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Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in His Walls Broke Congress
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “vivid, juicy” (Vogue) fly-on-the-wall account of the epic dysfunction of the American Congress, from the rotating cast of failed Speakers to the MAGA efforts to impeach President Joe Biden to the insanity of the 2024 presidential race—by the star congressional reporters at The New York Times
“Mad House contains cyanide and candy on every page, which proves to be a killer combo. I loved it.”—Mark Leibovich, author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers This Town and Thank You for Your Servitude
The United States Congress has always been messy and far-from-august, but as Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater show here, in scorching, shocking detail, it has reached some kind of chaotic bottom. The anarchy that reigned over Congress’s lower chamber in the wake of the January 6th attack on the Capitol Building—the election of serial liar and con-man George Santos, revenge porn being shown on the floor of the house, and the theatrical high jinks of Lauren Boebert—all were a sign of decay and dysfunction of the highest order. Even the members of the 118th Congress would admit it was a circus—but up close, the spectacle was more alarming than funny.
Taking the reader into closed door meetings as House Republicans, in thrall to a cult of personality, bumble ever deeper into extremism, and sniping House Democrats lose faith in their President, the authors reveal a level of disorder that we have never seen before. Mad House is a searing, rollicking, and deeply reported portrait of a body at war with itself, riven by pettiness, egomania, and score-settling, and defined by the truly unbelievable antics of people like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Jim Jordan, who, handed the reins of power, attempted to actually govern a country. They did the bare minimum but voters in the 2024 elections rewarded them nonetheless, giving MAGA Republicans control of the White House, the Senate, and the House—and delivering to President Donald Trump a malleable Congress of loyalists there to serve. If you want a peek at what the next four years might look like, there’s no better place to start than the dysfunction that led us here.
“Mad House contains cyanide and candy on every page, which proves to be a killer combo. I loved it.”—Mark Leibovich, author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers This Town and Thank You for Your Servitude
The United States Congress has always been messy and far-from-august, but as Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater show here, in scorching, shocking detail, it has reached some kind of chaotic bottom. The anarchy that reigned over Congress’s lower chamber in the wake of the January 6th attack on the Capitol Building—the election of serial liar and con-man George Santos, revenge porn being shown on the floor of the house, and the theatrical high jinks of Lauren Boebert—all were a sign of decay and dysfunction of the highest order. Even the members of the 118th Congress would admit it was a circus—but up close, the spectacle was more alarming than funny.
Taking the reader into closed door meetings as House Republicans, in thrall to a cult of personality, bumble ever deeper into extremism, and sniping House Democrats lose faith in their President, the authors reveal a level of disorder that we have never seen before. Mad House is a searing, rollicking, and deeply reported portrait of a body at war with itself, riven by pettiness, egomania, and score-settling, and defined by the truly unbelievable antics of people like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Jim Jordan, who, handed the reins of power, attempted to actually govern a country. They did the bare minimum but voters in the 2024 elections rewarded them nonetheless, giving MAGA Republicans control of the White House, the Senate, and the House—and delivering to President Donald Trump a malleable Congress of loyalists there to serve. If you want a peek at what the next four years might look like, there’s no better place to start than the dysfunction that led us here.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 25, 2025
337 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
March 28, 2025
These chronicles of stupidity are fine as far as they go, but I wish that some of these authors would stop just simply detailing the unending litany of dumb behavior in Washington and spend some time in the districts of people like Marjorie Greene and Lauren Boebert and find out why they appeal to their constituents. It would be interesting to see how they handle problems from their districts. Those are the kinds of stories that demand attention.
May 15, 2025
SEND IN THE CLOWNS.
A wise man once said, “When you elect clowns to political office you shouldn’t be surprised when the circus comes to town.”
A Republican member described the 118th House as “a dysfunctional legislative body populated by a bunch of clowns.”
Ex-congresswoman Liz Cheney had this to say about her former profession: “What we’ve done in our politics is create a situation where we’re electing idiots.”
*****
The 118th House of Representatives, elected in 2022, passed only twenty-seven bills in two years that became law, the lowest number since the Great Depression. The authors of this book, Karmi and Broadwater, place most of the blame on the House Republicans.
One reason for this was the fact that the Republicans held only a slim majority in the House of Representatives and another is that they seemed to be more interested in fighting among themselves – and with the Democrats – and investigating “the Biden family,” than legislating.
A tremendous amount of time – and money – was spent by the Republicans in investigating Joe Biden, his son, Hunter, and brother, James. This went on for two years and they were unable to prove any criminal acts that the three engaged in. (Hunter Biden was also investigated by a special prosecutor for criminal acts totally unrelated to what the House was attempting to pin on him. He was convicted on those charges, but not those that the House was trying to prove.
It seemed at times – or most of the time – that the Republicans were fighting among themselves more than with their opponents. Personal insults and threats aimed at their rivals within their party was a common occurrence. One instance took place when Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert engaged in a loud spat on the floor of the House in which the epithet “little bitch” was heard. Since Greene is not little she must have been the source of the insult.
Boebert had her evening in the spotlight, but one that she did not enjoy, when security cameras in a Denver theater filmed Boebert and her boyfriend engaging in mutual groping during a production of Beetlejuice. There was a time when that would have been the end of the road for a politician, but not in the age of Trump. A staunch supporter of Trump, she was re-elected in 2024.
When the 118th Congress convened things got off to a roaring start – or a roaring standstill -- in the House. It took fifteen ballots to elect Kevin McCarthy to the position of House Speaker. To garner enough votes to win the office, McCarthy was forced to agree to restraints on his power.
One concession was the poison pill rule that greatly circumscribed his power. It allowed any member to make a “motion to vacate,” which is an awkward way of saying that a member could make a motion to remove the Speaker from the position, which would then force the members to support or oppose the motion.
Enter Matt Gaetz. He did not like McCarthy and McCarthy didn’t like him. Several months into McCarthy’s tenure Gaetz made the motion to remove McCarthy. McCarthy lost – and it took eight days – eight days in which virtually all business had to be suspended so that a new Speaker could be elected. Three well-known members attempted to gain the office – and failed.
Eventually, a relatively unknown, low profile Louisiana representative, named Mike Johnson, got enough votes to become the new Speaker, perhaps due to the fact that most of the membership did not know him. (Of course, since there are 435 members in the House and a little over half of them were Republicans there are a bunch of people on both sides of the aisle that are unknown by their colleagues.)
And by the way, Kevin McCarthy became the first Speaker to be deposed by his own party.
I could go on – and on. These are some of the many reasons that the Congress is held in such low public esteem – and why the authors chose the title -- and subtitle that they did -- for their book.
I wish I could say that after the election of the 119th Congress in November 2024, which convened in January 2025, that the House settled down to to conduct business in a dignified and honorable manner instead of all the wacky actions that have made them a clown show.
The new House is now in its fifth month, so how has the House changed its ways?
Well, let’s see. So far the bills introduced by Republican members include:
*Renaming Dulles Airport after Trump;
*Carving Trump’s image on Mt. Rushmore;
*Making it possible for Trump to serve a third term
And so it goes -----
A wise man once said, “When you elect clowns to political office you shouldn’t be surprised when the circus comes to town.”
A Republican member described the 118th House as “a dysfunctional legislative body populated by a bunch of clowns.”
Ex-congresswoman Liz Cheney had this to say about her former profession: “What we’ve done in our politics is create a situation where we’re electing idiots.”
*****
The 118th House of Representatives, elected in 2022, passed only twenty-seven bills in two years that became law, the lowest number since the Great Depression. The authors of this book, Karmi and Broadwater, place most of the blame on the House Republicans.
One reason for this was the fact that the Republicans held only a slim majority in the House of Representatives and another is that they seemed to be more interested in fighting among themselves – and with the Democrats – and investigating “the Biden family,” than legislating.
A tremendous amount of time – and money – was spent by the Republicans in investigating Joe Biden, his son, Hunter, and brother, James. This went on for two years and they were unable to prove any criminal acts that the three engaged in. (Hunter Biden was also investigated by a special prosecutor for criminal acts totally unrelated to what the House was attempting to pin on him. He was convicted on those charges, but not those that the House was trying to prove.
It seemed at times – or most of the time – that the Republicans were fighting among themselves more than with their opponents. Personal insults and threats aimed at their rivals within their party was a common occurrence. One instance took place when Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert engaged in a loud spat on the floor of the House in which the epithet “little bitch” was heard. Since Greene is not little she must have been the source of the insult.
Boebert had her evening in the spotlight, but one that she did not enjoy, when security cameras in a Denver theater filmed Boebert and her boyfriend engaging in mutual groping during a production of Beetlejuice. There was a time when that would have been the end of the road for a politician, but not in the age of Trump. A staunch supporter of Trump, she was re-elected in 2024.
When the 118th Congress convened things got off to a roaring start – or a roaring standstill -- in the House. It took fifteen ballots to elect Kevin McCarthy to the position of House Speaker. To garner enough votes to win the office, McCarthy was forced to agree to restraints on his power.
One concession was the poison pill rule that greatly circumscribed his power. It allowed any member to make a “motion to vacate,” which is an awkward way of saying that a member could make a motion to remove the Speaker from the position, which would then force the members to support or oppose the motion.
Enter Matt Gaetz. He did not like McCarthy and McCarthy didn’t like him. Several months into McCarthy’s tenure Gaetz made the motion to remove McCarthy. McCarthy lost – and it took eight days – eight days in which virtually all business had to be suspended so that a new Speaker could be elected. Three well-known members attempted to gain the office – and failed.
Eventually, a relatively unknown, low profile Louisiana representative, named Mike Johnson, got enough votes to become the new Speaker, perhaps due to the fact that most of the membership did not know him. (Of course, since there are 435 members in the House and a little over half of them were Republicans there are a bunch of people on both sides of the aisle that are unknown by their colleagues.)
And by the way, Kevin McCarthy became the first Speaker to be deposed by his own party.
I could go on – and on. These are some of the many reasons that the Congress is held in such low public esteem – and why the authors chose the title -- and subtitle that they did -- for their book.
I wish I could say that after the election of the 119th Congress in November 2024, which convened in January 2025, that the House settled down to to conduct business in a dignified and honorable manner instead of all the wacky actions that have made them a clown show.
The new House is now in its fifth month, so how has the House changed its ways?
Well, let’s see. So far the bills introduced by Republican members include:
*Renaming Dulles Airport after Trump;
*Carving Trump’s image on Mt. Rushmore;
*Making it possible for Trump to serve a third term
And so it goes -----
May 1, 2025
If you are a political junkie, you will absolutely love this book. It will also depress you about why we elect the people we do.
The bright side is two of the most toxic obnoxious members of Congress hate each other. Mike Royko once said that the only time you could trust a politician is when they said something awful about another politician. In this case, it’s the truest thing ever.
This book is so well written and it moves like a freight train. It’s worth your time.
The bright side is two of the most toxic obnoxious members of Congress hate each other. Mike Royko once said that the only time you could trust a politician is when they said something awful about another politician. In this case, it’s the truest thing ever.
This book is so well written and it moves like a freight train. It’s worth your time.
July 21, 2025
This isn’t a book I was expecting to whip through in a couple of days but I found it fascinating…as well as disgusting and depressing. This is an in-depth look at just how dysfunctional the House of Representatives has become. There are many current government policies where it’s obvious that the cruelty is the point. For most of the majority party currently serving in Congress, the chaos is the point.
May 16, 2025
Written by journalists with all the style of most journalists. That aside, it's a good recap of some of the madness of a particular Congress. (A limited television series in the waiting, perhaps.) Everyone's behaviour is appalling. That's part of what makes it a good read.
May 24, 2025
if we're not laughing we're crying... that's how I felt about this book. These authors did an incredible job pointing out the absurdity of the system and people that currently run our government in a way that was laugh out loud funny. Then you'd step back and say wait these people's nonsense unfortunately has real impact on our country and lives. I liked how each chapter discussed a new outlandish member of Congress and how the authors pointed out in a nonpartisan way how unproductive and unprecedented this Congress was. Great and engaging listen as an audiobook
July 2, 2025
I have given this book a mediocre rating because its subject matter is contemporary American politics, and with new outrages appearing every week, it has a short "shelf life." (If you have an interest in the state of contemporary American politics, you'd better read this book right away.) The quality of the reporting is exemplary- I follow American politics pretty closely, but there were details about some of the stories of the American Congress during the last few years that I was unfamiliar with. The names one would expect are all there: Marjorie Taylor Greene, AOC, Matt Gaetz, Kevin McCarthy, etc. But what the book focuses on is how the presence/specter of Donald Trump controls basically everything that Congress does these days (even when Biden was in office). Regardless of what one might think of Trump's policies, this is not what the Founding Fathers intended, and the fact that we have so many mediocrities in control of the legislative branch is reason for concern. It appears that, more and more, the quality people of both parties are leaving or, more alarmingly, probably not even considering a career in public service. Our children will pay the price for this transformation.
September 25, 2025
“Mad House” by Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater is a behind-the-scenes account of the first MAGA-controlled Congress, showing how Donald Trump’s brand of politics reshaped the House of Representatives into a stage for chaos. The book traces Kevin McCarthy’s desperate struggle to become Speaker in 2023, exposing how his constant concessions to hard-right members like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert left him weakened and vulnerable. It highlights how performative politics, personal feuds, and relentless obstruction overshadowed governing at a moment when the United States faced urgent challenges abroad and at home.
The book shows how power in Congress shifted away from traditional leadership and toward media-driven personalities who thrived on disruption. Gaetz and Greene used theatrics and investigations to raise money and build fame, while figures like Jim Jordan and James Comer pursued aggressive probes into the Biden family and the “weaponization” of government. Meanwhile, outside influencers like former Trump budget director Russell Vought shaped policy demands that pushed the GOP further right. The result was dysfunction: government shutdown threats, bitter fights over the debt ceiling, and McCarthy’s historic ouster as Speaker—the first in U.S. history.
Karni and Broadwater also spotlight the circus-like atmosphere created by scandal-plagued members such as George Santos and the public feuds between Greene and Boebert, which symbolized the party’s fractured state. Even when Republicans won the majority, they struggled to govern, leaving Democrats to quietly benefit from the chaos. By the time Mike Johnson rose unexpectedly to the speakership, it was clear that MAGA’s influence had permanently altered Congress, replacing dealmaking with division and elevating loyalty to Trump above all else. The book paints a portrait of a House consumed by spectacle, where breaking things was easier—and more rewarding—than leading.
Key Takeaways
* Kevin McCarthy’s grueling and humiliating fight to become Speaker, ending in historic weakness.
* The rise of MAGA hardliners like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert as power brokers.
* The use of the “motion to vacate” threat that ultimately led to McCarthy’s unprecedented ouster.
* The debt ceiling standoff, where McCarthy had to rely on Democratic votes, exposing his fractured majority.
* Russell Vought’s role as an outside Trump-world adviser, pushing radical spending cuts and hard-right priorities.
* Jim Jordan and James Comer leading high-profile, often baseless investigations into the Bidens and “weaponization” of government.
* George Santos’s scandal-filled tenure, embodying shamelessness and spectacle over governance, before being expelled.
* Public feuds between Greene and Boebert, showing how personal rivalries fueled dysfunction inside the GOP.
* The chaotic succession battles after McCarthy’s fall, ending with the unlikely rise of Mike Johnson as Speaker.
* A Congress defined by performance and partisanship, more interested in spectacle and revenge than in legislating.
The book shows how power in Congress shifted away from traditional leadership and toward media-driven personalities who thrived on disruption. Gaetz and Greene used theatrics and investigations to raise money and build fame, while figures like Jim Jordan and James Comer pursued aggressive probes into the Biden family and the “weaponization” of government. Meanwhile, outside influencers like former Trump budget director Russell Vought shaped policy demands that pushed the GOP further right. The result was dysfunction: government shutdown threats, bitter fights over the debt ceiling, and McCarthy’s historic ouster as Speaker—the first in U.S. history.
Karni and Broadwater also spotlight the circus-like atmosphere created by scandal-plagued members such as George Santos and the public feuds between Greene and Boebert, which symbolized the party’s fractured state. Even when Republicans won the majority, they struggled to govern, leaving Democrats to quietly benefit from the chaos. By the time Mike Johnson rose unexpectedly to the speakership, it was clear that MAGA’s influence had permanently altered Congress, replacing dealmaking with division and elevating loyalty to Trump above all else. The book paints a portrait of a House consumed by spectacle, where breaking things was easier—and more rewarding—than leading.
Key Takeaways
* Kevin McCarthy’s grueling and humiliating fight to become Speaker, ending in historic weakness.
* The rise of MAGA hardliners like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert as power brokers.
* The use of the “motion to vacate” threat that ultimately led to McCarthy’s unprecedented ouster.
* The debt ceiling standoff, where McCarthy had to rely on Democratic votes, exposing his fractured majority.
* Russell Vought’s role as an outside Trump-world adviser, pushing radical spending cuts and hard-right priorities.
* Jim Jordan and James Comer leading high-profile, often baseless investigations into the Bidens and “weaponization” of government.
* George Santos’s scandal-filled tenure, embodying shamelessness and spectacle over governance, before being expelled.
* Public feuds between Greene and Boebert, showing how personal rivalries fueled dysfunction inside the GOP.
* The chaotic succession battles after McCarthy’s fall, ending with the unlikely rise of Mike Johnson as Speaker.
* A Congress defined by performance and partisanship, more interested in spectacle and revenge than in legislating.
April 8, 2025
Enjoyable in a masochistic sense in torturing oneself to hear more inside baseball on the loons that inhabit the House GOP over the past decade. Whether just the disreputable like Johnson, or the truly bottom of the barrel that comprise the US House leadership positions like Empty-G, Bobo, or Gaetz, the authors dish about their travails that give insight into the plight we're in with these freaks. Although gratifying to see they published before Stefanik had her US position yanked due to Dump's plunging polls - too bad for one of his #1 toadies and supplicants.
September 13, 2025
The authors of this book understood that the best way to tell the story of the 118th Congress was to make it a comedy. The multiple fights for the speakership, the tensions between moderates and conspiracy theorists, the drama around George Santos, it has all been pretty funny to watch even as it’s heartbreaking for my patriotic side. This book leans into the absurd humor.
Here are my one-word quick reviews of the “characters” featured in the book based on how I feel about them immediately after finishing this:
Kevin McCarthy: comedic
Mike Johnson: earnest
Hakeem Jeffries: calm
Matt Gaetz: evil
Nancy Mace: tragic
George Santos: grifter
Tom Emmer: angry
Jim Jordan: sneaky
Patrick McHenry: patient
Marjorie Taylor-Greene: unpredictable
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: tough
Elise Stefanik: ambitious
Steve Scalice: overlooked
Marie Glusenkamp-Perez: resilient
Lauren Boebert: chaotic
Thomas Massie: stubborn
The last few chapters strangely shift to senators and then to the presidential race of 2024, focusing on Schumer’s relationship with Biden. It marks a very odd shift for a book that was about the House of Representatives up until that point. Otherwise a great and focused book.
Here are my one-word quick reviews of the “characters” featured in the book based on how I feel about them immediately after finishing this:
Kevin McCarthy: comedic
Mike Johnson: earnest
Hakeem Jeffries: calm
Matt Gaetz: evil
Nancy Mace: tragic
George Santos: grifter
Tom Emmer: angry
Jim Jordan: sneaky
Patrick McHenry: patient
Marjorie Taylor-Greene: unpredictable
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: tough
Elise Stefanik: ambitious
Steve Scalice: overlooked
Marie Glusenkamp-Perez: resilient
Lauren Boebert: chaotic
Thomas Massie: stubborn
The last few chapters strangely shift to senators and then to the presidential race of 2024, focusing on Schumer’s relationship with Biden. It marks a very odd shift for a book that was about the House of Representatives up until that point. Otherwise a great and focused book.
July 20, 2025
Oh my God, this is one of the most interesting bizarre books I’ve ever read. It’s funny, sad and annoying drama all blend into one! If you’re looking for some behind scenes political drama then this is for you but Americans stop voting for clowns. I gave it 4 stars because the author made house democrats look like some ‘do no wrong’ geniuses which you and I both know they’re not.
May 6, 2025
If you didn't think there crap going on in our government, this book will change your mind. If you knew there was crap, this book proves it. Even explained some of the underhanded, backstabbing my congressman did to try to become Speaker of the House.
It all sounds like a bunch of children fighting over a toy and, of course, the toy breaks in the push and pull of that fight.
It all sounds like a bunch of children fighting over a toy and, of course, the toy breaks in the push and pull of that fight.
Read
May 23, 2025DNF it's boring
June 21, 2025
A in depth fly on the wall account of how dysfunctional our government is!!!!!!!! Made me want to tear my hair out because why are our politicians acting like kindergarteners!!!!!!!!!!! Thx NYT!!!!!!
July 27, 2025
A thoroughly researched view into how u hinged Congress, and the House in particular, how become. Some particularly interesting behind the scenes type moments, that made it worth the read.
Read
July 27, 2025colin jost mention! and fuck donald trump and his sheep!
October 22, 2025
The drama. Educational brainrot
December 24, 2025
The devolution of Congress laid out bare.
October 16, 2025
Great for political junkies. The omnipresence of irony is absurd in and of itself. What’s left is mostly entertainment.
November 11, 2025
For the last year or so I’ve sworn off reading about politics. The trauma of 2024 was still too fresh, and I felt no desire to relive that through the work of journalists, particularly since so many of them were largely content to just act as if everything was normal and that we’re not hurtling toward living in a dictatorship. However, when I saw Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in His Walls Broke Congress by Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater, however, I thought: well, why not? Maybe there’ll be something useful here. As it turns out, yes, it is a very good and worthwhile book, one that is a timely reminder of just how dysfunctional Republicans have become in the Trump era.
The book begins, appropriately enough, with Kevin McCarthy’s ignominious ascent to the position of Speaker of the House, followed by his equally embarrassing fall, a deposition orchestrated and celebrated by Matt Gaetz and his other rabblerousers. From there it follows the various ill-fated efforts of others, including Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise, to ascend to the position, only to fail for one reason or another. Even though I remember this whole embarrassing affair quite well–I was still addicted to reading about politics on the daily back then–Mad House was a helpful reminder of just how ridiculous it all was. Even though the House of Representatives has always been the more raucous part of Congress, it’s still remarkable just how crazy things got there for a while.
The book is filled with the clown car of Republican politicians with which we’re all familiar. There’s Marjorie Taylor Greene, of course, who never met a controversy she didn’t court, and Lauren Boebert, who somehow emerges from these pages as being somewhat less batshit than some of her colleagues (as strange as that sounds). Gaetz is also a major player, though he fades from the picture after his successful ouster of McCarthy. Other characters both major and minor have their part to play in the grand farce of the last couple of years.
The book also gives fascinating insight into the rise of current Speaker of the House Mike Johnson from the backbencher that almost nobody knew to one of the most powerful positions in the US government. Karni and Broadwater make it clear that, McCarthy, he’s a bit of a chameleon, changing his shape to suit his political ambitions and, while he is neither an abject failure like McCarthy nor a true success like Nancy Pelosi–arguably the most effective Speaker of the House in the last 30 years–one can’t help but admire Johnson’s ability to weather the chaos enveloping his party in order to secure the most coveted position in the House of Representatives. (Though as I write this it’s becoming increasingly clear that he’s nothing but a lapdog for Trump, who views him as little more than a rubber stamp and a nonentity).
The whole time I was reading this book, I felt like I was reading some sort of dark satire about the dysfunction and rot at the heart of the American political system. It’s nothing short of bananas that we have one political party who is more than happy to just…burn the whole country to the ground just so long as they get their fifteen minutes of fame. As the antics of Gaetz and Greene demonstrate, the only thing that matters today is carving out your own lane and making sure that you show enough fealty to Trump and the more rabid members of the MAGA base.
Indeed, while much of the focus of the book is on the various members of the House, we also get brief forays into the careers of such right-wing “luminaries” as Russel Vought and Steve Bannon, both of whom played their own part in making sure that the House remained as dysfunctional as ever. The authors treat them with the contempt and bemusement that they so richly deserve, even as they also make clear that these two people wield significant and terrifying influence over politics and politicians.
Mad House makes for compelling and page-turning reading, and Karni and Broadwater have a clear, firm sense of what makes for gripping narrative. At the same time, one can’t shake the feeling that we are well and truly fucked as a country, precisely because there are just far too many people willing to vote for these clowns, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that they’ve shown, time and again, that they have neither the will nor the ability to govern. Time after time, we see the extent to which members of the House are willing to say and do things they don’t believe, simply because it draws them closer to Trump or earns them some brownie points with the base (or both). The result is the absence of anything even remotely resembling responsible governance.
One of the more refreshing aspects of this book is that it didn’t treat Democrats and Republicans as if they are equally responsible for the decline of the House of Representatives into little more than a human zoo. The blame for our current state of legislative dysfunction has been and remains squarely with the GOP, who’ve made it clear that they are the party not of small government, but of no government. Democrats might certainly have their flaws–and the book doesn’t shy away from showing them–but the truth is they are a party, by and large, that truly believes in the power of the government to make people’s lives better. They might showboat, but they do end up getting the job done.
It’s hard to emerge from Mad House with anything other than a sense of despair and anger and frustration that this is where we’ve found ourselves. It’s even more discouraging to realize that in 2024 voters not only didn’t punish the Republicans for their nonsense but actually rewarded them, giving them control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. This book is a powerful, devastating reminder that, if the US does enter a period of inevitable and spectacular decline–as seems more likely each and every day–we have only ourselves to blame.
The book begins, appropriately enough, with Kevin McCarthy’s ignominious ascent to the position of Speaker of the House, followed by his equally embarrassing fall, a deposition orchestrated and celebrated by Matt Gaetz and his other rabblerousers. From there it follows the various ill-fated efforts of others, including Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise, to ascend to the position, only to fail for one reason or another. Even though I remember this whole embarrassing affair quite well–I was still addicted to reading about politics on the daily back then–Mad House was a helpful reminder of just how ridiculous it all was. Even though the House of Representatives has always been the more raucous part of Congress, it’s still remarkable just how crazy things got there for a while.
The book is filled with the clown car of Republican politicians with which we’re all familiar. There’s Marjorie Taylor Greene, of course, who never met a controversy she didn’t court, and Lauren Boebert, who somehow emerges from these pages as being somewhat less batshit than some of her colleagues (as strange as that sounds). Gaetz is also a major player, though he fades from the picture after his successful ouster of McCarthy. Other characters both major and minor have their part to play in the grand farce of the last couple of years.
The book also gives fascinating insight into the rise of current Speaker of the House Mike Johnson from the backbencher that almost nobody knew to one of the most powerful positions in the US government. Karni and Broadwater make it clear that, McCarthy, he’s a bit of a chameleon, changing his shape to suit his political ambitions and, while he is neither an abject failure like McCarthy nor a true success like Nancy Pelosi–arguably the most effective Speaker of the House in the last 30 years–one can’t help but admire Johnson’s ability to weather the chaos enveloping his party in order to secure the most coveted position in the House of Representatives. (Though as I write this it’s becoming increasingly clear that he’s nothing but a lapdog for Trump, who views him as little more than a rubber stamp and a nonentity).
The whole time I was reading this book, I felt like I was reading some sort of dark satire about the dysfunction and rot at the heart of the American political system. It’s nothing short of bananas that we have one political party who is more than happy to just…burn the whole country to the ground just so long as they get their fifteen minutes of fame. As the antics of Gaetz and Greene demonstrate, the only thing that matters today is carving out your own lane and making sure that you show enough fealty to Trump and the more rabid members of the MAGA base.
Indeed, while much of the focus of the book is on the various members of the House, we also get brief forays into the careers of such right-wing “luminaries” as Russel Vought and Steve Bannon, both of whom played their own part in making sure that the House remained as dysfunctional as ever. The authors treat them with the contempt and bemusement that they so richly deserve, even as they also make clear that these two people wield significant and terrifying influence over politics and politicians.
Mad House makes for compelling and page-turning reading, and Karni and Broadwater have a clear, firm sense of what makes for gripping narrative. At the same time, one can’t shake the feeling that we are well and truly fucked as a country, precisely because there are just far too many people willing to vote for these clowns, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that they’ve shown, time and again, that they have neither the will nor the ability to govern. Time after time, we see the extent to which members of the House are willing to say and do things they don’t believe, simply because it draws them closer to Trump or earns them some brownie points with the base (or both). The result is the absence of anything even remotely resembling responsible governance.
One of the more refreshing aspects of this book is that it didn’t treat Democrats and Republicans as if they are equally responsible for the decline of the House of Representatives into little more than a human zoo. The blame for our current state of legislative dysfunction has been and remains squarely with the GOP, who’ve made it clear that they are the party not of small government, but of no government. Democrats might certainly have their flaws–and the book doesn’t shy away from showing them–but the truth is they are a party, by and large, that truly believes in the power of the government to make people’s lives better. They might showboat, but they do end up getting the job done.
It’s hard to emerge from Mad House with anything other than a sense of despair and anger and frustration that this is where we’ve found ourselves. It’s even more discouraging to realize that in 2024 voters not only didn’t punish the Republicans for their nonsense but actually rewarded them, giving them control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. This book is a powerful, devastating reminder that, if the US does enter a period of inevitable and spectacular decline–as seems more likely each and every day–we have only ourselves to blame.
April 5, 2025
It’s hard to write a book about the House of Representatives. I say that as someone who spent a lot of time there—and wrote a lot of speeches about it. But in Mad House, Luke Broadwater and Annie Karni deliver, because they capture how everything that happens, and everyone it happens to, is connected in some way—like one long lunch table. Every seat has a story. Every slight is remembered. The book is filled with episodes that come and go, but the threads run throughout.
In recounting beat by beat the fall of Kevin McCarthy’s speakership, they show how the forces that brought him down had been building for years. The institution, in many ways, was still processing its past traumas. And yet it all turned on one ill-timed tweet—an inciting incident that triggered everything that followed. If it hadn’t been that, it would have been something else. But still: it was that.
The book is also true to the House in another way—it resists giving you a clear protagonist. No one is ever entirely in charge, and no one is ever truly offstage. At times, you sympathize with the bad actors and roll your eyes at the good ones. Many disappoint and fall short–Lauren Boebert puts on a masterclass in what not to do during a crisis. Some surprise–Marjorie Taylor Greene goes through a number of seasons in a short period of time. And some just really, really, really want to be on Steve Bannon’s podcast. This is all how it feels to be part of the experience up close.
As for the leaders—always my favorite part of these things—there’s a good bit in there about how they try to build relationships with one another, but trust is often elusive. Boehner and Pelosi had a strong relationship—it was a Catholic thing, I always thought—that will be hard to replicate. Hakeem Jeffries is something of an enigma and will continue to be, but there are insights here into his style: listen, wait, deliberate.
Most importantly, the authors capture how exhausting the House is for everyone involved. The members, the staff, the reporters—it’s a grind that wears you down, even as it keeps pulling you back in. Mad House chronicles the chaos without glorifying it—something I’ve seen others try and fail to do—and it shows how the performative incentives of modern politics create a kind of inertia that can push even well-meaning lawmakers toward dysfunction, or out the door entirely.
In recounting beat by beat the fall of Kevin McCarthy’s speakership, they show how the forces that brought him down had been building for years. The institution, in many ways, was still processing its past traumas. And yet it all turned on one ill-timed tweet—an inciting incident that triggered everything that followed. If it hadn’t been that, it would have been something else. But still: it was that.
The book is also true to the House in another way—it resists giving you a clear protagonist. No one is ever entirely in charge, and no one is ever truly offstage. At times, you sympathize with the bad actors and roll your eyes at the good ones. Many disappoint and fall short–Lauren Boebert puts on a masterclass in what not to do during a crisis. Some surprise–Marjorie Taylor Greene goes through a number of seasons in a short period of time. And some just really, really, really want to be on Steve Bannon’s podcast. This is all how it feels to be part of the experience up close.
As for the leaders—always my favorite part of these things—there’s a good bit in there about how they try to build relationships with one another, but trust is often elusive. Boehner and Pelosi had a strong relationship—it was a Catholic thing, I always thought—that will be hard to replicate. Hakeem Jeffries is something of an enigma and will continue to be, but there are insights here into his style: listen, wait, deliberate.
Most importantly, the authors capture how exhausting the House is for everyone involved. The members, the staff, the reporters—it’s a grind that wears you down, even as it keeps pulling you back in. Mad House chronicles the chaos without glorifying it—something I’ve seen others try and fail to do—and it shows how the performative incentives of modern politics create a kind of inertia that can push even well-meaning lawmakers toward dysfunction, or out the door entirely.
June 22, 2025
This excellent book shows just how ridiculous and shameful the process of creating and enacting legislation in the US Congress has become. The antics of Members showing greater concern about going viral on social media virtually pre-empts efforts to enact legislation, and fearing the consequences of any separation from Donald Trump. Keven McCarthy and Jim Jordan, both unprincipled and untrustworthy except as to their ambitions to become House Speaker, risked the collapse of the House by not acceding even when it was abundantly evident they would never get there. And what became of that? Mike Johnson, a little know Congressman who lectured his colleagues on biblical principles, ended up Speaker. That mess continues.
How did this happen? Charles Schumer, currently the Senate Minority Leader, certainly put his finger on one possibility when he suggested to the authors that change was occurring so rapidly in every aspect of society, weakening family and communities, that voters, mostly male, felt adrift and just wanted everything to return to how it was. Trump and the fractious Republican right wing was their answer. Working people who consistently voted for Democrats at least since the New Deal now saw Trump as a saviour, the one person who could give back to workers what had been lost. Of course, Trump and the GOP never, ever worked on behalf of the worker but that didn't matter. He and his minions promised them that.
But there was another problem named Joe Biden, whose top assistants refused to alert him that he had lost the confidence of the voters in his Democratic base and his supporters in Congress. Biden's deafness to his failing popularity among voters became so bad that, the authors report, donors were submitting 10-page plans about how to get Biden to concede running for another Presidential term, stating that "Donors, bless their hearts, always seemed to have a 10-page plan at the ready which details how to fix everything."
Simultaneously, the reader realizes that at stake are both the fundamentals of democratic governance and the loss of sanity where idiots, idoloters, and loafers can and have become Members of Congress.
How did this happen? Charles Schumer, currently the Senate Minority Leader, certainly put his finger on one possibility when he suggested to the authors that change was occurring so rapidly in every aspect of society, weakening family and communities, that voters, mostly male, felt adrift and just wanted everything to return to how it was. Trump and the fractious Republican right wing was their answer. Working people who consistently voted for Democrats at least since the New Deal now saw Trump as a saviour, the one person who could give back to workers what had been lost. Of course, Trump and the GOP never, ever worked on behalf of the worker but that didn't matter. He and his minions promised them that.
But there was another problem named Joe Biden, whose top assistants refused to alert him that he had lost the confidence of the voters in his Democratic base and his supporters in Congress. Biden's deafness to his failing popularity among voters became so bad that, the authors report, donors were submitting 10-page plans about how to get Biden to concede running for another Presidential term, stating that "Donors, bless their hearts, always seemed to have a 10-page plan at the ready which details how to fix everything."
Simultaneously, the reader realizes that at stake are both the fundamentals of democratic governance and the loss of sanity where idiots, idoloters, and loafers can and have become Members of Congress.
May 17, 2025
Political books seem to be a dime a dozen these days. I usually avoid them. But when it comes to the United States House of Representatives, I wanted to make sure I fully understood the dynamics and all of the background. Mad House’ does that. The House has always been the branch of government that’s the most dysfunctional. Largely because individuals have to be elected every two years. You’d think the goal of public service alone would be incentive enough to act responsibly. Unfortunately, that’s usually not the case. Insecurity reigns supreme. The problem is winning the next election is always the priority over doing what’s necessary. The public good has been abandoned. Districts have been purposely gerrymandered to eliminate competition. For most House members, governance has become less important than fund raising. Pleasing contributors has become more of a priority than serving one’s constituency. Both Republicans and Democrats do it. To some degree, they’ve always done it. The difference today being that past decorums no longer exist. No action seems out of bounds. Like it or not, they’ve all become contestants in a reality TV show.
‘Mad House’ chronicles the superstars of manufactured drama during the period of 2020 thru 2024. Yes, I’m a Democrat. I also believe there are Progressive views that are over the top and not best for the country. But the Republican Freedom Caucus has no intention of ever governing, only to create mayhem. The idea of no government isn’t a viable idea. it’s just a tactic for gaining attention. The middle needs to be reclaimed by both parties. Though the Republicans have a much larger fight.
‘Mad House’ chronicles the superstars of manufactured drama during the period of 2020 thru 2024. Yes, I’m a Democrat. I also believe there are Progressive views that are over the top and not best for the country. But the Republican Freedom Caucus has no intention of ever governing, only to create mayhem. The idea of no government isn’t a viable idea. it’s just a tactic for gaining attention. The middle needs to be reclaimed by both parties. Though the Republicans have a much larger fight.
July 24, 2025
Mad House is a book that is mostly a review of the craziness of what has been going on in the US government for the last few years. It points out specific examples of how our elected officials in the House are unable to function rationally. Most of the book is a review for anyone that has been following politics but the craziness is in one place all spelled out.
Examples of this dysfunction is how the republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy from being the speaker of the house. It was a long process that highlight just how broken this group of allegedly professional politicians are. Also George Santos remained in position for a long time despite knowing that he lied about almost everything. No one stepped up. This group of Republicans seemed to be willing to do anything to follow their leader Trump. This book shows of manipulative and how frightful this can be.
Although most of the book points out the corrupt nature of the Republican Party, the Democrats are not flawless. Many, if not all, knew that President Biden was declining at that he should not run again. Yet they remained silent until they were backed into a corner and had to ask him to step aside.
This is a book shows just how dysfunctional our government can be. It also shows just how political people, in this case republicans, are willing to look away rather that protect the American people. They clearly no longer represent the people that elected them. Wouldn't it be great if politicians would do what's best for America? Sadly, this book shows how they are more concerned with power and money.
Examples of this dysfunction is how the republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy from being the speaker of the house. It was a long process that highlight just how broken this group of allegedly professional politicians are. Also George Santos remained in position for a long time despite knowing that he lied about almost everything. No one stepped up. This group of Republicans seemed to be willing to do anything to follow their leader Trump. This book shows of manipulative and how frightful this can be.
Although most of the book points out the corrupt nature of the Republican Party, the Democrats are not flawless. Many, if not all, knew that President Biden was declining at that he should not run again. Yet they remained silent until they were backed into a corner and had to ask him to step aside.
This is a book shows just how dysfunctional our government can be. It also shows just how political people, in this case republicans, are willing to look away rather that protect the American people. They clearly no longer represent the people that elected them. Wouldn't it be great if politicians would do what's best for America? Sadly, this book shows how they are more concerned with power and money.
May 23, 2025
Annie Karni writes a look back at the 2024 national election. She describes the tragedy to Dems of the failed immigration bill, and the circus the Republicans brought while choosing a Speaker of the House.
On the Democratic side, she discusses how the party handled telling the sitting president that he could not win and must stand down. The leaders of the party were aware of his physical and mental decline, and were discussing how best to approach him. Biden himself thought he was the only one who could win, and most of his loyal staff agreed. Timing was thought to be everything, as Biden was known to be a stubborn man who would likely dig in his heels if he felt he was right. The author felt that the Democratic leaders waited too long, but also believed Kamala Harris could not win.
Both of the topics addressed most comprehensively in this book have had consequences for the country which have been largely negative. I found instructive Chuck Schumer's lament about blue collar workers such as the firemen who live in the outer Burroughs. They get paid a generous salary, have a union and free medical care. Many had second homes at the beach or in the mountains. What were they complaining about?? But others said that there is a malaise in the country that predated Trump and that won't go away when he's gone.
This book was a look backward at the last election cycle. There's not a lot of news, but I think the thoughts of the principals are of some value.
On the Democratic side, she discusses how the party handled telling the sitting president that he could not win and must stand down. The leaders of the party were aware of his physical and mental decline, and were discussing how best to approach him. Biden himself thought he was the only one who could win, and most of his loyal staff agreed. Timing was thought to be everything, as Biden was known to be a stubborn man who would likely dig in his heels if he felt he was right. The author felt that the Democratic leaders waited too long, but also believed Kamala Harris could not win.
Both of the topics addressed most comprehensively in this book have had consequences for the country which have been largely negative. I found instructive Chuck Schumer's lament about blue collar workers such as the firemen who live in the outer Burroughs. They get paid a generous salary, have a union and free medical care. Many had second homes at the beach or in the mountains. What were they complaining about?? But others said that there is a malaise in the country that predated Trump and that won't go away when he's gone.
This book was a look backward at the last election cycle. There's not a lot of news, but I think the thoughts of the principals are of some value.
June 8, 2025
A look at the 118th Congress, 2023-2024, perhaps the most ineffective session, and perhaps the most entertaining, but for all the wrong reasons. Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Green, George Santos, Kevin McCarthy - in short, all the usual suspects. Here are a few take-aways:
More detail on the countless votes for House Speaker; Jasmine Crockett's "bleach-blonde bad-built butch-body" clap-back; Lauren Boebert's friendship with Jamie Raskin (really!); and the sheer ineptitude of a Republican majority so fractured they needed Democrat votes to pass the little legislation they enacted. And let's not forget Chuck Schumer's mind-numbingly stupid “Here’s my hope … after this election, when the Republican Party expels the turd of Donald Trump, it will go back to being the old Republican Party." When Trump is deposed or dies, does anyone think that the pettiness, venality, incompetence, greed, and racism that has saturated the Republican party will go away? Look up "feckless" in the dictionary and you will find a picture of Schumer.
I can't wait to read the book detailing the Republican Congress passing the Billionaire Bailout Bill without reading it, then crying because their voters will realize what morons they've elected when that electorate is kicked off Medicaid and Medicare, which will happen if the Senate can't save them by not passing it.
There's lots more juice in Mad House making it a fun read, but again, for all the wrong reasons.
More detail on the countless votes for House Speaker; Jasmine Crockett's "bleach-blonde bad-built butch-body" clap-back; Lauren Boebert's friendship with Jamie Raskin (really!); and the sheer ineptitude of a Republican majority so fractured they needed Democrat votes to pass the little legislation they enacted. And let's not forget Chuck Schumer's mind-numbingly stupid “Here’s my hope … after this election, when the Republican Party expels the turd of Donald Trump, it will go back to being the old Republican Party." When Trump is deposed or dies, does anyone think that the pettiness, venality, incompetence, greed, and racism that has saturated the Republican party will go away? Look up "feckless" in the dictionary and you will find a picture of Schumer.
I can't wait to read the book detailing the Republican Congress passing the Billionaire Bailout Bill without reading it, then crying because their voters will realize what morons they've elected when that electorate is kicked off Medicaid and Medicare, which will happen if the Senate can't save them by not passing it.
There's lots more juice in Mad House making it a fun read, but again, for all the wrong reasons.
May 29, 2025
The 118th COngress, which served from January 2023 - January 2025, passed only 27 bills -- one of the most unproductive legislative terms in U.S. history. Instead, they spent their time trashing each other. Kevin McCarthy, elected Speaker at the beginning of the session, required 15 ballots to win ihis office -- and then he was removed at the behest of Matt Gaetz (himself under an ethics investigation for drug use and having sex with prostitutes, including a 17-year-old) using one of the rules McCarthy had agreed to in order to win his office. Mean Girls Marjorie Taylor Green and Lauren Boebert carried on a loud and public feud, encouraged by Democrats AOC and Jasmine Crockett. Lots of time was spent investigating Hunter Biden and trying to link his problems to his father. Karni and Broadwater detail all of this and more, including interesting detail on a couple of major pieces of legislation that did pass and what it took to get them there. Much of the detail has been in the press, but it gains impact when consolidated, and the authors also dig deeper into several of the stories. Worth reading, though it is discouraging to realize that Congress really is as messed up as it seems on the nightly news.
August 12, 2025
Deeply funny and equally disturbing. I don’t know much about the conduct of members of Congress in previous sessions, so I can’t tell whether to be shocked, because we wouldn’t imagine Congress ever behaving this way, or just defeated, knowing it’s always been like this.
Regardless, this book chronicles the actions of the Republican-controlled House after the 2022 midterms. Annie Karni does a great job capturing the chaos of that Congress, delving deep into tense negotiations, the conduct of key members of congress, and the histories and ideologies that shaped them. She also steps outside the main timeline at points, covering other moments like the Democratic push for Joe Biden to step down as presidential nominee. The level of detail in some of the conversations she transcribes is impressive and deserves praise. While a small portion of the book reads like gossip, most of it is informative and helped me better understand how Congress works.
Anyone who thinks Congress is full of Machiavellian geniuses should read this and see that many are really just narcissistic overachievers stumbling through a façade of competence. If seeing how the sausage is made in Congress interests you, I’d highly recommend this book.
Regardless, this book chronicles the actions of the Republican-controlled House after the 2022 midterms. Annie Karni does a great job capturing the chaos of that Congress, delving deep into tense negotiations, the conduct of key members of congress, and the histories and ideologies that shaped them. She also steps outside the main timeline at points, covering other moments like the Democratic push for Joe Biden to step down as presidential nominee. The level of detail in some of the conversations she transcribes is impressive and deserves praise. While a small portion of the book reads like gossip, most of it is informative and helped me better understand how Congress works.
Anyone who thinks Congress is full of Machiavellian geniuses should read this and see that many are really just narcissistic overachievers stumbling through a façade of competence. If seeing how the sausage is made in Congress interests you, I’d highly recommend this book.
June 27, 2025
Punch my ticket I'm running for President Bitches. JK just Speaker of Congress. JK again as the congress at this time was the most well oiled bullshit machine with crazy folks from the title showing off their crazyiness.
I actually enjoyed reading the republican bits of who was vying for power/when plus the infighting for little shit was so petty. I'm pretty up on the current bits so most of the WOW stories like Lauren Boobs getting felt up at BeetleJuice or any of the Marj shit I was like yuh. Some of this I even watched live like the voting disaster that took place for some of the speakers/watching them soil their good name in the mud for a shot at nothing.
To end,
I give this 4 stars. I felt they could have delved a bit deeper into different things, finding them sticking to Matt Gaetz like glue which I get dude strums up business as he's an easy punching bag, but I liked the other clowns/wished for more of that.
I hope they write another one soon as I would read more along the lines of this.
I actually enjoyed reading the republican bits of who was vying for power/when plus the infighting for little shit was so petty. I'm pretty up on the current bits so most of the WOW stories like Lauren Boobs getting felt up at BeetleJuice or any of the Marj shit I was like yuh. Some of this I even watched live like the voting disaster that took place for some of the speakers/watching them soil their good name in the mud for a shot at nothing.
To end,
I give this 4 stars. I felt they could have delved a bit deeper into different things, finding them sticking to Matt Gaetz like glue which I get dude strums up business as he's an easy punching bag, but I liked the other clowns/wished for more of that.
I hope they write another one soon as I would read more along the lines of this.
June 1, 2025
I knew it was bad—but we are still protected by distance and disbelief from the extreme theatricality of Congress in this era. Everything is done for effect, statements are exaggerated and made extravagant to play to the 24 hour news cycle. The authors document the time between January 6th and the 2024 campaign. The 118th Congress with its kabuki players, McCarthy, Gaetz, Greene, Boebert, Mace, all mugging for the Fox News audience, carrying on feuds, making deals, jockeying for position, stepping on each other and taking their turns being the most bizarre set of so called lawmakers in recent memory.
Wow. Riveting and revolting.
Wow. Riveting and revolting.
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