Yes, here’s Donald’s Thanksgiving tidings, a true work of demonic genius, chock full of Thanksgiving threats, incitements to violence against even the clerk of the court in the NY fraud case, replete with imagined victimization, and fully representative of a hopelessly psychopathic demon. This will be used to frighten children into better behavior forever for those who choose to frighten children. This Truth Social post, with 6,770 re-truths and 27,600 likes, also speaks to the nature of his supporters and to their dead souls.
Imagine the unimaginable mind that chooses Thanksgiving for this and see the word cloud below it:
“Happy Thanksgiving to ALL, including the Racist & Incompetent Attorney General of New York State, Letitia “Peekaboo” James, who has let Murder & Violent Crime FLOURISH, & Businesses FLEE; the Radical Left Trump Hating Judge, a “Psycho,” Arthur Engoron, who Criminally Defrauded the State of New York, & ME, by purposely Valuing my Assets at a “tiny” Fraction of what they are really worth in order to convict me of Fraud before even a Trial, or seeing any PROOF, & used his Politically Biased & Corrupt Campaign Finance Violator, Chief Clerk Alison Greenfield, to sit by his side on the “Bench” & tell him what to do; & Crooked Joe Biden, who has WEAPONIZED his Department of Injustice against his Political Opponent, & allowed our Country to go to HELL; & all of the other Radical Left Lunatics, Communists, Fascists, Marxists, Democrats, & RINOS, who are seriously looking to DESTROY OUR COUNTRY. Have no fear, however, we will WIN the Presidential Election of 2024, & MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
The Thanksgiving Lexicon of An Incurable Psychopath
George Santos, far from being discouraged by the scathing report issued today by the House Ethics Committee, views the report as a chance to move into other areas where knee jerk lying and fraud is “easier to get away with, although I deny that I ever lied about anything.” One has to admire his ability to bounce back from situations that, by all measures, would drive most of us to leap off a bridge. Twice, just to be sure.
Mr. Santos let us in on some of his plans for life post-Congress, which he plans to begin tomorrow when the House isn’t in session. “I don’t want the embarrassment of my colleagues trying to convince me to stay on. I’ve been a reliable Republican vote on matters I simply don’t understand or care about, and the leadership likes that. A lot. But I am more than a legislator. I have many talents I now believe I can satisfy elsewhere. And what better time than now?”
Won’t you be constrained by the criminal charges you face, we asked. “You’re referring to charges of fraud and the like? Well, I’ve already been acquitted of those charges, so I’m free to pursue other dreams.” We had to say, “No, you haven’t been, and no you’re not.” But Mr. Santos continued, “I’m thinking of driving Delta Airline super jets on international flights, full time. My double major at Yale was in Phys Ed and Jet Flying. It’s time to use that darned degree and enjoy long layovers in foreign countries.” We can understand that; extradition treaties are very complicated. “Indeed,” he agreed.
George is not at all tired of winning!
We wondered, does he have any plans to continue a legislative career sometime in the future? “Well, in fact, I will certainly run for the Senate in 2024. I never liked Kirsten Gillibrand personally, from afar, and her positions on issues I’m sure are reprehensible to me.” We inquired, “Will you be able to fly commercial jets around the world and still be an effective senator? He took the question in stride, “Look, I’ve been flying for Delta since I assumed my seat in Congress in 2021 and I’ve done an astoundingly effective job at both legislating and flying, so I don’t see why I can’t do the same when I move to the Senate in 2025. Do you? And, after all, given the Senate’s yearly calendar I’ll be free and able to fly approximately 205 days per year. No sweat. The Senate is a part-time job.” On that, we heartily agreed.
Here is the findings section of what is a voluminous report. It can be found at the House Ethics site.
I. FINDINGS On November 14, 2023, the Committee unanimously voted to adopt the Report of the Investigative Subcommittee (ISC), which is enclosed as Appendix A. The Committee also unanimously voted, pursuant to Committee Rule 28, to refer to the Department of Justice (DOJ) substantial evidence that Representative Santos: knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with RedStone Strategies LLC; and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to his Financial Disclosure (FD) Statements filed with the House.
Amid a deferral request from DOJ and Representative Santos’ obfuscation and delay, the ISC expeditiously compiled a voluminous record consisting of over 170,000 pages of documents and testimony from dozens of witnesses, including financial statements, contemporaneous communications, and other materials. That record demonstrated the breadth of Representative Santos’ misconduct. As discussed in the ISC’s Report:
Representative Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.
He blatantly stole from his campaign.
He deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit.
He reported fictitious loans to his political committees to induce donors and party committees to make further contributions to his campaign – and then diverted more campaign money to himself as purported “repayments” of those fictitious loans.
He used his connections to high value donors and other political campaigns to obtain additional funds for himself through fraudulent or otherwise questionable business dealings.
And he sustained all of this through a constant series of lies to his constituents, donors, and staff about his background and experience.
Representative Santos continues to flout his statutory financial disclosure obligations and has failed to correct countless errors and omissions in his past FD Statements, despite being repeatedly reminded by the ISC and the Committee of his requirement to do so. The ISC also found that, despite his attempts to blame others for much of the misconduct, Representative Santos was a knowing and active participant in the wrongdoing. Particularly troubling was Representative Santos’ lack of candor during the investigation itself. At the outset of the review, Representative Santos was given an opportunity, pursuant to Committee Rule 17(b), to submit a signed written statement responding to the allegations raised in a complaint filed by his fellow Members; he did not do so. The ISC requested that he provide all documents and information responsive to its Request for Information; he did not do so. The ISC asked him to voluntarily testify; he did not do so. The ISC also provided him the opportunity, pursuant to Committee Rule 19(b)(3), to provide a statement under oath, but he did not do so. Representative Santos’ repeated public statements that he would like to prove his innocence and is cooperating with the ISC’s investigation are belied by his consistent failure to meaningfully cooperate with the ISC’s review. The ISC and the Committee have now completed their review of the allegations and charges and have amassed overwhelming evidence of his misconduct. This evidence is summarized in the ISC’s Report.2
The MAGA guy you see on the left is United States Senator Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma’s Cherokee Nation American, martial arts enthusiast, elected in 2020 to fill retiring Senator Jim Inhofe’s final four years. And that picture on the left is on his campaign site, prominently displayed at the top of his “Issues” page. He’s demonstrating that armed with an arsenal that could mess up a company of Green Berets, he would make an excellent senator. He won. It’s Oklahoma. So, apparently, to improve on his constituents’ expectations of a well-armed MAGA fanatic, the senator rather pointedly invited a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee witness to a fistfight, in the committee room, no less, based upon a beef he had with the witness over a social media dispute, no less.
His intended target was a tough cookie himself, International Brotherhood of Teamsters president Sean O’Brien. Yes, he challenged a Teamsters boss, a former rigging industry heavy-equipment driver. But Mullin knew he had an advantage, a condition which the MAGA-man looks for in every physical confrontation, like outnumbering an opponent by five to one. Mullin’s advantage here was his status as a former professional mixed martial arts fighter with a record, he claims, of five wins, no losses, back in 2006-2007, although official records indicate three wins, no losses. Brief career, but martial arts is a moveable feast. Nonetheless, he believed he could easily beat down Mr. O’Brien.
He also believed someone would intervene. It was a committee meeting, in a splendid committee room. He would not have challenged O’Brien if he didn’t 1) believe he could smack him down, and 2) believe some external agent would intervene before a single blow was launched. Thus the MAGA-man. Tough talk, big hat, no cattle. Well, someone, a singular entity, did intervene, the anti-MAGA rough and ready supernova, Bernie Sanders. His voice was all he needed, and the brouhaha was aborted:
“Stop it,” Sanders said. “Sit down. Sit down.” The would-be combatants continued chirping at one another while Sanders, 82, sternly pointed for Mullins to return to his seat, which he did reluctantly. “You’re a United States Senator,” Sanders chided. “God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress,” Sanders said. “Let’s not make it worse.”
Apparently, a fistfight with Sanders using the weapon of language was something that overawed and outmatched Mullin’s. He sat down. MAGA-man. This is how they threaten. This is how, most often, they follow through.
Why did Jim Jordan’s run for the House Speakership fail? By all measures he had the “right stuff” to win within a MAGA-enthralled GOP majority. As we argued here, Jordan was crazed enough and arguably indictable enough to meet GOP standards, and unlike other craven pro-Trump congressloons like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Chip Roy, he was chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee. MSNBC observed:
“By some measures, Jordan has earned the label of Congress’ Worst Member. Sure, there are other radicals from the GOP’s insurrectionist wing who appear overtly hostile toward democracy. And yes, there are other conspiracy theorists. There are also others on Capitol Hill who’ve failed to pass legislation, who’ve overseen failed investigations, who care more about Fox News appearances than governing, and who don’t appear the slightest bit interested in the substance of policymaking. But the chairman of the Judiciary Committee stands out because he checks each of the boxes. Jordan was, and is, uniquely unfit to serve as a constitutional officer.”
Nonetheless, Jordan may have won a prize that many MAGA stars seek: the Vice President’s spot on the Trump presidential ticket (should he prevail as the GOP nominee, of course). In fact, when weighing his chances, did Jordan consider this as a prize more desirable in the long run than Speaker of the House? Thus, he may think that losing the Speaker’s contest as a strange win-win, although, admittedly, he’s doesn’t seem to be a thinky kind of guy.
This way, that’s a good boy
Yet, let’s imagine this scenario from Trump’s point of view. Jordan, as possibly the “Worst Member,” as MSNBC crowned him, satisfies – and complements – many of Trump’s attributes: a proud insurrectionist; a vicious fighter; utterly without a moral compass; an unrepentant “stop the stealer”; utterly dull between the ears; always shameless; a knee jerk liar; a candidate for indictment for his January 6th actions; and a reliable showboat. He’s also brought obedience to an art form when it comes to Trump’s defense (for example, during the Speaker’s battle he would not admit, still, that Joe Biden won the 2020 election). In short, Trump might think he’s in safe hands with a Jordan Vice Presidency, it’s unlikely he’d get off the leash, or want to, unlike a Marjorie Taylor Greene, or others Trump has created in his Frankenstein laboratory.
Political consequences of a Jordan VP candidacy in a general election abound, of course. He’d certainly help Trump with the MAGA-undecided vote, by lighting a fire under those who, for instance, don’t consider Trump himself to be radical enough, like card carrying nazis. However, Jordan could energize those many anti-Trump voters who need more evidence that 2024 is not just another election. Also, having two nincompoops on the GOP ballot would often lead to slip ups on the campaign trail, like Jordan answering town hall questions with, “I’m unable to answer where Saint Louis is without a labeled map of France.” Alternatively, Trump is no “stable genius” and would believe that Jordan’s negatives would not affect him with voters, all of whom he believes focus only on himself.
As for Jordan, his ascendancy in the House ended last week in the smoldering wreck of the Speaker’s race. On the third Speaker’s vote last Friday, a secret ballot among the GOP conference, he received 212 nay votes – more than half the conference. Careers that seek leadership positions end on such votes; Jordan ought to realize how many in his party detest him. So, for Jordan his future may only flourish as water boy for Trump. Jordan’s so toxic he deserves the VP’s nod.
Two days ago, Rep. Jim Jordan, the shirtsleeve Ohio congressloon, was picked by the GOP conference as their Speaker of the House nominee. Considering how many votes he needs to become Speaker, his victory over surprise challenger Georgia’s Rep. Austin Scott was anemic: 124-81. Apparently, Scott was too moderate for the majority of the seething GOP conference who prefer Jordan’s undisputed “bad boy” approach to Scott’s more backbench persona, even though he’s a consistent Trump enabler and wants a national ban on abortion, same-sex marriage, and democracy in general. Austin’s pretty crazy; Jordan’s clinically insane. On the issues there’s little crazy space between them. In the mental stability event, they’re a dead heat. Nonetheless, the GOP in the 118th Congress prefers demonstrable insanity and consistent firebrand.
How then to explain the 81 votes Scott won? As we’ve seen, it wasn’t about the crazy. Perhaps, though, those 81 pro Scott voters were desperately looking for someone who is not a future criminal defendant. Under House GOP rules, if Jordan were Speaker he’d have to step aside, thereby causing embarrassment all around. This is a GOP that has embarrassed itself at every turn, and for some who are only moderately deranged, enough is enough.
And, truly, Jordan is a risky Speaker’s choice. First, he might fall afoul of Jack Smith’s January 6th expedition. Second, he’s also involved – though not directly yet – in an ongoing class action civil lawsuit against Ohio State University for its alleged role in covering up sexual misconduct by a sports doctor. Members of the wrestling team allege they alerted then assistant coach Jordan of the doctor’s misconduct which they maintain Jordan did nothing to prevent or report. Some of the 296 athlete plaintiffs have settled with the university, but as for the wrestling team, Jordan remains a deposition subpoena candidate. As we’ve seen, he’s immoderately weak in communication skills; imagine the deposition: “I have no memories of the years in question due to my buzzing-in-my-head disability.”
As another option, was Scott’s loss due to his lack of possible civil or criminal liability? The obvious solution to this perceived disability would have been to vote, en masse, for Jordan. But 81 GOP kooks voted for him. Nonetheless, it’s a long settled fact that the GOP conference, has at least 81 members too addle-brained to recognize this. So it’s possible their nay vote on Scott was to punish him for lack of a respectable criminal or civil portfolio.
He needs to up his game to emerge as a party leader. Surely, he ought to speak with the oft indicted Congressloon George Santos who knows all manner of schemes that are criminal adventures both utterly insipid and easily discovered. He could also cross the aisle and take the much indicted Democratic Senator Bob Menendez to lunch; his crime spree might suggest some avenues for Scott to consider. Congressman Scott, there is still a path to Speaker of the House, go crazier and get yourself quickly indicted, and soon.
Yes, I’d do it, but not for the money they pay me now. No way, Jose . . . .
Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry is strongly considering Rep. George Santos to fill his Chairman’s slot on the House Financial Services Committee, according to various Santos spokespersons who requested anonymity. “This is part of a program initiated by Speaker Pro Tem McHenry to assist those GOP congresspersons who are actively being persecuted by the Johnson-Carter-Clinton-Obama-Biden weaponized Department of InJustice,” Santos spokespersons asserted.
Speaker Pro Tem McHenry himself angrily commented, “Such talk is absolute nonsense!” Nonetheless, reporters unanimously refused to believe him and chose to credit Santos spokespersons because, as an AP reporter put it,
“Santos has nothing to lose by telling the truth this time, he knows a rebound opportunity, and, frankly it makes sense, 118th Congress sense. Mr. Santos understands financial matters and has been credited with the most creative financial transactions in modern finance. Just read his indictment collection. Think Milken, Madoff, and Trump. Breathtaking.”
“He’s Utterly Likeable in a 118th Congress Way
“It’s true,” an anonymous McHenry staffer reluctantly admitted, “He even monetized a veteran’s sick dog! Something genius there. So pragmatic, especially when desperately needed and wanted money. He even used donors’ credit cards, with their implicit assent, to purchase the snazzy apparel he’s known for. My God, he made up out of whole cloth fake loans that somehow through financial legerdemain to eventually show up in his campaign coffers as actual spending money. God knows how he did it. All things considered, he may well be among the hallmarks of this Republican Congress. As hateful as he is, as despicable as he is, he’s got pizazz, and pizazz is money in the bank.”
Among the battier ideas floated by GOP congressloons is the movement to install Donald Trump as Speaker of the House. Even though a Speaker does not need to be a member of Congress (imagine Rudy Giuliani as Speaker) they must be qualified to serve according to (present) House party rules. Trump, current holder of a record four criminal indictments and personally a pile of dung, manifestly fails to pass muster under both Republican and Democratic party rules. Although it must be noted, neither party forbids a “pile of dung” to serve as Speaker, nota bene Newt Gingrich (1995-1999). Yet, below I set out a (hopefully wacky) scenario whereby Trump just might sneak into the speakership with a little help from his minions . . . I mean, friends.
Rules, Schmules!
Here’s the present lay of the land that would, if interpreted by relatively sane persons, would bar Trump from the speakership:
Republican Conference Rules of the 118th Congress: Rule 26—Temporary Step Aside of a Member of Leadership who is Indicted (a) A member of the Republican Leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed.
Rules of the Democratic Caucus: Rule 4. Temporary Step-Aside of a Member of the Leadership Who Is Indicted A. The Speaker, Democratic Leader, Democratic Whip, Assistant Speaker, Chair or Vice Chair of the Caucus, Chair of the DCCC, DPCC Chair, any one of the DPCC Co-Chairs, CLR, FLR, or BLR who is indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years of imprisonment may be imposed shall step aside and cease to exercise the power of their office.
As a sidelight, Trump himself at first said he wasn’t interested in serving as Speaker. His target was the presidency. Then, a day later, he made soundings that yes, he’d be available under certain circumstances, “All I can say is we will do whatever is best for the country and other Republican Party and people.” (Well, if you really mean that, then drop dead Mr. Trump.)
I Am Not a Relatively Sane Person, So Here’s My Fantastical Scenario
Happily for most, sadly for MAGA-ites who would like nothing better than to own the libs with a Trump speakership, a Speaker Trump (likely) will never occur. I write “likely” because it would require the GOP to revise their rules to allow indicted persons to serve as Speaker. One can readily imagine Trump ordering them to immediately change Rule 26, and them obeying. The new Rule 26, applicable to Republicans, would dispense with the indictment prohibition and the “step aside” requirement thereby permitting Trump, if voted in as Speaker, the permission to take the chair and remain in it, until he’s arrested by the Sergeant-At-Arms for something unspeakable. Neat, huh?
Buttttt…….would it matter that the Dems retained Rule 4 and maintained their rule disqualifies Trump? Nope; GOP rules apply to GOP troglodytes. Easily daunted, Dems would grouse that their Rule 4 controls but they’d do so in such a civil tone that no one would hear it. So, should this comical scenario result in an Unspeakable Speaker of the House Trump expect more chaos, more dogs and cats raining down from the heavens, more shoes wandering the streets unaccompanied, and, in the end, a Congress that only God, with an omniscient sense of humor, could conjure.
Yesterday, quickly following the removal of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, a stand-in Speaker, aka Speaker Pro Tempore, became necessary under House rules. According to these rules, in January, McCarthy was required to provide the House clerk a then secret list of members that temporarily serve as Speaker of the House if the office became vacant.
“Excited to be here”
So it came to pass that Patrick McHenry, McCarthy’s buddy, and a nine-term North Carolina Republican, was the first name on his list. He immediately took the gavel in hand and then the bull by the horns, boldly announcing the House in recess “subject to the call of the chair,” i.e., himself. How long a recess is unknown, although most expect the House back next week, thus giving members time to kibbitz and jockey and bloviate, and lie.
McHenry, allowing no grass to grow under his feet, then began Speaker Pro Teming, attacking pressing national concerns. After all, his ProTem powers under House rules allow him to govern issues deemed “necessary and appropriate.” After scurrying off the House floor, McHenry warmed to his powers immediately by addressing the massive housing crisis afoot in the House, where GOP members often live in the corridors and restrooms.
Phase one was decisive, summarily throwing 81-year-old Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi out of her honorific office. These few so-called “hideaway offices,” are traditional and intended to honor a few significant House members. Not a fan of tradition, according to AXIOS, McHenry’s “email asked Pelosi’s staff to ‘vacate the space tomorrow’ at which point the locks to the office will be changed.” Although Pelosi was in California at services for Diane Feinstein, 24-hour notice is apparently “necessary and appropriate,” not to put too fine a point on McHenry’s good nature. He would not be simply an empty suit, he would move ahead on vital issues, something new for his GOP majority in the 118th Congress. À la the French Revolution’s firebrand Georges Danton, McHenry is all in: “De l’audace, encore de l’audace, et toujours de l’audace.” What a checklist he must have. And lo and behold the audacious Mr. McHenry struck again, this morning, evicting 26-term, 84-year-old Maryland congressman Steny Hoyer; “No more hideaway for you!”
Many GOPers already jockey for pride of place in the reassignment of Pelosi’s and Hoyer’s offices. Moreover, expect more of the same. Mr. McHenry’s daring new House Housing Directorate is open for business. L’Audace!
Note 3:43 EDT: I interrupted writing this post about the battle over removing Kevin McCarthy as Speaker because the pace of House proceedings galloped ahead at a pace I didn’t expect to occur so soon. I will complete the original post following the vacate votes, but as a retrospective piece rather than it appears now as a prospective piece. I will, below, continue to update, however, as today’s proceedings continue.
4:01 pm (EDT): The House is voting on the motion to vacate. Will the Democrats vote it down which will likely save McCarthy’s day job. The GOP MAGA-ites – like Gaetz, the present ringleader – will all vote to approve the resolution but Democratic votes will be enough, I believe, to defeat the measure. Whether retaining McCarthy as Speaker will be for the best, well, let’s not forget he’s no friend to Democratic values despite the deals he’ll make with Democrats to retain the speakership. It may, however, help grease the wheels for more truly bipartisan votes on issues like Ukrainian aid, social spending budgets, debt limit negotiations, etc. Never forget, Kevin McCarthy is all about Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and he’ll do almost anything to retain that title.
4:50 pm (EDT): The Speaker’s chair is vacant by a vote of 216-201, NO Democratic votes, probably meaning that no deal was offered by the Democratic leadership, or McCarthy rejected it. Boy, was I wrong!
5:10 pm (EST) Patrick McHenry (R-NC), not quite a MAGA-ite, is Speaker of the House Pro Tempore until a new Speaker is chosen. What powers he has while Pro Tem is unknown, except presiding until the new Speaker is chosen, but what is “presiding”? More on this question in a future post.
Hoist With His Own Petard
Cast of characters: the initial petardier in this saga was Kevin McCarthy. It was he alone who coveted the speakership so fully that he agreed to various concessions to the manically MAGA wing of congressloons, including two in particular, (1) that he would not work with Democrats to get bills successfully passed, and (2) that he agree to permit a vote on his retaining the speaker’s chair based upon the motion of one house member rather than the vote of a majority of one party. These two are the petards he was hoist by. And now he faces a very tough fight to remain Speaker of the House.
Bad odds, but this is the 118th Congress and it’s loaded with GOP petardiers, in fact, the MAGA wing might as well wear the tee shirt. So, McCarthy has a chance to survive, and the principle agent of his redemption could be his antagonist-in-chief, Matt Gaetz (GOP-FL), who yesterday brought the dreaded “motion to vacate the chair.”
So, Mr. Speaker, many in your own party aren’t particularly fond of you. And, of course, Democrats en masse aren’t well disposed either, because, well, you’re McCarthy, and lately you blamed Democrats for nearly shutting down the government. This despite the vote wherein more Democrats than Republicans voted for to the bill to extend government funding and stop a government shutdown (for 45 days anyway). Despite all these generally inauspicious smoke signals, you gamely believe in yourself, saying to your caucus, “I’m confident I will hold on.” Nonetheless, given the politics involved, you just might . . . Particularly, should you strike a deal with Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader, Democrats might vote to save you! The House is a seriously deliberative body after all. So, ship ahoy!
No!!! Vacate you!!!!!!!!
Yet, if you don’t survive you have yourself to blame, see paragraph one above. You hoisted yourself with your own petard by agreeing to obviously risky concessions to win the speaker’s chair that left you no room to assert yourself and truly lead the House. And to be undone by Matt Gaetz, among the worst cretins Florida has ever produced. . .
Whose Chair(s) Will be Vacated?
For starters, here’s a chart of the procedure for hoisting McCarthy out of his chair. Note that the entire House votes on the motions and a simple majority rules (excluding members who vote “present”). The speaker’s role is assumed by House members other than McCarthy. These steps are to be completed within two legislative days, which (surprise, surprise!) may be extended indefinitely.
As I write this the motion to vacate has begun (230 pm). They have 15 minutes to cast their votes. The motion to table failed in a 218-208 vote, meaning the House will advance to the motion to vacate House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Eleven Republicans and all Democrats present voted against the motion to table.
So, now it’s on to the motion to vacate. More as this develops. Thus far, Gaetz 1, McCarthy 0…..
