The Chaos Caucus is prepared to shut down the government. Again. This is one of the most bizarre rituals that Republicans engage in during divided government. This never works to get what they want. It discredits the GOP as a governing party, as if we needed more evidence. They've already negotiated a deal over the budget as part of lifting the debt ceiling. The Senate has passed a continuing resolution that the House could likely pass tomorrow if McCarthy brought it to a vote.
Josh Marshall argues that the McCarthy/Chaos Caucus dynamic is working as it's designed to. The GOP as a whole is crazy, but having a bunch of glue sniffing morons like Gaetz, Traitof Green and Boobert running around can let McCarthy play the bewildered voice of reason. It's what John Boehner did. I'm not sure I buy that. The margin in the House is so thin that if Gaetz does begin a motion to vacate, McCarthy will need Democrats to keep his Speakership. If that happens, Democrats could simply ask for a CR in return for his gavel.
The other option isn't great either. Democrats withhold their votes to preserve McCarthy's gavel and the House collapses into chaos like we saw when McCarthy took several days to become Speaker back in January. All while the government is shut down.
It's one of those moments that would be "bad" for the country but really bad for the GOP. The question for Democratic strategists is whether they have an obligation to the country to save the Republicans from their own folly.
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