McCarthy is in his ‘hidden’ office licking his wounds and two major players have stepped up to slither their way into the House leadership….Jim Jordan and Scalise…..

I was wondering if the opponents would bring up the past allegations against Jordan….they did.

Jim Jordan should not be speaker of the House, according to four former Ohio State University wrestlers who claim the House Judiciary Committee chairman failed to protect them from a sexual predator. Jordan served as assistant coach of the OSU wrestling team from 1986 to 1994, when Richard Strauss was employed as a school physician. A 2019 investigative report found Strauss, who died in 2005, sexually abused at least 177 students from 1979 to 1997, including through 47 cases of rape. The 2019 investigation found coaches and athletic administrators knew Strauss was abusing male athletes and failed to stop him, though individual names were redacted in the public report. Jordan has claimed he never saw or heard about any abuse while at the school.

But some former wrestlers have disputed that. Dunyasha Yetts has said he personally told Jordan that Strauss tried to remove his shorts when he went to see the doctor about a thumb injury. “He doesn’t deserve to be House speaker,” Yetts now tells NBC News. “He still has to answer for what happened to us.” Other Strauss accusers have backed up Yetts’ claim that Jordan knew what the doctor was up to, claiming the coach took part in locker room discussions to that effect. “There’s no way he didn’t know what was going on,” says Mike Schyck, another former OSU wrestler. “Do you really want a guy in that job who chose not to stand up for his guys? Is that the kind of character trait you want for a House speaker?”

“None of us used the words ‘sexual abuse’ when we talked about what Doc Strauss was doing to us,” but Jordan “knew about it because we talked about it all the time in the locker room, at practices, everywhere,” says a third former OSU wrestler, identified as John Doe in a lawsuit against the university. In a 2018 interview, Jordan noted “conversations in a locker room are a lot different than allegations of abuse. No one ever reported any abuse to me.” But he went on to deny knowledge of these locker room discussions, too. Rocky Ratliff, a former OSU wrestler and lawyer representing plaintiffs in the suit against the school, now wants to hear him say the same under oath. Ratliff, who claims Jordan “abandoned his former wrestlers,” plans to have him deposed, per NBC.

Did this work to keep Jordan out of the Big Chair?

It appears to may have help the Repubs decide on Scalise for the Speakership….

House Republicans have landed on Majority Leader Steve Scalise as their pick for next speaker, with the Hill reporting he bested Jim Jordan in a 113-99 closed-door vote. Things will next head to the House floor, where he’ll face off against Democrats’ pick: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The one who ends up with the gavel will be the one who emerges with the majority, which could take a while. Republicans hold a very slim majority, and ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy didn’t emerge victorious for 15 rounds.

The AP writes of Scalise, “The Louisiana lawmaker is seen as a hero to some after surviving a mass shooting on lawmakers at a congressional baseball game practice a few years ago.” The Hill adds, “Scalise’s nomination marks the pinnacle of his congressional career, which began in 2008 and has spanned more than nine years in leadership, including stints as Republican whip and, most recently, majority leader.” Sources tell CNN that a full House vote won’t happen today, with interim speaker Rep. Patrick McHenry expected to call a recess when the House meets at 3pm.

Several GOP lawmakers have already said they won’t vote for Scalise, and it’s unclear whether he has a path to winning a majority. “Surprises are for little kids at birthday parties, not Congress,” Rep. Thomas Massie said in a post on X. “So, I let Scalise know in person that he doesn’t have my vote on the floor.” Rep. Max Miller said he would vote for Jordan even if Jordan asks his supporters to vote for Scalise, the Washington Post reports.

This ought to be fascinating.

Let The Games Begin!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”