Despite his steadfast support of now-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, Eyepatch McCain has been humiliated by the GOP pick to head the House Homeland Security Committee. How so? Because he, Mr. Military, lost out in the competition for the position to Texas Rep. Mark Green. The Washington Examiner, reporting on that, said:
“Green, a combat veteran described by his colleagues as a rising star in the party, said that strengthening the border would be a top priority as he gears up to helm the panel. Green is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, giving conservatives a win and placing them in more positions of power as Republicans assume the majority. Green has maintained a strong relationship with leadership, helping Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) get over the finish line during his heated floor battle for speaker.”
Continuing, the same Washington Examiner article went on to note that “Green received a key endorsement from conservative Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), who ultimately decided not to pursue the gavel despite having top seniority. Contested steering races were expected to take place ahead of the House’s holiday recess but were ultimately pushed back amid McCarthy’s struggles to lock down the speaker’s gavel.”
So, in other words, the House Freedom Caucus won out despite Crenshaw’s controversial support of McCarthy and attacks on McCarthy’s detractors, who he called “terrorists” during an interview, saying “we can’t let the terrorists win.”
Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson skewered Crenshaw for the “terrorists” comment, saying: “What you just saw as Dan Crenshaw just spoke, what you just saw is the snarling face of the donor class, revealed for all to see finally. The deep loathing of disobedient voters that may be their most passionate secret emotion. They’re not bothering to hide that emotion anymore. Now you know how they really feel.”
Crenshaw later backtracked on the “terrorists” comment, which he had first defended by telling people to stop clutching their pearls. He did that backtracking on CNN, telling Jake Tapper “Things get heated and things get said. Obviously, to the people who took offense by that, it’s pretty obvious that it’s meant as a turn of phrase.”
Continuing, he said “I’ve got thick skin. I’m called awful, vile things by the very same wing of the party that I was fighting at that moment. So I was a little taken aback by the sensitivity of it. But to the extent that I have colleagues that were offended by it, I sincerely apologize to them. I don’t want them to think I actually believe they’re terrorists. It’s certainly a turn of phrase that you use in an intransient negotiation.”
Crenshaw also described the fight as pointless, saying “There was no reason for us to keep voting, keep voting, keep allowing these speeches that just degraded and diminished and insulted Kevin McCarthy. We didn’t have to keep doing that. We could have just adjourned for the whole week and just kept negotiating. So that’s where the heartburn is and that’s what I want people to know. This deal was easy. That wasn’t the hard part.”
Ignored there is that the House Freedom Caucus got what it wanted, including control of Homeland Security, by dragging out the negotiations and being intransigent.
"*" indicates required fields