the far-right lawmaker. 

“This is a lie,” Gaetz said in response to Mulin.

I’ll stop there and let you be the judge of how believable Mullin’s claims sound when it comes to someone like Gaetz.

But this all comes against an explosive backdrop: Mulin’s Wednesday comments came just a day after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy lost his gavel following a motion to vacate brought forward by Gaetz after weeks of threats. Seven Republicans joined him to oust the House Speaker for the first time in U.S. history.
 

Mulin says the MTV was Gaetz’ way of looking for his “moment of fame.”

— Emine Yücel