Mike Johnson is the new House Speaker and Matt Gaetz is off to a hot start in his campaign to become the next Speaker of the House of Representatives. The firebrand congressman from Florida joins me to talk about his campaign and what it means for the future of the Republican Party and the country. We also discuss the impact of the speaker contest and whether or not it was a good or bad thing for the party. And we talk about who should be the next speaker and who should replace Mike Johnson as Speaker. And, of course, we have our firebrand of the week, Firebrand, Charlie Kirk, who asks the devastating question, "Who's the Alternative?" who could be the alternative? and much, much more! Firebrand is a production of the Firebrand Podcast Network. New episodes drop weekly on Wednesdays. Subscribe to Firebrand on iTunes and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms. Thanks for listening and share the podcast with your fellow Firebrand fans! Timestamps: 5:00 - Who's the Better Speaker? 6:30 - Who s the Alternative? 7:15 - Who will be the Next Speaker 8:20 - What's the Real Replacement? 9:40 - Is Mike Johnson the Next? 11:00 - Who is the New Speaker of The House of Republicanism? 16:00- Who will replace Mike J. Johnson? 17:30 18:20- Who's a better choice? 19:30- What will the new Speaker of House of the most likely to lead the House? 21:40- What are the best person to lead us in 2020? 22: Is there a better chance of leading us in the next election? 25:00 Is there any other possible alternative to Mike Johnson? 26:00 Can anyone other than McCarthy? 27:00 -- Who's going to be a better than Mike Johnson better than Jody Arrington? 26:50 - Can anyone else? 29: Who will lead us lead us better than Mr. Gaetz? 31: What are our country better than him? 32: Who's our best chance? 35:10 - Is there an alternative to Mr. McIlving the better than Ms. Johnson, or Mr. Jones? 36:30 -- Is he a better person? 37:40 -- What s the best guy?
00:05:59.000And the most devastating question for Matt Gaetz today, just as it was eight months ago, is, okay, what's the alternative?
00:06:07.000And he doesn't seem to be able to give you an alternative.
00:06:10.000And the alternatives he offers are people that don't want to have anything to do with it.
00:06:14.000I do think that, you know, we have known we were going to have a calamity since the day Speaker McCarthy got elected speaker after 15 rounds.
00:06:25.000We knew it was going to eventually come to this.
00:06:27.000It was going to come to a government shutdown.
00:06:29.000The criticism I would have of Kevin McCarthy is that he hasn't gone on ahead from the beginning and laid the groundwork to make this catastrophe we're seeing today about something.
00:06:39.000Say a government shutdown because Democrats refuse to enforce the border or a government shutdown because Democrats refuse to stop inflationary spending, all of which American people would understand.
00:06:51.000So it's kind of a marketing thing that I would criticize Kevin McCarthy for.
00:06:56.000But honestly, when you look at what happened today, the same Criticism you could level against Matt Gaetz because nobody knows what this is about.
00:07:04.000I think that a lot of the underlying issues are important, and I agree with Matt Gaetz about it, but you can't beat something with nothing.
00:07:13.000And right now, Matt Gaetz has nothing.
00:07:20.000I'm Congressman Matt Gaetz, and I don't have nothing, Charlie Hurt.
00:07:23.000I have Mike Johnson as the Speaker of the House, someone who everyone I think has tremendous respect for.
00:07:29.000He gave a terrific address as House Speaker yesterday.
00:07:33.000Make sure to watch yesterday's episode if you want to learn more about Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House, and the devastating question for Matt Gaetz, according to Charlie Kirk, who's the alternative?
00:07:45.000Can anyone other than McCarthy lead the House of Representatives?
00:07:48.000I think Mike Johnson is going to lead us quite well.
00:07:51.000And for the Laura Ingraham argument that we are incapable...
00:07:58.000Just see how much we can do under strong leadership and good leadership.
00:08:03.000I want to thank everyone for joining us.
00:08:20.000Maybe we'll send him the apology form that was on yesterday's program, but I think it's safe to say that the devastating question that Charlie Kirk posed about who could be the alternative presupposes, I think, a real pessimism regarding the talents and skill stacks that exist within the Republican Conference.
00:08:44.000As a matter of fact, when we chatted about The real heroism in this contest from Kevin Hearn and Mark Green, we saw people that were willing to lead, but they also understood that part of leadership is working toward a team dynamic that can be prosperous and successful for the House of Representatives and ultimately the country.
00:09:05.000The Daily Beast has some thoughts on the speaker contest.
00:09:08.000They're not usually my biggest fans, but we get this headline.
00:09:13.000Mike Johnson got elected, but Matt Gaetz is the big winner of the GOP's House Speaker battle.
00:09:19.000And the piece says, The elevation of MAGA Mike...
00:09:30.000was the result of concessions Gates demanded from McCarthy way back in January.
00:09:35.000As I observed at that time, here's the thing about confrontational politics.
00:10:11.000When Trump was first elected, he was forced to work with Republicans who had previously been hostile to him and did not share his worldview.
00:10:18.000Then, a second wave included converts, who, though thoroughly co-opted by Trump, had started off in the establishment lane.
00:10:28.000We are now entering into third-wave Trumpism, the elevation of true believers, the rise of the first MAGA speaker.
00:10:40.000And if we have learned anything, it is that this is just the beginning.
00:10:43.000Gates has been rewarded, and his theory regarding how to change the GOP in America has been confirmed.
00:10:51.000So, there's a little bit here I want to unpack.
00:10:55.000It is totally correct that we are in the third wave of Trumpism and that that is elevating true believers.
00:11:02.000I think that is essential to ensure that we take the vision of Trumpism and execute it better than ever before.
00:11:10.000And if we do that, we'll have better trade deals, we'll have a secure border, we'll have an economy that lifts people up who are willing to work hard.
00:11:17.000And I hope we can layer onto that more fiscal responsibility, single subject spending bills, balanced budgets, and a renewed sense that the way to advance our country is not just to keep printing more money and avoid the tough decisions that we have to make about how it is spent, Because if we do not, these rising interest rates will continue to be the norm.
00:11:38.000And buying a home, even buying a car, will be out of reach for far too many Americans.
00:11:43.000So we are indeed in that third wave of Trumpism.
00:11:45.000And the other thing I think the Daily Beast piece gets right is that I understand that the only way we are going to be able to achieve our goals It's through conflict at times.
00:11:57.000I have seen in Washington, D.C. that you don't get anything without a fight.
00:12:01.000The establishment does not cede power.
00:12:04.000The lobbyists and special interests that donate millions of dollars to congressional campaigns expect something in return for that money.
00:12:11.000And what we've all gotten in return is a diminished America.
00:12:14.000Decline for the greatest nation on earth.
00:12:17.000And so, yes, I love this country enough to fight for her.
00:12:21.000And if you're viewing this program, I certainly hope that you do too.
00:12:27.000Make sure you share our messages so that more people get the information.
00:12:30.000And make sure you've got notifications turned on on this podcast so that we can continue to give you the clear evidence of Washington's failures and then a plan to make it better.
00:12:42.000And we saw a lot of that plan in the calendar put out by House Speaker Mike Johnson to be able to deal with these challenges.
00:12:48.000But it's not just the Daily Beast reacting to our new House Speaker.
00:12:52.000We seem to have conflicting reactions from the White House and the Biden-Harris campaign.
00:13:00.000So I've got the statements up on the screen now, but first let's start with the White House statement.
00:14:00.000MAGA Mike Johnson's ascension to the speakership cements the extreme MAGA takeover of the House Republican Conference.
00:14:07.000Now Donald Trump has his loyal foot soldier to ban abortion nationwide, lead efforts to deny free and fair election results, gut Social Security and Medicare, and advance the extreme MAGA agenda at the expense of middle-class families.
00:14:21.000Well, they seem triggered at the campaign.
00:14:26.000They seem eager to work together at the White House.
00:14:28.000Who knows who's calling the shots anymore in Biden world?
00:14:31.000The one thing I'm certain of, it is not Joe Biden.
00:14:35.000He is not the one calling the shots or even approving these statements.
00:14:38.000And so when you don't have that center point of vision, because you're just dealing with like the weekend at Bernie's White House right now, This is the manifestation.
00:14:52.000While the White House and the Biden campaign are still trying to figure out how they feel about all of this, one person...
00:14:58.000Who definitely knows how he feels is Missouri Congressman Jason Smith.
00:15:03.000Now, to set this up, Congressman Jason Smith is a Republican, though when you hear what he has to say, he's not going to sound like one at times.
00:15:11.000And he has been one of the most loyal lapdogs for former Speaker McCarthy and for the lobbyists and special interests on K Street.
00:15:20.000See, Jason Smith has achieved power in Washington in a lot of the way most people do.
00:15:26.000You get money from the lobbyists and special interests, you in turn give that money to the party bosses for their political funds, and then they allow you to move up.
00:15:34.000And no question Jason Smith has one of the most prime posts in the House of Representatives chairing the Ways and Means Committee, and they determine taxation.
00:15:44.000Well, You might say they determine those things, but in reality, Jason Smith moved a bill out of his committee that can never even get the votes and probably won't even make it to the floor.
00:15:54.000But he was asked about the remarks I made on War Room, and he was quite disturbed.
00:16:05.000So Gates claims yesterday on Steve Bannon's show that he watched Kevin McCarthy repeatedly try to torpedo the individual candidates, including Scalise and Jim Jordan.
00:16:17.000What's your take on that, how that went down?
00:16:20.000Let me just tell you, if Matt Gaetz's lips are moving, it's only lies that's coming out of it.
00:16:25.000That gentleman only loves to propel himself and propaganda.
00:17:16.000Because there was several holdouts from the Scalise world that was upset that Scalise didn't have the votes because a lot of the Freedom Caucus held out on Steve Scalise.
00:18:58.000So Jason, I would check yourself before you come at me with any accusations of being dishonest about what I say when you're dishonest about how you live and what you do.
00:19:11.000He says the blood is on my hands for 22 days of not, I guess, sending money to Ukraine or whatever else they wanted to do.
00:19:20.000If it took 22 days To take the gavel away from Kevin McCarthy and give it to Mike Johnson?
00:19:27.000Those are the 22 most productive days that we have had in the 118th Congress.
00:19:32.000Because we not only have our man, but we have a plan for how to reduce spending.
00:19:37.000And of course, Jason Smith doesn't want to do that.
00:19:40.000Because if we cut spending, then the lobbyists who fund his coffers will have less.
00:19:46.000And the American people will have more.
00:19:49.000And when you point those things out, it doesn't make you sound like a Democrat or even a Republican.
00:19:55.000Just somebody with eyes who can observe how the corrupt power centers of this town compromise people like Jason Smith and then flip them to do their bidding.
00:20:06.000Not the work that folks sent us here to do.
00:20:09.000We take six weeks off every single year.
00:20:13.000Just for members to go on vacation mostly.
00:20:16.000So 22 days to right the ship with House Speaker?
00:20:20.000I think that that's constructive work to get to a better outcome.
00:20:25.000Jeremy Carl is a conservative commentator.
00:20:28.000He does a lot of work with the Claremont Institute.
00:20:30.000Those are some real smart folks that we think highly of here in our congressional office.
00:20:35.000And he had a tweet that I don't agree with every single word here.
00:20:38.000I think he's a little too harsh on Scalise and Emmer.
00:20:42.000But I'm going to read you what Jeremy Carl has put out on Twitter, at JeremyCarl4.
00:20:49.000Ignore all of the pundit hyperventilating.
00:20:52.000When all is said and done, assuming he lives up to his reputation, the election of at Rep Mike Johnson as Speaker is a major victory for Matt Gaetz and his insurgent allies.
00:21:07.000The best you could say for McCarthy, who, remember, elevated Liz Cheney to leadership in only her second term, is that he was an ideologically weak, empty suit who would at least deal transactionally with conservatives.
00:21:20.000Jordan would have been great, but he was never a viable choice, too ideological, and had burned too many bridges in the conference.
00:21:28.000Scalise would have been more establishment pablum.
00:21:31.000Emmer was so awful that Trump nuked him preemptively before conservatives revolted.
00:21:36.000Will Johnson disappoint the right at times?
00:21:39.000Both on genuine issues of difference in ideology and also on times when he needs to make concessions to moderate establishment types to keep the caucus together.
00:21:53.000In Johnson, we have someone who is aligned with the base on key issues, who will reach out beyond the base when he needs to for practical reasons.
00:22:01.000That is what we should want in a GOP speaker.
00:22:05.000Johnson is clearly not a grandstander, and he seems very well liked within the caucus.
00:22:10.000This will be essential in keeping a very fractious group together.
00:22:14.000It is not about conservatives getting everything we want.
00:22:17.000It is about getting everything that is feasible to get.
00:22:21.000In a few months, nobody will care about dumb process fights within the GOP caucus, but the effect of having a party leader who is actually aligned with party voters will pay dividends for years.
00:22:36.000It will help in terms of the primary candidates we select, McCarthy torpedoed a number of good conservatives in primaries in 2022, and the issues that we focus on as a party.
00:22:47.000It is trading a short-term loss for a few weeks of infighting into a major long-term win.
00:22:56.000Matt Gaetz understands, in a way that 90% plus of Republicans do not, that you get political capital to spend it And he spent all that he had to move to ultimately achieve what could be a monumental victory for conservatives for many years to come.
00:23:15.000I would observe that what Jeremy Carl says about political capital is absolutely my view of it.
00:23:22.000I don't believe that we build approval ratings and political capital to set them on the shelf and admire them.
00:23:28.000That doesn't help anyone but the politician.
00:23:32.000The reason to try to build political capital is to draw down on that political capital so that the people who are actually our bosses get to live better lives as a consequence.
00:23:42.000And I know our lives will be better with Speaker Mike Johnson than they ever would have been with Kevin McCarthy.
00:23:49.000I want to chat about some foreign policy issues as well that are going on in the world that we focus on.
00:23:55.000Let's start with this latest announcement, quite unfortunate, from the Biden administration on Ukraine.
00:24:01.000Biden administration announces additional security assistance for Ukraine.
00:24:04.000They list out the drawdown, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
00:24:10.000Great, that's what we gave the Mujahideen that ultimately resulted in the Taliban.
00:24:22.000When we actually look at end-use monitoring of the equipment that we send into Ukraine, I have some of the highest concerns that it's the night vision stuff that we may end up seeing in the hands of Hamas or the drug cartels on our own border.
00:24:41.000Demolition munitions for clearing obstacles.
00:24:44.000So we're going to pay for the demolition, and then I guarantee you for the next 10 to 15 years, there's going to be money in the budget for some U.S. defense contractor to go and demine the munitions that we're paying for.
00:24:56.000And the last bullet point here, man, this really gets me.
00:25:01.000We're sending spare parts, maintenance, and other equipment to Ukraine right now in America.
00:25:07.000The F-35s that cost you, the American taxpayer, about $180 million a copy, 40% of those, we can't even fly today.
00:25:19.000Because we don't have the parts for some of our own stuff.
00:25:22.000And so, while I know we're not sending F-35s to Ukraine, there is a certain focus on the supply chain and the defense industrial base that we need to have in order to ensure that our own equipment is usable.
00:25:35.000I get worked up about this because when I go to our bases in Northwest Florida and talk to our service members, it is...
00:25:42.000It is infuriating to see our hangars and our buildings rotted out, moldy, full of asbestos, not enough military housing for our service members, not enough spare parts so that our stuff works for training and for important readiness development.
00:25:59.000But here we go, another $150 million for Ukraine.
00:26:04.000It is so, America lasts, and I indeed hope it comes to an end.
00:26:08.000But it's not just Ukraine where America is now extended abroad.
00:26:12.000Senator Rand Paul is pointing to the fact that we're still doing stuff in Niger that is not really effective.
00:26:21.000Rand Paul wants U.S. troops out of Niger as the piece from The Intercept.
00:26:25.000He's been really great covering the failures of the Biden administration's policies in Africa.
00:26:30.000And this tweet we've put on the screen from Nick Terse says, While the wars in Ukraine and Gaza dominate the news, the U.S. forever war in Niger grinds on.
00:26:41.000Since the U.S. began counterterrorism efforts in the region, terrorist violence has jumped 30,000%.
00:27:10.000We at least need the Biden administration to tell us what their foreign policy goals are in Africa at this time.
00:27:16.000So the House of Representatives right now is debating the energy and water legislation on government funding.
00:27:22.000That is one of the single-subject spending bills.
00:27:25.000It does not cut spending as much as it should.
00:27:27.000In an upcoming program, we'll talk about the appropriations process more, what's good, what's bad.
00:27:33.000But the principal thing that we are doing from a policy perspective in this bill that we'll be voting on shortly...
00:27:39.000Getting rid of the Obama-Biden waters of the United States rule.
00:27:44.000This is the rule that has the EPA hassling people that have like a 10-acre lake on their property to water cattle or even just like a small watering pond.
00:27:56.000They are exercising jurisdiction in a way that is killing private property rights, killing agriculture.
00:28:02.000The farmers in my district talked to me all about the negative consequences of this Waters of the United States rule.
00:28:07.000I cannot wait to vote for our appropriations bill that will abolish that rule.
00:28:13.000So thanks for staying engaged and informed.