🍻 In This Week’s Hill Spill: The House GOP’s Upcoming Dysfunctional Family Reunion, Hegseth’s Impeachment Clock and Why We Love Leakers

🍹 Welcome to this week’s Hill Spill, your favorite Capitol Hill happy hour-themed newsletter!

House Republicans are back next week and nobody’s pretending this is going to be fun for them. The majority’s gone, members who weren’t supposed to lose lost, and now they’re all going to sit in a room and decide who gets to lead them through the next two years of this. We are anticipating drama.

This week: Scalise and Jordan are both running to replace Johnson and people have a lot of opinions. Massie is forcing a Hegseth impeachment vote the second they gavel back in and told us he might be doing the GOP a favor. And one member is telling leadership candidates that if they want his vote, they have to stop talking to Jake Sherman. Rogue times. Democrats appear to be having a relatively normal week as they gear up for leadership elections of their own.

It’s tea time so grab a bev and let’s get into it. 🍸

House Republicans are heading back to Washington next week for what’s shaping up to be a very awkward “good family discussion.”

They’ll gather for their candidate forum to size up the leadership team tasked with digging them out of Tuesday’s absolute bloodbath, and multiple people told us they’re expecting an airing of grievances at the mics after a massacre that took out members no one would have expected to lose. Festivus came early this year!

“I think it’s going to be a lot of bitching,” one GOP lawmaker told us of how they expect things to go.

“This will be the worst cycle in a generation for Republicans,” another GOP lawmaker said projecting the vibes will be low.

Morale is in the basement, and the race to lead the conference is looking messy and likely to be a squeaker.

“Unfortunately, it is a dysfunctional family! 😂” one senior GOP lawmaker texted us.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are the two vying to replace Speaker Mike Johnson at the head of the table. Scalise’s critics say it’s time for regime change. “Everybody loves Scalise,” one lawmaker told us, but “my impression is that Scalise has been around for a very long time as leader and people may want a change.”

Don’t expect Dad to settle this one, either. Despite speculation that he’d put his thumb on the scale for Jordan, Trump has twice declined to get involved when asked about the race calling everyone great. TBH most of the GOP members we talked to feel he holds the brunt of responsibility for the losses and aren’t real thrilled with him atm.

Not everyone sees Scalise’s long tenure as a bad thing, though. A senior GOP source argued that Johnson stepping aside and NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) losing “took away the biggest pressure points” for “throw the bums out” energy, since most members blame Trump first for the environment.

“I can still see 50% chance where people are like, whoa, slow down,” the source said. “To the degree members believe that we are potentially gonna be able to get back into the majority in two years, I think they see Steve as the steady hand,” they added.

Jordan, meanwhile, is a conservative TV darling with the backing of Club for Growth, but he’s taking fire from some hard-liners, including Steve Bannon, who has been railing against him on War Room. And some members argued that no one gives a shit about a Club for Growth endorsement in an internal leadership race and worry he’d just keep doing what got them here.

“We lost all Hispanics because of these over-aggressive immigration policies. And, you know, I don’t see Jordan giving the vision or leadership,” one GOP lawmaker told us. “He’s just gonna double down on Trump and these policies that cost us the election. We need to get rid of these purity tests and get back to a big tent”

Another senior Republican made a similar point about the party’s whole approach: “If you’re defending Trump the entire time, you’re endorsing all of this shit that got broken. You’re never gonna get the chance to go out and say, hey, you know, look, here’s something different. Here’s something we need to try.”

Some GOP sources told us they think a public push to delay the leadership elections could be coming, with members who want a post-mortem on what went wrong before they pick who leads them next.

“I think the totality and scope of the loss that we faced on Tuesday, people will get together when we get back on Monday, and they’re like, man, the bodies haven’t even been buried, and we’re already deciding who is going to lead,” a senior GOP source told us.

Some members aren’t real thrilled with either option for leader. “They both want to double down on stupid,” one GOP lawmaker told us, making the case they are both embracing Trump a tad more than they would like.

The family feud doesn’t stop at the top… Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who said before the midterms that he wanted to stay on, is getting a challenge from RSC Chair August Pfluger (R-Texas).

Pfluger is leaning on his combat veteran résumé and his coalition-building chops, and Texas members, who’ve long vented to us that they’re underrepresented in leadership, would love to see one of their own at the table. His fans say he’d bring some fresh blood. But Emmer is well liked and has spent months campaigning for freshmen and locking up their votes.

“Emmer is the only person I can tell you I am behind,” one lawmaker told us.

Over at the NRCC, Reps. Brian Jack (R-Ga.) and Rudy Yakym (R-Ind.) are fighting to take over Hudson’s gig. Jack’s supporters rave about his district knowledge and recruiting, and two lawmakers told us he’s got it pretty locked up.

Yakym’s allies counter that he raised “a shit load of money for candidates.” Whoever wins might be getting the cushiest gig in town.

“I think the best position to be in the next Congress is gonna be NRCC chair,” the senior GOP source said. “You are guaranteed to be picking up seats.” The lawmaker backing Emmer for whip agreed Jack “would be good at NRCC, but [the] Hudson mess needs to be cleaned out.”

And Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) is racking up endorsements to keep her seat at the table against not one but two challengers: Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.), who’s pitching herself as the one to run the conference like a PR shop and shake things up, and Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.), whose bid we scooped. We expect this one to be somewhat competitive. The same lawmaker backing Emmer for whip is going “McClain over Houchin, but if leadership doesn’t change, messaging won’t either.”

Across the aisle, Democrats are in high spirits, and their leadership races are relatively drama-free so far. Must be nice.

We’ll have more in-depth coverage of the down-ballot leadership races in the next few days, so stay tuneddd. 👀

Exclusive: House GOP leaders canceled votes in September in part to avoid Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-Ky.) impeachment resolution against Pete Hegseth ahead of the midterms. This time, they can’t run out the clock.

Massie told us Thursday morning that he plans to force the vote within 24 hours of the House returning next week. Because the resolution is privileged, leadership has two legislative days to act, which means Hegseth could face an impeachment vote within days. There’s one way out, according to Massie: if Hegseth resigns.

Massie, who lost his May primary to Hegseth-backed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, is spending his final months in Congress trying to take down the Defense secretary, and he may actually have the votes. Multiple GOP sources told CNN they expect the resolution to pass, with Republicans looking for someone to blame after Tuesday’s rout. Vice President JD Vance has pointed to the Iran war as a factor in the losses, and Massie’s impeachment articles accuse Hegseth of waging that war illegally.

“Hegseth doesn’t have a lot of friends on the Hill,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told Fox.

Hegseth is fighting back. In a video posted Thursday, he dismissed the effort as a “sham” led by a “disgruntled, defeated congressman” and his Democratic allies. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth “will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists,” and that he’s “100% committed to leading the Department until the end of President Trump’s term in office.” Trump is standing by him too, telling reporters Hegseth is doing “a very good job.”

Massie has a warning for the White House anyway. “If Trump’s going to replace appointees like Hegseth, he should do it while he can still get the replacements confirmed in the Senate,” he posted on X. Democrats take control of the Senate in January, so the clock’s ticking.

And Massie told us Hegseth’s problems could get a lot worse once Democrats take the House. Their impeachment “won’t be as polite as mine,” he said. Massie couldn’t force committee hearings or compel Pentagon witnesses to testify, but Democrats will be able to. “I couldn’t compel hearings to happen, so I did mine straight to the floor instead of to a committee,” Massie told us. “They’ll take it through committee.”

And despite chatter that Hegseth could be tapped for Tennessee’s Senate seat if it opens up, a source told the AP he’s not under consideration.

Massie is also reviving his Epstein push. He told us his discharge petition is just two signatures short of the threshold, and he’s waiting on Democrats to get it there. Once he has them, the speaker has up to seven legislative days to bring it up, and Massie expects it to come to the floor under a rule this time.

Should make for a v chaotic couple of weeks.

Big news: We love a good collab, and we’re teaming up with our friends at Mediaite! We are v excited about it. 🎉

To kick things off, check out our interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum from earlier this week, where we talked about their election night plans, Fox’s ratings and more.

We also dropped a new episode with TikTok and Substack star Aaron Parnas, where we chat about journalism and his path into new media.

Grab a bev and give them a listen! 🍸

Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Wash.), whose own race hasn’t been called yet, has a new demand for anyone who wants his vote in next week’s leadership elections: stop talking to the press about what happens in conference meetings. We hate that energy, but were also very amused by the thread.

In a series of posts on X Thursday night, Baumgartner said one of his requirements is a plan from leadership hopefuls to make sure conference meetings aren’t “leaked to the press in real time by low integrity, un-patriotic attention seekers currying favor with slimy journalists.”

At a minimum, he wants a commitment to give “no on or off the record interviews to those members of the press who conspire to secretly leak our meetings.”

He did single one reporter out by name, calling Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman “the slimiest member of the DC press corps” and saying that if candidates want his vote, they’ll swear off interviews with Sherman “for as long as he leaks our confidential team meetings.”

He also said he’ll ask conservative policy groups to “name and scorecard” the leakers, and encourage conservative voters and donors to lean on members “not on board with stopping the leaks.” “We have a mess to clean up and it starts now. 🇺🇸” he wrote.

We’ll be honest: at first, we genuinely couldn’t tell if this was a real demand.

Our friend Olivia Beavers of The Wall Street Journal, who we know loves a leak as much as we do, quipped: “Look forward to getting around whatever you/they come up with 🫡”

Same, same girl. A conference full of members with phones and a fresh pile of grievances after Tuesday? Good luck plugging that. Logistically, it seems… hard. Leaks are basically a congressional tradition at this point and we love it, and after the week they’ve had on the GOP side, members have a lot to say.

One former Republican staffer texted us after seeing our tweet hating on the whole thing: “It’s the equivalent of saying ‘no one steal any of these delicious chocolate chip cookies I just baked and set out in front of you all! Okay, I’m now going on vacation. I trust youuu.’”

We loveee conference leaks over here at Sources Say. They’re one of our favorite things! So to all of you who indulge us: we appreciate you, and plz never change. 🫶

We’re always here for your texts and calls, whether they’re grievances or something you’re excited about on or off the record because we love to yap with y’all!

We’re keeping a close eye on the conference chair race and expect to have more on it soon.

After the week congressional Republicans just had, we figured they could use some medicine. House Republicans lost the majority, Senate Republicans lost theirs, and the NRCC chair lost his own seat. That’s a lot of bad news for them in one week.

The Penicillin is a banger: smoky scotch, honey, ginger and lemon. It’s basically a gussied-up hot toddy and it’s the closest thing we’ve got to a cure for Tuesday for all of you Republican readers. It’s also great for the sore throats everyone’s about to have after a week of yelling at each other in leadership forums.

Democrats are busy popping champagne, so we figured they didn’t really need a cocktail this week. But to every Republican staffer suddenly updating their resume, have two. 💊

The recipe:

To make the honey-ginger syrup, simmer equal parts honey and water with a few slices of fresh ginger for about five minutes, then let it cool and strain it.

Shake the blended scotch, lemon juice and syrup with ice, strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice, then gently pour the Islay scotch over the back of a spoon so it floats on top. Garnish with candied ginger.

Take as needed until the leadership races are over.