Let the Games Begin!

How 20 America-first members of congress are shaking up Washington, D.C.

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Who’s ready for some good news, for a change? I certainly am.

In early January a contingent of Republican lawmakers opposed the election of Kevin McCarthy, a Republican state representative from California, for Speaker of the House. As a 17-year veteran of Congress, McCarthy appeared to have nothing to offer other than more of the status quo.

Here’s the list of Republican holdouts:

• Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida

• Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado

• Rep. Andy Biggs, Arizona

• Rep. Eli Crane, Arizona

• Rep. Matt Rosendale, Wyoming

• Rep. Bob Good, Virginia

• Rep. Andrew Clyde, Georgia

• Rep. Andrew Ogles, Tennessee

• Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland

• Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Florida

• Rep. Byron Donalds, Florida

• Rep. Chip Roy, Texas

• Rep. Dan Bishop, North Carolina

• Rep. Josh Brecheen, Oklahoma

• Rep. Keith Self, Texas

• Rep. Mary Miller, Illinois

• Rep. Michael Cloud, Texas

• Rep. Paul Gosar, Arizona

• Rep. Ralph Norman, South Carolina

• Rep. Scott Perry, Pennsylvania

By pushing the vote for Speaker to an unprecedented 15 rounds—the most since before the Civil War—this group of resisters drew sharp criticism from the likes of political commentators Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. Hannity went as far as to say, “House Republicans now are on the verge of becoming a total clown show if they’re not careful,” Hannity said.

Other GOP members also criticized the move. Georgia Rep. Austin Scott said amid the negotiations, "any vote against [McCarthy] damages the conference and our ability to govern. Those opposing McCarthy are putting their selfish motivations over what’s best for our nation."

They were wrong.

What is happening with the 118th Congress may be precisely what our founders envisioned: healthy, spirited debate—not just politics as usual where compromised candidates succumb to payoffs from powerful special interest groups.

Changing the Rules

By opposing the highly favored establishment candidate, these members forced concessions on Speaker McCarthy and set in motion unprecedented reforms in Congress. And that’s just in January.

“Among those concessions were a minimum 72-hour reading period for all bills presented to Congress; a committee to study potential FBI abuses against the American public; a vote on term limits for representatives; and several other key conservative policies for which many Republicans have been fighting for years.” Read more here.

Another change vacated the “voting by proxy” rule for members of Congress that Speaker Pelosi instituted during the Covid-19 era. This decree invited abuse. Many congressmen continued to collect their $170,000 salaries while enlisting other members of Congress to do their job as they vacationed with their families.

Representative Byron Donalds of Florida praised the passing of the new rules package saying that puts the power back in the hands of members.

One of the most productive changes made, in my opinion, is the limiting of bills to include only a single subject matter. By circumventing much bureaucratic red tape, this new rule has permitted this congress to force—and pass, in many cases—bills and resolutions in a fraction of the time previously required.

Here are a few notable conservative priorities that passed with or without bi-partisan support:

H.CON.RES.9: Denouncing the horrors of socialism passed on 2/2/23 with bi-partisan support.

H.R.382: Terminating the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 passed on 1/31/23 down party lines.

H.R. 497: Freedom for Health Care Workers Act passed on 1/31/23 with the help of 7 Democrats.

H.CON.RES.7: Commending the bravery of men and women demonstrating against the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses passed on 1/25/23 with strong bi-partisan support 420-1! The only “no” was the Republican member from Kentucky, Tom Massie.

H.R.22: Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act passed on 1/12/23 with bipartisan support.

H.R.26: Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act passed on 1/11/23 down straight party lines.

The very first bill passed by the new congress, H.R.23, nixed $72 billion in taxpayer funding for 87,000 new IRS agents. The bill specifies that the IRS only can spend new money on customer service and IT improvements, but not on hiring agents, auditors and other staff members. Many taxpayers—including me—fear these proposed new agents would target low- and middle-class Americans rather than wealthy individuals and corporations.

“This was our very first act of the new Congress because government should work for you, not against you,” McCarthy wrote on Twitter. “Promises made. Promises kept.”

On January 10, just days after the new congress took control, the Secretary of Defense finally rescinded its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the armed services. Coincidence, maybe? I think not. Click here to read more.

The hits just keep coming—for the swamp, that is.

GOP members of congress successfully stripped Rep. Ilhan Omar (D) of her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee for her anti-Semitic remarks, disparaging comments downplaying 9/11, and equating the United States with the terrorist organization Hamas, according to The Daily Signal.

Although Democrats are crying foul, this precedent for denying committee seats to ideologically misaligned members was set by none other than then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In 2021, she denied Rep. Kevin McCarthy a seat on the Jan. 6 committee, effectively creating a show trial, rather than a legitimate, bi-partisan investigation. Read more about the ongoing committee seat drama here.

Additionally, Speaker McCarthy denied seats to Adam Schiff, D-CA because of his decades of corruption, and Eric Swalwell, D-CA, because of his relationship with a Chinese spy. Both men formerly held seats on the intelligence committee. The idea that either of these compromised individuals would have access to the highest possible level of security clearance is absolutely mind-blowing.

As if that weren’t grand enough, on January 10, a representative from Texas introduced House Resolution 8, which would impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas for “high crimes and misdemeanors” related to his disastrous policies that created the humanitarian crisis at our southern border.

The icing on the congressional cake, however, is that on February 3, Rep. Jim Jordan, head of the Judiciary subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government issued the first subpoenas probing the corruption of the Biden Administration’s FBI and DOJ. This is going to be fun.

Read more about the actions the subcommittee has taken to expose corruption in our government agencies here.

The Wrap-Up

Although the government will never be the end-all, be-all answer to our ails, today represents the most hopeful I have felt about the opportunity for reform in over two years.

Is grotesque government overspending coming to an end? Are bad actors finally going to be held accountable? Will the China threat ultimately be squashed?

Only time will tell. But, for now, enjoy the show!

Thanks so much for reading today and remember to always pursue the Truth.