Liam Donovan, a principal at Bracewell PRG, is a regular presence on cable news, in print, and on twitter as an expert explainer of what's going on in Congress and in the Republican Party. With a background both in GOP campaign politics and government relations, Liam's expertise on the intersection of politics and policy gives him tremendous insight to distill what really matters in Washington from the rest of the Beltway din. In this conversation, we talk Liam's path to politics, his time in GOP campaigns, his shift to government relations, and get his insights into the chaos of last week's (eventual) ascent of Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker...what to expect from Congress over the next two years...and his early takes on Trump vs. DeSantis '24 & the future of the Republican Party.
IN THIS EPISODE
Liam’s upbringing as a Navy Brat who went to high school in DC…
Liam’s stint working in GOP politics and at the NRSC…
The iconic GOP Senator Liam served as an aide to at the Senate committee…
Liam’s shift to government relations and lobbying…
Liam’s initial take on the chaotic House GOP process to anoint Kevin McCarthy as Speaker…
Liam on why it was probably inevitable for McCarthy to cave to the hard-right members…
Liam unpacks how McCarthy peeled off the different factions to earn the Speaker’s gavel…
Why the GOP center-right members never wavered for McCarthy…
Liam on why there was never a real chance of a few Republicans working with Democrats to elect a coalition Speaker…
Liam's thoughts on the risk McCarthy could be deposed mid-term…
The Trump impact on the Speaker’s race and the Trump-McCarthy relationship…
Liam analyzes the CLF / Freedom Caucus “truce”…
Liam’s insight on what to expect on the debt ceiling…
Liam’s early handicapping of Trump vs DeSantis 2024…
The origin story of Liam’s unusual twitter profile photo…
Liam shouts out one of his favorite twitter accounts…
AND AOL IM, almost congresspersons, Justin Amash, beating the previous question, Bill Bennett, Joe Biden, Lauren Boebert, John Boehner, John Bolton, Bracewell PRG, Scott Brown, Al Bundy, Alex Burns, George W. Bush, the CLF, Liz Cheney, Chris Christie, John Cornyn, Tom Cotton, Eli Crane, Ted Cruz, determined rumps, David Dewhurst, discharge petitions, Empower America, John Ensign, Al Franken, the Freedom Caucus, frozen budgets, Matt Gaetz, Georgetown, getting your teeth kicked in, Bob Good, Al Gore, Maggie Haberman, Nikki Haley, Andy Harris, Orrin Hatch, hot mic moments, Amo Houghton, Wesley Hunt, Hakeem Jeffries, Jim Jordan, Jack Kemp, kissing the ring, Mike Lee, letter-writing campaigns, Morgan Luttrell, Joe Manchin, Mar-a-Lago, Jonathan Martin, max-out donors, Ted McGinley, Mark Meadows, the meaty middle, Mitch McConnell, Tim Miller, non-privileged motions, Nancy Pelosi, Scott Peters, Scott Perry, Politico Pro, Mike Pompeo, the precipice of failure, Punchbowl, Ringwiss, Mike Rogers, Chip Roy, Paul Ryan, Rick Santelli, Pete Sessions, shoe-leather lobbying, shooting down the rule, the side of chaos, Aaron Sorkin, Arlen Specter, the Sword of Damocles, Marjorie Taylor Greene, turning the screws, the Trevor Project, Truth Social, trust deficits, the Uniparty, Fred Upton, West Wing story arcs & more!