Ever since he decided not to run for re-election in 2018, the former Speaker of the House and congressman from Wisconsin's 1st District has stepped back from public life. But like former Gov. Scott Walker, he still carries a tremendous amount of power in Republican circles, and now, he's slowly wading back into politics by weighing in on the current state of his party.
Bob Spindell, chair of the 4th Congressional District Republican Party, said he won’t quit despite the uproar over an email he sent celebrating reduced Black and Hispanic turnout in Milwaukee.
In 2017, a federal court ruled the state legislative districts Wisconsin Republicans drew in 2011 were so excessively partisan, they were unconstitutional. And the ones currently in effect aren't any better.
The Republicans’ battle for Speaker of the House is the natural result of wanting to “prove” government doesn’t work—by refusing to do the actual work of governing.
The new Republican-controlled House has thus far failed six separate times to elect a House Speaker—the first time such a debacle has occurred since 1923. Until the new Congress elects a speaker, the House cannot assign members to committees, introduce or vote on legislation, help constituents, or even swear in members.