Matt Gaetz and Kevin McCarthy Fiddle (Fight About Online Trolls) While Rome Burns (the Federal Government Prepares to Shut Down)

In less than three days, the federal government will shut down unless Congress can pull its shit together and agree on a bill to pass. Among other things, a shutdown would mean thousands of government workers being furloughed, millions of mothers and children could lose food assistance benefits, and members of the military will have to work without pay. So what are the leader of the House and an extremely vocal Republican doing to avert the crisis? Not much of anything, it would seem! Or, more specifically: fighting each other over online trolls.

Axios reports that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and GOP representative Matt Gaetz got into a “heated exchange” on Thursday morning, not over how they’re going to prevent the government from shutting down in less than 72 hours, but over Gaetz’s contention that McCarthy is “paying influencers to attack him on social media.” According to the outlet:

Tensions between the two lawmakers and Gaetz critics were evident, according to multiple sources in the meeting. During the open mic portion of the conference meeting, Gaetz asked McCarthy “if he was behind the effort to get ‘MAGA influencers’ to attack him,” one lawmaker told Axios. McCarthy shot back saying that “he wouldn’t waste his time or money on him. Matt said he was “willing to give (Kevin) the benefit of the doubt,” the source added.

McCarthy’s outside legal counsel sent a cease and desist notification on Tuesday to an individual leading the push for influencers to come out against Gaetz, according to materials viewed by Axios. That individual had allegedly claimed they were acting on behalf of McCarthy.

According to a source who spoke to CNN, following the exchange, “members in the room could be heard complaining about Gaetz, with one member calling him a ‘scumbag’ and another saying ‘F**k off.’”

Gaetz and McCarthy’s relationship has been on the rocks for some time now, with the Florida congressman refusing to vote for the California representative for Speaker of the House last year, and only agreeing to vote “present” after 14 humiliating failed rounds. Gaetz also formally called McCarthy a “squatter” in a letter to the Architect of the Capitol, after McCarthy moved into the Speaker’s office before being officially elected to the leadership position. Now, Gaetz is threatening to move to oust McCarthy from the job if the Speaker supports a bipartisan stopgap bill to prevent a shutdown. If nothing is passed by September 30, that’s exactly what will happen.

Electric boats will electrocute people is the new windmills are killing whales

The congresswoman from Texas has a point! (Also, this is presumably the first time the word shitter has been read into the official congressional record.)

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