Kevaggedon & the Discontents

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Hello, and welcome back to The Best & The Brightest, Puck’s new daily newsletter from the Swamp.

Today, my indomitable colleague Tina Nguyen takes us on a tour of the wreckage of last week’s Speaker’s vote. Who’s still standing? Who’s mortally wounded? Who came out with superpowers? How did Marjorie Taylor Greene get away with playing both sides? And what the hell was in that deal anyway?

I keep hearing from my sources that Tina’s work has become a must-read for them, and I couldn’t agree more. If you want to understand the right wing and what’s coming ‘round the bend, you need to read Tina. The woman sees around corners.

Julia

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Kevaggedon & the Discontents

Can Marjorie Taylor Greene make peace with the Taliban 20? It’s a modern MAGA political love story.

TINA NGUYEN

As details emerged from Kevin McCarthy’s private handshake deal with the so-called Taliban 20—the hardline conservatives who initially refused to support his bid for House Speaker—there were, inevitably, some Republicans who were outraged by what he had presumably traded away without their knowledge. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, who had referred to the anti-Kevins as “terrorists” during negotiations last week, abstained from voting on the House Rules package. Rep. Nancy Mace blasted the deal for being “crafted in private,” before changing her tune after receiving her own private briefing. Others went a step further: “I’m a no,” tweeted Rep. Tony Gonzales, casting his vote with the Democrats—a vote that was received on the right, even among people who had opposed McCarthy, as a deeper betrayal.

The problem wasn’t the text of the rules package itself, which is transformative but anodyne among Republicans, but rather the content of McCarthy’s secret promises to the MAGA caucus. Sure, there was the high-profile “motion to vacate” concession...

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FOUR STORIES WE’RE TALKING ABOUT