Kevin McCarthy says Marjorie Taylor Greene a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for Republicans<\/p>\n
Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy has said Majorie Taylor Greene\u2019s abrupt resignation is a sign of broader trouble for the GOP next year, given several House Republicans<\/a> are leaving.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s almost like the canary in the coal mine,\u201d McCarthy told Fox News on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd this is something inside Congress, they\u2019d better wake up, because they are going to get a lot of people retiring, and they\u2019ve got to focus.\u201d<\/p>\n The GOP still has a slender House majority, and even with Greene\u2019s departure has two votes to spare, but already, 22 House Republicans have said they will retire or forgo re-election next year. This is an above-average number analysts say.<\/p>\n Greene \u2013 a three-term representative from Georgia \u2013 resigned last Friday following weeks of an escalating public spat with president Donald Trump, over several issues including the release of the Epstein files.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.32 EST<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Trump defends report of Witkoff coaching Putin aide<\/p>\n The Kremlin this morning has confirmed that Witkoff is due in Moscow again next week \u2013 expected given the progress reported on a peace deal between Ukrainian and US negotiators earlier this week.<\/p>\n But hanging over that is a report that has emerged of a leaked recording of Witkoff advising Yuri Ushakov, Putin\u2019s foreign affairs adviser, last month on how he should pitch to Trump on the peace plan.<\/p>\n At the time, Trump was appearing to lose patience with Putin.<\/p>\n \u201cJust reiterate that you congratulate the president [Trump] on this achievement… that you respect that he is a man of peace and you\u2019re just, you\u2019re really glad to have seen it happen,\u201d Witkoff is quoted as saying in the Bloomberg report. \u201cI think from that it\u2019s going to be a really good call.\u201d<\/p>\n Following this, a Trump-Putin call did eventuate, right before Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy arrived at the White House for a meeting. And since then, the US has unveiled its peace plan, which appears to offer far more concessions to the Russian side, setting off rounds of furious negotiations.<\/p>\n Last night when asked by reporters about the leaked recording, Trump said he hadn\u2019t heard it but defended Witkoff, saying the reported approach to the Russians was just \u201cstandard negotiating procedure\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got to sell this to Ukraine. He\u2019s got to sell Ukraine to Russia,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what a dealmaker does.\u201d<\/p>\n The deal as it stands appears to have been revised more in line with Ukrainian and European demands following US-Ukraine talks in Geneva this past weekend.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy has said a revised version could be \u201cworkable\u201d but there are still several outstanding key issues. Zelenskyy is hoping to meet with Trump in coming days.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Kevin McCarthy says Marjorie Taylor Greene a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for Republicans<\/p>\n Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy has said Majorie Taylor Greene\u2019s abrupt resignation is a sign of broader trouble for the GOP next year, given several House Republicans<\/a> are leaving.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s almost like the canary in the coal mine,\u201d McCarthy told Fox News on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd this is something inside Congress, they\u2019d better wake up, because they are going to get a lot of people retiring, and they\u2019ve got to focus.\u201d<\/p>\n The GOP still has a slender House majority, and even with Greene\u2019s departure has two votes to spare, but already, 22 House Republicans have said they will retire or forgo re-election next year. This is an above-average number analysts say.<\/p>\n Greene \u2013 a three-term representative from Georgia \u2013 resigned last Friday following weeks of an escalating public spat with president Donald Trump, over several issues including the release of the Epstein files.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.32 EST<\/p>\n Welcome<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to our US Politics blog for today. I\u2019m Frances Mao and I\u2019ll take you through the next few hours as lawmakers begin to head off for the Thanksgiving weekend.<\/p>\n