Chaos engulfs House GOP yet again

[Daily Kos Morning Roundup]( [Abbreviated Pundit Roundup]( is a long-running series published every morning that collects essential political discussion and analysis around the internet. - [Chaos engulfs House GOP yet again]( Greene files motion to oust Speaker Johnson PARLIAMENTARY NERD NOTE. [Marjorie Taylor] Greene's decision to forgo an immediate vote to get rid of Johnson has been done before. Back in 2015, then Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) filed a motion to vacate against Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). Meadows never followed through - but the resulting threat led in part to Boehner's resignation. SUPPORT. I fully expect some Democrats would vote to keep Johnson as Speaker, protecting the House for institutional reasons. But they also would not do it without getting something in return. That something would most likely be a House vote on a Ukraine aid package. DEMS. "I do not support Speaker Johnson but I will never stand by and let MTG take over the people’s House," said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL). "3 of the last 4 GOP House Speakers have now had a Motion to Vacate filed against them," tweeted Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), who labeled it a 'GOP clown show.' REGULAR ORDER. Again, I'm going to say this for the umpteenth time about the 118th Congress and the GOP. What is going on right now in the Republican-led House IS NOT NORMAL. It is absolutely crazy. - [A donation of just three bucks a month makes all the difference. Please start a recurring donation to Daily Kos now]( - [DOJ Sat on Michael Cohen Records for Years—Then Dumped Them on Trump]( The surprise decision by federal prosecutors at the Southern District of New York, which worked on a previous iteration of this investigation before Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg picked up the baton, has thrown the case into chaos just weeks before the trial. The fog has everyone blaming each other. The DA’s office says Trump played delay games by waiting until the last minute to ask for these records. Trump’s lawyers claim the new files show that the DA held back exculpatory evidence. Meanwhile, legal scholars on the sidelines are asking why the feds unexpectedly presented a trove of new documents to the former president. But an untold piece of this puzzle is that Michael Cohen, the one-time Trump confidant and fixer whom Bragg is relying on to prove that Trump broke the law, had been asking for many of these same records for more than two years—only to face stiff resistance from the Department of Justice. Cohen, who feels that the feds unfairly prosecuted him for the hush money deal while never going after his former boss, teamed up with journalist Brian Karem to demand records from the FBI and DOJ. - [Tammy Murphy will drop out of U.S. Senate race]( Kim will run on lines that had gone to Murphy Tammy Murphy will announce today that she is dropping out of the race for United States Senate, abruptly ending her campaign after four months, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed. That clears the way for insurgent Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) to likely win the Democratic nomination and become the strong favorite to replace indicted Senator Bob Menendez. Murphy made the decision on Saturday evening after a discussion with her family – including her husband, Gov. Phil Murphy – and political advisors. The conclusion was that she had a bloody path to winning the June 4 primary, even if she wrote a large personal check to partly self-fund her race. - [Are Biden's Poll Numbers Getting Better?]( The State of the Union and start of the campaign are framing the choice for voters Time will tell whether this is a blip or the beginning of Biden’s comeback. Things look better. The question is, why? Here are three likely reasons: The State of the Union Brought Home Some Democrats: Some reasons are simple. Biden is doing less well in 2024 than he did in 2020 because about 15% of folks who voted for him last time aren’t committed to doing so again. The State of the Union seems to have reassured some Democrats concerned about his age. As I wrote earlier this week: A recent Morning Consult poll shows that Biden’s State of the Union made progress doing just that. According to the poll, the number of voters who say Biden is “too old” dropped by 3 points, but there was significant movement among Democrats (9 points) and Biden 2020 voters (8 points). Several polls show that Biden’s approval rating went up among people who watched or engaged with the State of the Union. The Biden Campaign is in Full Gear: The State of the Union was the starting gun for the Biden Campaign’s general election push. Since then, the President has barnstormed the battleground states, made significant policy announcements on climate change and student loans, and aggressively drawn contrasts with Trump on a wide variety of issues. The campaign is spending real money to put out good ads, including this one: [YouTube ad “For You”] The General Election is Coming into Focus: As recently as last month, polls showed a significant portion of the electorate was skeptical that Biden and Trump would be the candidates. A Monmouth poll found that 48% of voters thought it was likely Biden would be replaced on the ticket and 32% thought Trump would be replaced. With the primaries now over, the choice is starting to become clear for voters. Trump also spent the last weeks acting like an unhinged lunatic, proposing cuts to Social Security and a national abortion ban and promising a bloodbath if he loses the election. To date, this race has been a referendum on Biden. That changed over the last few weeks, and that’s good news for Biden. - [Spies, War, Trump: We Still Don’t Really Understand What Paul Manafort Is Up To]( The ultimate practitioner of the art of the deal makes his return Entertain this scenario for a minute: there’s a country sitting on a geopolitical fault line between the U.S. and one of its main adversaries, Russia. Its population is becoming increasingly pro-western; its governing and business elite largely remains beholden to Russia. After years of fraudulent elections, a politician with a mafia past, widely seen as a stooge for Russia, comes to power in this contested country. The rise of The Stooge is seen as a breakthrough moment for Russia, a roadblock in the path of the country toward closer ties with the West. And yet, an American political consultant and insider in the traditionally hawkish Republican Party, who has worked with anti-communist guerillas around the world, has been quietly working his way into the inner circle of The Stooge and his backers. Once The Stooge is in power, The Consultant sets to work. Once in place, he works to whitewash The Stooge’s worst abuses and corruption, but all for a greater goal: persuading both The Stooge and a neighboring multi-state western polity that now is, in fact, the perfect time for the country in question to sign treaties cementing its move not toward Russia, but westward. - [Looking for a long sleeve tee? Don't worry, we got you (and your arms) covered: Click here to get yours now]( - [Democrats meddling in GOP primaries isn’t hypocritical. It’s necessary.]( Oh dear! Democrats are trying to hang onto control of the Senate by revealing just how right-wing the Republican Party has become? Can’t have that. In our very strange politics, Donald Trump’s threats of “riots,” “violence in the streets,” “death and destruction” and “bedlam” have been so normalized that they barely make a ripple anymore. But when Democrats engage in a bit of Machiavellian politics involving entirely truthful and quite tame television commercials, the guardians of comity get the vapors. The dreadful offense in question involves “attack ads” aimed at shining a light on the most extreme, Trump-loving GOP primary candidates in the hope of encouraging the party faithful to nominate these weak general election opponents. Want to write your own stories? [Log in]( or [sign up]( to post articles and comments on Daily Kos, the nation's largest progressive community. Follow Daily Kos on [Facebook](, [Threads](, and [Instagram](. Thanks for all you do, The Daily Kos team As the 2024 elections ramp up, will you support Daily Kos? 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