From Los Angeles …

THE GAETZ OF HELL: House Democrats along with a handful of Republican hardliners drove the removal of Speaker Kevin McCarthy yesterday, making him the first speaker in history removed by vote. The Republican majority has no known plan for replacing him. As one member shouted right after the vote, “What next?”

  The vote was 216-210 to kick McCarthy out of the speaker’s seat. The motion to vacate the speakership came from Florida’s Matt Gaetz in revenge for McCarthy depending on Democratic votes Saturday to fund the government and keep it running.

  The huge irony is that the Democrats approved the proposal that came from a Republican, making it possible for the majority to shoot itself in both feet. The eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy were Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eli Crane of Arizona, Gaetz, Bob Good of Virginia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Matt Rosendale of Montana.

  In debate before the vote, Republican Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma said, “It’s a sad day,” warning his colleagues not to plunge the Republican majority “into chaos.” Gaetz who insisted that McCarthy had lost the trust of his Republican colleagues, retorted, “Chaos is Speaker McCarthy.” 

  Former president Donald Trump weighed in on social media asking, “Why is it that Republicans are always fighting among themselves.” Well, look in the mirror.

  Moderates in the party expressed concern that this infighting threatens loss of the Republican majority in the 2024 elections.

  The Republicans have no obvious replacement for McCarthy and the House is unable to do business without one. Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene said, “No one has the support in the conference like Kevin McCarthy does,” and McCarthy is out. 

 McCarthy was that obvious candidate last January, but it took him 15 votes and crippling compromises to get the job. He said he will not be a candidate to replace himself.

  When it was over yesterday, all the legislators went home. 

THE REVILED: Luke Broadwater writes for The NY Times that, “Representative Matt Gaetz’s successful push to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy has cemented his status as one of the most reviled members of the House of Representatives.” Reviled, but powerful enough to throw out the speaker, normally the most powerful figure in Congress. 

  Little mentioned is that Gaetz is under investigation for accusations of sexual misconduct and misuse of funds and that among the motives of his vendetta against McCarthy is that the former speaker is behind the more than two-year inquiry into Gaetz’s conduct. The man whose power comes from having a thin Republican majority that depends on his vote has been investigated over allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, sharing inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, spending campaign money for personal expenses, and accepting gifts barred by House rules.

   “I am the most investigated man in the United States Congress,” Gaetz said Monday night of the ethics inquiry, adding: “It seems that the Ethics Committee’s interest in me waxes and wanes based on my relationship with the speaker.”

REVENGE SERVED COLD: Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry took over immediately yesterday as Speaker Pro Tem … temporary … and one of his first acts was to kick former Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of her Capitol office. His e-mail said tersely, “Going to reassign h-132 for speaker office use. Please vacate the space tomorrow.”

  Pelosi is in California for the funeral of her friend, the late Sen. Diane Feinstein. She said in a statement sticking it back to McHenry, “Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time.”

ORANGE ALERT: The judge in Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud trial ordered the former president not to attack or even comment on court staff after Trump posted a social media attack on the judge’s law clerk.

  Trump has a habit of accusing his litigation opponents of being deranged, racist, corrupt, and fraudulent.

 Yesterday Trump went after the clerk, Allison Greenfield, posting a picture of her with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, calling her “Schumer’s girlfriend” and saying the case against him should be dismissed. The post was taken down during a lunch break, but judge Arthur Engoron said, “Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I will not tolerate them under any circumstances.”

THE SPIN RACK: More than 75,000 unionized employees of Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health providers, walked off the job today in what is believed to be the largest health care worker strike in US history. This affects kaiser facilities mostly in California, Colorado, Washington, Virginia, Oregon, and Washington, DC. — Five people were shot and wounded on the Morgan State University campus in Baltimore last night during a homecoming week event. The gunman was not caught. — A bus full of tourists in Venice, Italy crashed through an overpass guardrail, landed near train tracks and exploded last night, killing 21 people and injuring more than a dozen. — Laphonza Butler, 44, the president of Emily’s List and a longtime California labor leader, was sworn in as a US Senator yesterday to complete the last 15 months of the term left vacant by the death of Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein. Butler is the Senate’s first Black and openly gay member.

BELOW THE FOLD: Every cell phone in the US will sound off today at around 2:20 pm ET with a message from the government, but it’s not about the chaos in Congress. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, is testing whether it can “effectively warn the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level.” Like, maybe, if Matt Gaetz becomes speaker of the House. 

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