Members-Only Article
Kevin McCarthy’s turnabout on a Jan 6th Commission proposal that was negotiated by his chosen negotiator and, by all indications, at his direction is a good reminder – for anyone who needed reminding, and really who are you who needed reminding? – of the reality of bipartisan negotiations in the Trump era. As I noted yesterday, Rep. Katko does not appear to have been freelancing. McCarthy chose him to negotiate on his behalf. And reporting suggests Katko worked from McCarthy’s directives and kept him in the loop. But once the deal was announced McCarthy felt he needed to torpedo it.
The only plausible explanation here is that McCarthy didn’t really think the negotiations would go anywhere. When the Democrats agreed with most of his demands, he had a hot potato in his hand and didn’t know what to do with it.
Trump clearly made clear he doesn’t want any commission under any circumstances ever. And I mean … of course he doesn’t. The perp never wants an investigation. That’s obvious. As my colleague Kate Riga has noted a number of times, McCarthy has his own reasons not to want any commission, even over and above Trump’s opposition. McCarthy was on the phone with Trump at the critical moments demanding the then-President do something. McCarthy’s testimony would likely be some of the most illuminating about the President’s state of mind and actions. That’s a nightmare for McCarthy. Of course he wants to avoid it.
The other possibility, though I find it a bit hard to credit, is that Katko basically sandbagged McCarthy. Perhaps Katko got McCarthy most of what he said he wanted but knew McCarthy would probably not accept any deal. So rather than showing McCarthy the deal which he said he wanted, he just announced it. As I said, that’s a bit hard for me to believe. Members don’t usually cut their leaders off at the knees like that.
On the other hand, Katko is one of the ten members who voted to impeach President Trump over January 6th. That alone makes me wonder why McCarthy put him in charge of the negotiation. But he did. The whole thing is a mystery.
The only global reality we can glean from this is one I think we already know: that the leader of the House GOP caucus is Donald Trump. He’s a big factor in the Senate. But he’s not the leader. He’s the leader in the House. McCarthy is most charitably seen as his spokesman.
