Kevin McCarthy’s Permanent Crisis

With the Speaker’s office on a MAGA leash, Hill insiders worry a shutdown is “guaranteed.” Others fear a disastrous debt ceiling debate, military spending freeze, or government funding limping along on continuing resolutions. Welcome to McCarthy’s Washington.

This morning, the Republican conference voted on rules changes that their leader, Kevin McCarthy, agreed to in his pyrrhic quest to become Speaker of the House. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Julia Ioffe

January 11, 2023

Want to know how Washington really works? On Sunday morning, Rep. Jim Jordan, a leader of the House Freedom Caucus, fresh off last week’s Speakership debacle, went on one of the Sunday morning shows and said that it wasn’t just Ukraine spending that he and his comrades had their eyes on. It was all defense spending. “We got a $32 trillion debt,” he said. “Everything has to be on the table.”