Morning Briefing: Kevin McCarthy Is Sabotaging His Own Party to Save Himself

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | September 27, 2023 |

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | September 27, 2023 |

The facts against Donald Trump in a New York fraud case were so apparent that a judge decided a trial wasn’t necessary to determine whether the former President had inflated the value of his assets by as much as 2.2 billion. There will be a trial in New York now only to determine the size of the penalty, which could be as much as 250 million. However, the judge in the case has already stripped Trump and his company of business certificates that allow some of Trump’s New York properties to operate, which may prove detrimental to the family business. Trump may even lose control over Trump Tower.

Trump will appeal, and the appeals process may drag out for months or longer. In the meantime, Trump has also sued the judge overseeing the case, Justice Engoron, because “No fair!” is Trump’s only move. In Engoron’s opinion, he accused Trump of living “in a fantasy world.” Trump, unfortunately, has convinced many of his supporters to live in that fantasy world with him.

The ruling makes it official to the world that Trump has been lying for years about his financial successes, upon which he has built his reputation. However, it is unclear (and doubtful) that it will affect his standing in the Republican primary, where he still maintains a wide lead.

Speaking of which, there will be another Republican debate tonight in California. Trump will not attend. It’s unlikely to change the dynamics of the race, although it may prompt one or two candidates to drop out. Ironically, California will likely make it impossible for any other candidate to effectively compete with Trump because Kevin McCarthy changed the rules so that a primary candidate who receives over 50 percent of the vote gets all of the delegates. Suppose Trump gets over 50 percent of the GOP vote (and he is currently polling above 50 percent). In that case, there will be no delegate split, and there are enough delegates in California to end the primary effectively.

On the subject of Kevin McCarthy: We are only a matter of days from a government shutdown that looks increasingly likely. The Senate put together a bipartisan budget bill to fund the government temporarily. Still, it’s highly unlikely to pass through the House and seemed to piss off the right-wing House Republicans who do not want increased aid to Ukraine.

Kevin McCarthy is in a no-win situation for himself. The extremist conservatives have hijacked the budget, demanding cuts to Ukraine aid and more money to fund border security. However, a budget bill put together by the extreme right won’t pass in the Senate or even the House, where Republicans have the majority. The only chance to avoid a shutdown is for McCarthy to work with Democrats, which would endanger his Speakership. The government will shut down on Sunday — and hundreds of thousands of people will stop receiving paychecks — because Kevin McCarthy doesn’t want to lose his job. Conversely, anyone the Republicans might replace him with will only be worse.

McCarthy, meanwhile, is blaming Biden, who has had virtually no role in the budget negotiations.