Dec. 23, 2022: Jan. 6 report drops, a McCarthy foe speaks

Published: Dec. 23, 2022, 11:43 a.m.

b'The Jan. 6 committee released its final report on Thursday night \\u2014 an 845-page document drawn from nearly 1,200 witness interviews and reams of hard-won documents that places Donald Trump at the center of the deadly assault. POLITICO\'s Kyle Cheney and Nicolas Wu write \\u201cTrump\\u2019s incendiary lies about the 2020 election activated an extraordinary coalition of far-right militants and conspiracy theorists who not only joined the mob but were its vanguard smashing through police lines."\\n\\nRep. Bob Good (R-Va.) \\u2014 a "Never Kevin" Republican \\u2014 would likely be dismissed by his colleagues as a gadfly. But given the unexpectedly slim House majority the GOP gained in November, Good and a handful of like-minded conservatives hold McCarthy\\u2019s fate in their hands \\u2014 and stand ready to wield considerable power next year, no matter who ends up as speaker.\\n\\nPlaybook co-author Rachael Bade sat down with Good for the Playbook Deep Dive podcast this week to try to understand the rebellion brewing against McCarthy. We learned that Good & Co. are formulating a plan for the Jan. 3 speaker vote. He said Anti-McCarthy members are currently plotting to back Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) on the first ballot to prove McCarthy can\\u2019t get the gavel. But once the second ballot is called, they\\u2019ll begin coalescing around another, unnamed candidate \\u2014 a GOP lawmaker most have already agreed upon, Good said, but one that he will not name for fear of hurting this person\\u2019s candidacy.\\n\\nWhile Playbook reported extensively this week on the quiet effort to prepare No. 2 leader Steve Scalise as an alternative, Good stayed mum, explaining that this person, quote \\u201ccannot be part of, and they are not part of, the effort to block McCarthy.\\u201d'