But all of that appeared to be water under the bridge the morning after Mr. McCarthy’s ouster. They were, at least temporarily, allies. On Wednesday, they sat next to each other in Mr. Bannon’s basement, where books about China, Trump and sensible weight loss programs live in messy piles on any flat surface that avails itself. Notes from Mr. Trump written in his trademark Sharpie (“Steve! Your show is sooooo great — Proud of you! Donald”) sit stacked with other miscellany.
The group was still digesting the historic events of the previous day, while figuring out their next moves. They decided, together, to use Wednesday’s broadcast to look ahead, rather than to “dunk” on the former speaker.
“He was punching down; it was really ugly last night,” said Ms. Mace, whom Mr. McCarthy targeted at his evening news conference, suggesting she was lying when she claimed he had not kept his word.
During commercial breaks, they mulled who might be the next speaker, but there was no clear answer. “I asked Jim Jordan on the floor yesterday, you’re going to be the next speaker?” Ms. Mace said. She turned to Mr. Gaetz with an idea. “Want to go meet with any of them today, together? Like, Scalise or Jordan or anyone?” He was noncommittal.
