U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-9) today announced he would not get involved in the ongoing House Republican civil war:

“If the Republican Conference is a circus, why would I go into the tent and step in elephant dung?” said Pascrell. “In less than a year, Kevin McCarthy has proven himself to be the weakest House Speaker in modern history. Every decision Mr. McCarthy has made was with eyes only on the Speaker’s gavel. Governance and trust have been secondary. Mr. McCarthy made corrupt bargains with right-wing extremists to seize power. He handed these misfits the tools they now wield against him so let him negotiate with these wolves. All Americans should watch this latest spectacle and know House Republicans have no business running a lemonade stand let alone the Congress. The House Republican majority can decide who they want to be Speaker of the House. But the Speaker cannot count on me to save him from the inmates he empowered in the Republican asylum.”

By way of context, from CNN:

Now that the House has failed to block the effort to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, lawmakers are debating whether to vacate the chair.

The floor speeches are a window into what McCarthy’s allies are saying – and why his opponents don’t want him as the GOP leader.

GOP Rep. Bob Good, one of 11 House Republicans to support a vote to oust McCarthy, said, “We need a speaker, who will fight something, anything besides just staying or becoming speaker.”

McCarthy’s ally, House Rules Chairman Tom Cole, described McCarthy’s opponents as “a small group honestly, they’re willing to plunge this body into chaos and this country into uncertainty for reasons that only they understand. I certainly don’t.”

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is leading the effort against McCarthy, responded to Cole by saying, “Chaos is Speaker McCarthy. Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word.”