Crooked Media - What A Day: Seventh (ballot) Kevin

- Clerk of the House Cheryl Johnson having a Ferris Bueller moment with the most bizarre new member of the Republican caucus

At what point do we admit that Kevin McCarthy has a humiliation fetish?
 

• In one of those rare “I can’t believe I’m writing this,” developments, the House Republican caucus has still failed to pick a new speaker after a second day of multiple ballots. For a fourth, fifth, and sixth(!!!) time, most of the House Republicans tried to elect Kevin McCarthy to the top job, but no dice. That same gang of 20 proto-fascists continued to hold firm against just-sort-of-fascist McCarthy, which has again prevented members-elect of the House from being sworn in. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested swearing in the new members so that their families could witness the moment and not be held hostage on Capitol Hill, reasoning that the speaker is sworn in without a speaker, so the other members can be, too. Folks, we’re as confused and giddy as you.
   

• No one has reached the critical 218-vote threshold, but as it stands, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has led every vote, with all 212 members of the Democratic caucus behind him, ahead of McCarthy who is stuck at 201. Truly an embarrassment even for the party whose longest-serving speaker of the House turned out to be a serial child molester. Even more embarrassing is that McCarthy’s political action committee has steered more than $300,000 over the years into the pockets of 17 of the 20 members of his caucus who are blocking him. Twelve of those members received money from his PAC last year. Woof. 
   

• Even after disgraced former president Donald Trump publicly urged House Republicans to drop their objections and coalesce behind McCarthy, the needle did not budge. So after six painstaking ballots, House Republicans motioned to…adjourn until 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Brave! The adjournment was no doubt meant to give Republican lawmakers more time to work out the particulars of their hostage crisis, but McCarthy has run out of concessions to offer his detractors without going fully into the world of Make Believe. So that’s where we’ll have to leave off today, in the lower house of Congress, and we’ll pick up with those lunatics tomorrow.

So, where are Democrats in all of this?
 

• Well, Republican chaos in the House is something of a gift to Democrats, who can essentially sit back and do nothing (or eat popcorn or take shots) while the GOP caucus exposes the entire Republican Party as exactly what we always knew it to be: deeply unconcerned with the everyday challenges of the American people, unserious about governing, and in thrall to a dangerous, corrupt, far-right movement. The shitshow is the point. It’s all they’ve got. There is no “Republican policy platform” it’s just three special interest groups in a trenchcoat. House Dems really can’t do much right now, because although a hypothetical scenario exists in which a more moderate Republican emerges and pulls enough Democratic votes to get to 218, it doesn’t look like any House Republicans (most of whom again, are all-in for McCarthy, a man only slightly to the left of Ghenghis Khan) are interested in that path forward. Still, it would be a missed opportunity not to have a different member of House Democratic leadership on every news channel every hour highlighting the GOP’s party-wide commitment to MAGA politics over governance. 
   

• President Biden condemned the “embarrassing” GOP catastrophe plaguing the House today as he traveled to Kentucky to the dilapidated Brent Spence Bridge, which is getting an influx of federal money under the bipartisan infrastructure law, an early achievement of the Biden Administration. To really turn his “Remember bipartisanship?” crusading up to 11, the president made his speech next to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, one of the 19 Senate Republicans who supported the infrastructure law. 

Biden has long posited that American voters are hungry for (specifically) bipartisanship-driven results, and whether or not that is true, continuing to deliver on his campaign promises while the House GOP cannibalizes itself is just good politics.

The daughter of John Negroponte, the former director of national intelligence and career diplomat, has been convicted of murder. On Tuesday, jurors found 29-year-old Sophia Negroponte guilty of the 2020 killing of her friend Yousuf Rasmussen, after hearing from over 23 witnesses and considering over 240 exhibits over the course of a three-week trial. Jurors found Sophia guilty of second-degree murder, a charge punishable by up to 40 years in prison, for her culpability in Rasmussen’s death as the result of a drunken fight, during which she stabbed him in the neck with a kitchen knife. The jury did not find her guilty of the most serious charge she faced, first-degree murder, but concluded that she intended “to inflict serious bodily harm” to Rasmussen, and “that death would be the likely result.” Following the verdict, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Terrence McGann ordered her bail revoked and she was taken into custody. She will be sentenced on March 31.

Jack Smith, the DOJ-appointed special counsel tasked with overseeing major investigations into disgraced former president Trump, returned from his post at The Hague to begin work on this shitshow. 

Social media giant Twitter will reverse a 2019 ban on political ads as the company scrambles to stop the financial bleeding that comes with Elon Musk being the CEO of a company. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave his first major speech of 2023 today, pledging to curtail inflation, grow the U.K. economy, and tamp down on illegal immigration.  

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission fined Facebook parent company Meta 390 million euros over privacy infringements. 

Iran has released top Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti on bail weeks after she was detained for criticizing a crackdown on anti-government protests.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s justice minister unveiled a new government program today that will overhaul the country’s judicial system in an effort to weaken the Israeli Supreme Court. Netanyahu’s government, the most far-right in Israeli history, has been accused of declaring war against the legal system and transparently trying to upend the country’s institutional checks and balances. Seems like a pretty reasonable conclusion, based on the available facts! The new laws would empower the country’s parliament to override Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority vote, and its supporters also proposed that politicians (i.e. Netanyahu supporters) have a greater role in the appointment of Supreme Court judges. The planned overhaul has already drawn strong criticism from the country’s attorney general and the opposition party, but there is little, if anything, that can be done to stop Netanyahu’s government from stampeding ahead.

Today's newsletter is brought to you by CARIUMA - The sustainable sneaker worn by skaters and surfers.

It's the middle of winter, and it's time to get real about layers, lining—everything that’s going to keep you warm and comfortable when you head out the door.
 

• When you can leave the parka at home, the best-seller OCA is just right. 20,000 five-star reviewers, and over 70,000 waitlisters, even your favorite celebrities love this versatile, crazy-comfortable shoe.. This is CARIUMA’s new-school take on a classic sneaker, take your pick of durable organic cotton canvas or ultra-soft, responsibly sourced suede. 
   

• CARIUMA says cozy shouldn’t come at a cost to the planet. That’s why they created CATURI and OCA Therma, made with 100% vegan and recycled materials, and produced in a way that’s ethical. One thing you should know about CARIUMA is that they’re obsessed with comfort—even their insoles are lined with vegan shearling. 
   

• When you can leave the parka at home, OCA is just right. Finally back in stock after a 77k waitlist and with over twenty thousand five-star reviews, even your favorite celebrities love this versatile, crazy-comfortable shoe. This is CARIUMA’s new-school take on a classic sneaker, crafted with durable organic canvas and ultra-soft, responsibly sourced suede. 
   

• And if you’re looking for a leather low top this winter, meet SALVAS. Handcrafted with premium leather from LWG-certified suppliers, SALVAS finds footing in playful retro details like subtle perforation and contrast colors. We’re likening them to blue jeans, white tees—the classics.

AND - for a limited time, What A Day readers can get an exclusive 15% off your pair of Cariuma sneakers.

Minimum wage increases in 23 states and Washington, DC, went into effect this week, affecting 8.4 million people, or 11.4 percent of the national workforce. Now if only we could do something about that federal minimum wage…

Ireland came out of nowhere with an unexpected two-percent national budget surplus for 2022 amid global economic struggles. A round of Guinness on the house. 

The man behind the sprawling “Operation Varsity Blues” college-bribery scandal was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in federal prison today. 

The Department of Justice has issued an official opinion stating that the United States Postal Service can continue to deliver prescription abortion medication despite the Dobbs ruling.