🍻 In This Week’s Hill Spill Newsletter: Why House Republicans Want Kevin McCarthy to Shut Up, an AARP-Eligible “Youthful Indiscretion,” and the Ass-Obsessed Final Stretch

🍹 Welcome to this week’s Hill Spill, your favorite Capitol Hill happy hour-themed newsletter! It’s almost Halloween, and some of the polling numbers are scaring our GOP sources more than any haunted house could. 👻

This week, House Republicans are fuming over Kevin McCarthy trashing their messaging from Singapore, and some think his new alliance with Jim Jordan could backfire on Jordan’s leadership ambitions. A Tennessee congressional candidate is calling the nudes he allegedly sent at 53 “youthful indiscretions,” and there are two Dan Sullivans on the Alaska Senate ballot, which a new report says is no accident. Plus, Trump’s closing argument has a lot of cheeks, we have a big announcement coming Monday, and we’re toasting with a cocktail that’s literally meant to bring things back from the dead.

Some housekeeping: our website got a makeover! Go check it out and let us know what you think of the new logo. We also now have an anonymous tip line, which we loveee. If you’ve got tea, you know where to spill it. 👀

Grab a drink and let’s get into it. 🍸

House GOP lawmakers are less than thrilled that Kevin McCarthy has ripped apart their messaging strategy in the days leading up to the election — and they see him as a potential liability for Jim Jordan’s likely minority leader bid.

The former speaker, out of Congress for nearly three years, still recently found time while on a Singapore trip days before Election Day to go on Bloomberg TV and undercut the conference’s messaging. In the hit, McCarthy said “It’s not that the Democrats are going to win this election. Republicans are going to lose it,” faulted the thin legislative calendar, and admitted he couldn’t name three things Republicans would deliver if they held the chamber.

Members and staffers noted he made the effort to shit all over their campaign strategy from overseas, which they found a little over the top.

“Kevin is rooting for us to fail every day. And it shows. I mean, people hate that. They’re not just ambivalent,” one lawmaker told us. “Is Newt Gingrich out there as a former speaker, saying anything other than, this is how the Republicans can win?” (Newt, for his part, has largely stuck to the ‘here’s how we win’ lane.)

It also wasn’t the first time… In a May interview with the Daily Wire’s Ben Domenech, McCarthy unloaded on leadership for discharge petitions and taking too much advice from the Freedom Caucus, and earlier this year he called it a “real misstep” when Republicans stalled Trump’s bill in committee.

Members of the conference also noted that he had little success in following his own advice while he held the gavel and felt his Monday morning quarterbacking could use some self-awareness.

Now he’s also advising House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the same guy who spent years as one of his biggest internal critics, as Jordan eyes a run for minority leader if Republicans lose the House, The Washington Sun reported.

Sources started calling and texting us pretty quickly with some takes after that report dropped. Former Jordan staff have landed at Watchtower and Miller Strategies — some members have noticed the Venn diagram. And a few Republicans — both on and off the hill — we talked to think the alliance could end up hurting Jordan more than it helps.

“If I was Jim Jordan and I wanted to lead the Republican conference I wouldn’t pick up the Kevin McCarthy playbook,” former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the effort to oust McCarthy in 2023, told us Thursday morning.

Gaetz got into the history on his show later that day. He recalled Jordan coming to him after McCarthy’s ouster, before a new speaker was in place, and floating that he could serve as McCarthy’s “assistant speaker” if Gaetz dropped his objection.

“I somewhat mockingly referred to that as the assistant to the regional manager plan, kind of the Dwight Schrute of the House of Representatives,” Gaetz said on his show. “Obviously Jim Jordan is too good for that.”

Some within the conference feel like McCarthy’s rivalry with Scalise could be a motivator, but also felt he was looking for relevancy and an easier path to lobby people at the top.

“I feel like it’s interesting the USS McCarthy is looking to float again. It’s like so typical,” another GOP lawmaker told us. “There is speculation that he just announced that [his alliance with Jordan] himself, but that’s probably along with being considered for energy secretary and White House chief of staff.”

A former senior GOP aide was even harsher. “Kevin is driven by opportunism. Since being ousted in 2023, he’s never really moved on and has tried to undermine House Republicans at every turn, all in an effort to regain influence within Congress,” the aide said. “I think he sees this race as his last opportunity to position himself as the power behind a Jordan-led leadership operation.”

“Show me another former party leader who consistently undermines their own party? You can’t. McCarthy cosplays as a team player when really, he’s always only out for himself,” a different senior Republican told us. “He thinks he’s Keyser Söze when in reality he’s Lord Farquaad.”

McCarthy’s camp argued he isn’t trying to screw over current leadership and is just friendly with former colleagues. “Speaker McCarthy talks regularly with many of his former colleagues and friends on the Hill to help the Conference and protect the majority they worked so hard to earn,” a McCarthy spokesperson told us.

Jordan is widely expected to run if Republicans lose the majority, and it would likely pit him against Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.). Minority leader takes a simple majority on a secret ballot — a much lower bar than the 218 votes Jordan couldn’t reach three times in 2023.

We’ve been trying to get a whip count on all three potential options, and it all seems like it will be a numbers game depending on which races Republicans prevail in and who loses. Some sources said not to rule out the possibility of a dark horse emerging depending on how rogue things get on Tuesday.

Some members say he’s a different guy than the Tea Party bomb-thrower of 2010. “For people like me, who have not seen the Jim Jordan of 2010, the Tea Party Jim Jordan... it’s a very, very different Jordan,” one lawmaker told us, comparing his image makeover to former Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.). “Folks who have been here even four years don’t really have much of the backstory [on Jordan as Freedom Caucus chair],” a second lawmaker said. His constant TV presence doesn’t hurt his name recognition, either.

“There are enough members, I think, still left who kind of remember the Jim Jordan of old, and so they’re probably going to be more in the Scalise camp. But Jim’s been very active all around the country and I think he’s probably calling a lot of members,” another lawmaker told us.

Not everyone thinks he has shifted gears, and some aren’t sold that he is the favorite in the race.

“I think that Steve probably has an advantage over Jim Jordan, assuming that Johnson doesn’t run,” another lawmaker told us. “In all the speakers elections, Steve always got more votes than Jim.” As for Johnson, the lawmaker said if Republicans lose the majority, “he would be so stupid to run because he wouldn’t stand a snowball’s chance of winning.”

Others are firmly in Johnson’s corner.

“There is so much respect for Johnson in the conference, and a recognition that he is the only one who can unify the conference the way it needs to be unified in order to win the majority,” another lawmaker told us.

And depending on how big the losses are, one member said they could see the conference turning to Jordan. “I’m not saying that I’m advocating for this or that people have said this, but I can see where the conference could take the approach,” the lawmaker said.

Either way, if McCarthy’s in Jordan’s corner, some Republicans would rather he stay off TV until after Tuesday. The NRCC race, steering races, and potentially other leadership races look like they could be lit, and we’ve gotten some calls on that front. We love our sources. There are all sorts of rumors we are currently pinging around and we will keep you all posted on all the leadership lore — things look like they are about to get spicy!

Tennessee state Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) is 58, and he’s chalking up the nudes he allegedly sent at 53 to being young and dumb. Sir, that’s not young and dumb. That’s AARP-eligible and dumb.

For the record, we know very few sane people who want unsolicited nudes from men. PSA: members of Congress (and people running to become one) should just not send them. We’ll admit we looked at his campaign page and his aesthetic didn’t totally give off “guy that sends dick pics” energy, but alas! Politics is full of surprises!

The Nashville Scene broke this doozy of a story on Tuesday. Multiple sources told the outlet they’d received or seen the photos. One person allegedly got an unsolicited one in 2021, when Taylor was 53 and already deep into the 30-year marriage he’s been selling as part of the Christian family-man package. Apparently he was also sending around pictures of another type of package others didn’t necessarily appreciate or want.

He told the Scene: “As I near 60 years old, the expiration date has come and gone on any of my youthful indiscretions.” He said his God and his wife have forgiven him and suggested everyone else do the same. He also called himself a “rounder” and, when asked what that meant, told the reporter to look it up.

He later told radio host Matt Murphy it was a consensual text with “somebody that I shouldn’t have been communicating with,” that only one woman was involved, and that if he didn’t want to talk about it seven days before an election he shouldn’t have done it. At a rally he told a reporter it “really doesn’t matter whether it was one or 21.” The Scene said at least one was an unsolicited proposition.

His Democratic opponent, state Rep. Justin Pearson, called the “youthful” line “a ridiculous and dangerous mischaracterization of the type of predatory behavior that needs to be rooted out of our society and politics.”

One Democratic operative told us: “Sending unsolicited nudes is sexual harassment, not an ‘indiscretion,’ and 53 is certainly not ‘youthful.’ What is it with Tennessee Republicans and creeping to cheat on their wives? They’re quick to throw their ‘Christian values’ away the second they step off the campaign stage.”

We asked a bunch of GOP lawmakers and staff and almost no one wanted to touch it. “I don’t know why anybody in public office or even thinking about public office would do any of that stuff, because I mean, it’s all going to come out at some point in time,” one GOP lawmaker told us. Another one of our sources made a “pull out of events” joke. We did laugh because sometimes our sense of humor veers into the immature territory. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Taylor has been running as a Baptist churchgoing family man. The district was redrawn to lean Republican, and he’s still favored. Two Democratic legislative candidates say they’re filing a bill to make “cyberflashing” a crime since Tennessee doesn’t currently have one.

This is not new territory for Congress. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) resigned in 2011 after a lewd Twitter photo, Chris Lee (R-N.Y.) quit the same year over a shirtless Craigslist photo. Joe Barton (R-Texas) had a nude of himself leak in 2017 and didn’t run again — he was kind of the victim in that one.

Our corneas are still burning from past congressional dick pic scandals hitting the interwebs. There are just some things that are hard to disassociate from while asking members about appropriations bills when you’ve unintentionally seen too much on then-Twitter, now X.

As The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper put it: “Sir, if you had to take a pill to make your youthful indiscretion possible, it’s not a youthful indiscretion.”

No pod this week, but we have a big announcement coming: we’re doing a collab with our friends over at Mediaite! We are v excited about it. More deets Monday — it’s going to be lit! Stay tuned.

In the meantime, please enjoy this seal rolling around in leaves. His vibe is immaculate. We aspire to this level of joy. 🍁

Alaska voters aren’t seeing double. There really are two Dan Sullivans on the Senate ballot, and a new report says that’s no accident.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that people working with Democrat Mary Peltola spent months looking for other Dan Sullivans to run against Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). A staffer was told last summer to find as many as possible, and aides worked with campaign lawyers and senior staff at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on it.

Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager, told the Times that Peltola wasn’t directly involved but was “definitely aware.”

So now the incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan, is on the ballot against Peltola and Dan J. Sullivan, a first-time candidate Republicans have dubbed “Decoy Dan.”

Dan J. Sullivan previously supported Peltola and switched from unaffiliated to Republican right before the filing deadline. He says he got in on his own and another long-shot candidate, Gerald Heikes, was also recruited, per the Times.

Peltola’s campaign denies it. “The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates into the race,” the campaign said. The DSCC said it had “no involvement” either. Peltola brushed the report off at a rally: “This is all stuff to sell newspapers.” Recruiting a same-name candidate isn’t illegal. Apparently the newer-to-politics Dan Sullivan has not done any campaign events…

Sullivan (the incumbent) called it a “scandal at the highest order.”

Trump said Peltola should be removed from the ballot and prosecuted, writing on Truth Social that “the Democrats cheated!” Gov. Mike Dunleavy ordered an investigation and on Thursday, House Oversight Chair James Comer launched his own probe, calling Democrats “the party of fraud” and asking Rios to testify.

Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia said Alaska should look into the allegations, but he still backs Peltola and doesn’t think any investigation will change the race.

Peltola got more votes than both Sullivans combined in the August primary, so some Democrats are also wondering why anyone bothered. Now Republicans have a fresh closing message four days out.

The Alaska Supreme Court has already ruled both Sullivans stay on the ballot. If you’re keeping score at home, this is the same campaign whose office was home to an allegedly neglected chameleon named Meatball. Alaska politics are such a wild ride.

Every campaign has a closing message. This cycle, Trump’s seems to be Sen. Jon Husted’s ass.

It started at an Oct. 12 rally in Youngstown, Ohio, when Trump explained that after learning Husted (R-Ohio) was an All-American defensive back at the University of Dayton, he gave him a once-over.

He’s been coming back to it ever since, which has confused a lot of our sources. In Greenville, N.C., on Oct. 20, Trump insisted, “It’s not my thing,” before calling Husted’s backside “like a pile of muscle.”

In Port Huron, Mich., on Oct. 25, he said, “I’m looking at him up and down... I looked at his ass,” before spotting Nicki Minaj in the crowd and adding, “By the way, I have looked at one hell of a beautiful ass before.” In Lubbock, Texas, two days later, he floated giving Ken Paxton the same treatment, then hedged: “I’m not sure your body is gonna qualify.” Harsh. And in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Wednesday: “I started by looking at his ass and it was strong as hell.”

Now JD Vance has hopped on the talking-about-toned-political-asses bandwagon. He said Thursday that Husted, “in addition to his very nice body, is more importantly gonna make a much better senator,” and joked that he’s “jealous” Trump doesn’t talk about his ass the same way, per Mediaite.

It’s not just a vibe, either. A Washington Sun analysis of more than 4,600 Trump appearances found his comments about people’s bodies have nearly tripled compared to the same stretch of his 2016 campaign, and he’s on track to set a monthly record in October.

“It’s been ass city,” one source told us, with no negative connotation.

Our GOP sources have been kind of amused by it, while also finding it an odd closing message heading into Tuesday. “I’m not sure if it will be helpful,” one lawmaker told us. Husted, for his part, seems to be taking it in stride as he heads into the final stretch of a tight race against Sherrod Brown.

After weeks of hearing about asses at these rallies, we did book an extra Solidcore class this week, so if nothing else, it motivated us to get to the gym?

Happy Halloween weekend to all who celebrate, and happy last weekend before Election Day to every campaign staffer running on Celsius and three hours of sleep!

This week we’re going with the Corpse Reviver No. 2, a drink invented to bring people back from the dead. It was originally a hangover cure, and it feels very on theme for House Republicans right now. The vibe in a lot of GOP offices lately feels less red wave and more Weekend at Bernie’s. We’ve heard from a couple members who aren’t feeling great about the majority and are still hoping for an October surprise to shake things up.

Democrats, maybe hold off on measuring the drapes for a minute though. We’ve all sat through enough of those “the polls were wrong” election nights to know nothing’s actually dead until it is. We usually aren’t gin girlies but we’re told this thing’ll bring just about anything back!

The recipe:

Rinse a chilled coupe with a splash of absinthe and pour out the extra. Shake everything else with ice, strain into the glass, and garnish. 🎃