A positively giddy Stephen Colbert took the stage for his Late Show monologue on Wednesday after yet another day of chaos in the House of Representatives—all of it caused by Republicans.
The party failed for a second day to elect a speaker to lead their new House majority, leaving one of the three branches of the U.S. government in limbo. And while “no one knows” what happens next, the host told viewers, “Here’s what we do know: It’s fantastic.”
Because he tapes his monologue earlier in the afternoon, Colbert admitted that it’s possible things had “turned out well for Kevin McCarthy” by the time people were watching it.
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But he correctly predicted that wasn’t likely—“because, at the end of the day, he’s still Kevin McCarthy.”
“So McCarthy’s not backing down, but neither are his opponents,” the host said later. “Like Florida representative and failed clone of Jay Leno, Matt Gaetz.”
Colbert then read aloud from an official letter that Gaetz wrote to the Architect of the Capitol that accused McCarthy of illegally occupying the speaker’s office. “After three undeciding votes, no member can lay claim to this office,” Gaetz wrote, adding, “How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?”
“I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but Matt Gaetz is right,” Colbert said. “That’s weird, but you know what they say: Even a broken clock would be a much better congressman than Matt Gaetz.”
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