Reacting to the looming government shutdown which can mainly be attributed to interference from president-elect Donald Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk, MSNBC's Ali Vitali told the panel on "Morning Joe" this is just a precursor to what the GOP leadership can expect for the next four years.
Vitali, who is taking over the reins of "MSNBC's "Way Too Early" next week, told outgoing host Jonathan Lemire that the failure of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to get his caucus to fall in line with Trump's budget demands has made his life a living hell and cast doubt he will remain in his senior position next year.
But, as she noted, what other Republicans in the House would want the thankless job.
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According to Vitali, having Musk whispering in Trump's ear is bad news for lawmakers wanting to just do their jobs.
"Look, the question of the last few years is who is going to be the next speaker?" she began. [Ex-House Speaker Kevin] McCarthy is ousted and you go through three weeks of chaos. The real question we should be asking is: why would anyone want to be speaker at this point? It is easily the most difficult and thankless job in Washington. "
"President-elect Trump has only shown that it's going to be worse this time around for whoever it is, he clearly can't be predicted to even stay on his team's side once they have a negotiation they feel is palatable to move forward with," she added.
"Johnson is the person who has proven he can herd the cats, and that is, I think, the school of thought for the majority of Republicans who say, let's go with the guy we've got and the person we know –– but who knows? " she later predicted.
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