Annie Karni

went to great lengths to try and find a way to vote against Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. And ultimately it was too hard and he fell in line. Joni Ernst, too, is of Iowa. She's a survivor of sexual assault, has a military background, expressed concerns about Pete Hegseth. And the right-wing echo chamber threatened a primary challenge and she fell in line.

went to great lengths to try and find a way to vote against Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. And ultimately it was too hard and he fell in line. Joni Ernst, too, is of Iowa. She's a survivor of sexual assault, has a military background, expressed concerns about Pete Hegseth. And the right-wing echo chamber threatened a primary challenge and she fell in line.

So we've seen tiny attempts to break with the party line and those who want a political future, who care about getting reelected, eventually cave. There's not a lot of room for that right now. But certainly vulnerable Republicans are very concerned about potential Medicaid cuts that would be deeply unpopular with their voters.

So we've seen tiny attempts to break with the party line and those who want a political future, who care about getting reelected, eventually cave. There's not a lot of room for that right now. But certainly vulnerable Republicans are very concerned about potential Medicaid cuts that would be deeply unpopular with their voters.

So we've seen tiny attempts to break with the party line and those who want a political future, who care about getting reelected, eventually cave. There's not a lot of room for that right now. But certainly vulnerable Republicans are very concerned about potential Medicaid cuts that would be deeply unpopular with their voters.

So, yeah, I mean, that is the basic issue of the last Congress and this Congress is that when you have a tiny majority, any member can throw themselves in the mix and make themselves the deciding vote. And in the last Congress, it gave this group of the 20 who are far right members outsized power. And I think that one of the best examples of how further right the House was than the country was was

So, yeah, I mean, that is the basic issue of the last Congress and this Congress is that when you have a tiny majority, any member can throw themselves in the mix and make themselves the deciding vote. And in the last Congress, it gave this group of the 20 who are far right members outsized power. And I think that one of the best examples of how further right the House was than the country was was

So, yeah, I mean, that is the basic issue of the last Congress and this Congress is that when you have a tiny majority, any member can throw themselves in the mix and make themselves the deciding vote. And in the last Congress, it gave this group of the 20 who are far right members outsized power. And I think that one of the best examples of how further right the House was than the country was was

was during those three weeks when they could not elect another speaker, one of the people going for it was Tom Emmer. He's been in leadership for a long time. He's from Minnesota. He, at some point when he was a state legislator, voted for same-sex marriage.

was during those three weeks when they could not elect another speaker, one of the people going for it was Tom Emmer. He's been in leadership for a long time. He's from Minnesota. He, at some point when he was a state legislator, voted for same-sex marriage.

was during those three weeks when they could not elect another speaker, one of the people going for it was Tom Emmer. He's been in leadership for a long time. He's from Minnesota. He, at some point when he was a state legislator, voted for same-sex marriage.

When he was up running for speaker of the House, this position was a nonstarter for a lot of these deeply Christian red state congressmen who got up and said to him, you don't need to get right with me. You need to get right with God. And I can't support you for speaker if you took that vote. Now, this was like remarkable to me because this is a moment when like you can't get elected president.

When he was up running for speaker of the House, this position was a nonstarter for a lot of these deeply Christian red state congressmen who got up and said to him, you don't need to get right with me. You need to get right with God. And I can't support you for speaker if you took that vote. Now, this was like remarkable to me because this is a moment when like you can't get elected president.

When he was up running for speaker of the House, this position was a nonstarter for a lot of these deeply Christian red state congressmen who got up and said to him, you don't need to get right with me. You need to get right with God. And I can't support you for speaker if you took that vote. Now, this was like remarkable to me because this is a moment when like you can't get elected president.

Like same sex marriage is broadly popular with Republicans and Democrats alike across the country. You couldn't be elected president by being anti-same-sex marriage probably. But in the House, which is pulled right by this small faction, you can't get elected speaker with that position. These people wielded outsized influence and they're socially conservative. They're fiscally conservative.

Like same sex marriage is broadly popular with Republicans and Democrats alike across the country. You couldn't be elected president by being anti-same-sex marriage probably. But in the House, which is pulled right by this small faction, you can't get elected speaker with that position. These people wielded outsized influence and they're socially conservative. They're fiscally conservative.

Like same sex marriage is broadly popular with Republicans and Democrats alike across the country. You couldn't be elected president by being anti-same-sex marriage probably. But in the House, which is pulled right by this small faction, you can't get elected speaker with that position. These people wielded outsized influence and they're socially conservative. They're fiscally conservative.

They're mostly pro-Trump and that's who really kind of decided how the House functioned last year or more likely did not function. In our book, we document how Mike Johnson plotted his way to the speakership. He likes to say it just sort of landed in his lap. But you don't become the most powerful person in Congress by accident or by just praying.

They're mostly pro-Trump and that's who really kind of decided how the House functioned last year or more likely did not function. In our book, we document how Mike Johnson plotted his way to the speakership. He likes to say it just sort of landed in his lap. But you don't become the most powerful person in Congress by accident or by just praying.

They're mostly pro-Trump and that's who really kind of decided how the House functioned last year or more likely did not function. In our book, we document how Mike Johnson plotted his way to the speakership. He likes to say it just sort of landed in his lap. But you don't become the most powerful person in Congress by accident or by just praying.