Democrat strategist James Carville unsurprisingly slammed House Republicans for failing to elect a speaker on Tuesday, saying they are committing "political suicide."
"It's really stunning because the Republican Party has traditionally been a party of honor, and you're supposed to throw the grenade after you pull the pin. They pulled the pin and passed the grenade around," Carville said Tuesday night on MSNBC's "The Beat."
"I don't have a great explanation for it because it doesn't make any sense. It's politically — it's kind of some version of political suicide, and I don't think they care."
The House failed to elect a speaker Tuesday after three votes on the first day of the new Congress.
Republicans own a 222-212 majority in the lower chamber after November's midterm elections.
Needing 218 votes in the full House, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., received 203 in two rounds and 202 in the third. Five conservative Republicans have said they never will vote for McCarthy to be speaker.
"There was a lot of speculation of what the post-Trump Republican Party would look like. We got our answer today. Welcome to the post-Trump Republican Party," Carville said on MSNBC.
Former President Donald Trump, who previously had backed McCarthy for speaker, reiterated his support for the leader on Wednesday morning.
Carville further criticized Republicans for being focused on "grievance" instead of "policy."
"If you remember, they didn't have a platform in 2020. But most of my life they were for lower taxes, less regulation, and strong national defense. It was kind of a fallback position," said Carville, who became well-known after directing then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's presidential campaign in 1992.
"There's no policy aspiration that they're looking for. It's all grievance. It's all, 'you did this to me. You didn't do that.' Again, I can't help but give you the contrast between when the Democrats had a slim majority and what we're seeing today."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.