More chaos for House Republicans

| 6:00 pm EST January 6, 2024
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

It’s like a curse. It really is like an evil eye has been turned on House Republicans lately. They have been losing members of their House caucus like crazy. It’s shocking how much their House lead has shrunk. George Santos is gone. Kevin McCarthy is gone. Bill Johnson resigned. Now, another member will, at least for the time being, be off Capitol Hill.

That member is Steve Scalise. Scalise has announced that medical treatment will keep him from returning to Capitol Hill until at least next month. Scalise has cancer and is set to undergo a stem cell transplant.

I have never hidden my contempt for House Republicans. However, nobody should go through this type of thing. I wish Scalise a swift and full recovery. But with Scalise now temporarily away from Capitol Hill, House Republicans have, for now, lost another member. It’s getting to the point where so many are whispering, “Who’s next?”

What this means for Republicans is that, for now, they can only afford to lose up to two Republicans. I imagine Speaker Mike Johnson is a bit glum right now. The House Caucus has little on their calendar anyway. They want to hold Hunter Biden in contempt. They want to scream bloody murder about the border, but they do not want actually to DO anything about the border.

House Republicans obfuscate so much that it isn’t clear WHAT — if ANYTHING — they want to get done in 2024. But the GOP House caucus best be careful. Because it appears their lead is shrinking daily, and we’re only in the first week of 2024. I wonder how it will look in a month or two.