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The hitchhiker’s guide to the vote for House speaker

January 2, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

The 118th Congress convenes for the first time on Tuesday at noon.

“Opening day” in Congress is always full of pageantry. Lawmakers pour into the Capitol with their families from all over the country. Toddlers and kids run up and down the aisles. Freshmen bring everyone to Capitol Hill. They pack their offices with constituents, supporters and families, serving punch and local delicacies from back home.

It’s a lot like the first day of school.

And this year will likely be like any other opening day in the House of Representatives – until about 2 p.m.

That’s usually when the House votes on a speaker. The new speaker in turn swears-in the entire body, and we’re off to the races.

And for the first time in a century, things might not go down like that on Tuesday. It’s far from certain that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will become speaker. And, what’s even more cryptic is how long it may take the House to elect McCarthy as speaker or someone else.

This could take a few hours. Or, it may even take a week or more.

The first order of business in the House is electing a speaker. It can’t do anything – including swearing-in the new members until the House chooses a speaker.

The last time the speaker vote even went to a second ballot was 1923. It took nine ballots and three days before the House re-elected Speaker Frederick Gillett, R-Mass. The House frittered away two weeks before electing Speaker Howell Cobb, D-Ga., in 1849. But that was efficient compared to the two months the House squandered in late 1855 and early 1856 before finally electing Speaker Nathaniel Banks, D-Mass., – on the 163rd ballot.

This is what opening day will look like in the House – before things might get dicey.

Clerk of the House Cheryl Johnson will call the House to order promptly at noon on Tuesday. Johnson is the holdover from the Democratically-controlled House. She will preside from the dais – and be in charge of the House until its members select a speaker.

So, the longer it takes Republicans to figure out a speaker, the longer the House is run by an appointee of outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The first thing the House must do is take attendance. All members elected in November are asked to come to the chamber and record their presence. The House starts at 434 members: 222 Republicans to 212 Democrats. There is one vacancy: the late Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Va., died just after the election.

Then, it’s on to the selection of speaker.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: SANTOS ADDS BAGGAGE TO GOP’S HOUSE MAJORITY TAKEOFF

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., will nominate McCarthy. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., will nominate Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

If this were a typical year, that would be it. But Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., plans to challenge McCarthy for the speakership. It’s possible that someone could nominate Biggs or even another candidate. There’s no requirement that the speaker of the House be a member of the body – although that’s never happened. However, it is routine for a few members to vote for a few non-members in protest.

The vote is of the highest order at that moment in the House. The House then begins with the Reading Clerk alphabetically calling the roll of each name. Members respond verbally with their pick for speaker. The winner is the candidate who receives an outright majority of the House by those who voted for someone by name. In other words, if all 434 members vote for someone by name, the magic number is 218. But there are at least five known opponents of McCarthy. If they all vote for someone else by name, McCarthy only has a maximum of 217 votes.

However, it gets trickier yet.

There are often a few absences. So the House may not start at 434 members. Or, it’s possible members just decline to vote for speaker. Lawmakers who vote “present” don’t count against the total. The “218” threshold begins to dwindle.

The problem for McCarthy is if several members cast ballots for someone else by name. Such a scenario blocks McCarthy from obtaining an outright majority of ballots cast for someone by name. He may have the most votes. But that’s not the rule.

The successful speaker candidate doesn’t need 218. Pelosi and former House Speakers Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and John Boehner, R-Ohio, each prevailed in at least one election with fewer than 218 votes.

But the complicating factor is that the “magic number” for speaker is unknown until the first tally is complete. We then know the total number of ballots cast for someone by name.

If there’s no winner, the House must vote again and again and again – until it selects a winner.

Things could get chaotic if McCarthy nor anyone else prevails on the first ballot. The House will find itself in a posture not seen in 100 years. There’s not a lot of precedent as to how things should unfold in the House.

This is all we know on Jan. 3: Cheryl Johnson, the Democratic Clerk of the House, remains in charge. And, there are no members of the House.

Let me say that again: there are no members of the House.

The House is not fully constituted because there is no speaker to swear them in. The members-elect only become members when they are sworn-in by the speaker.

Remember all of those family members and constituents who flew to Washington to see their cousin, friend, college buddy become a House member? Hope you don’t need to go anywhere soon. You may be cooling your heels at the Hyatt Regency bar until you see them sworn-in. And forget about staged photo-ops with the new speaker. Those are on ice, too.

Fox is told this could become a staring contest that takes days to play out. The reason is that both sides are so dug in that no one concedes right away. There will be debates. Horse trading. Raised voices. Tempers will flare.

All the while, the Republican-led House could get off to one of the most inauspicious beginnings for any Congress in history. No bills to cut IRS agents. No legislation on abortion. The House can’t even fully constitute its committees.

And, if this speaker saga drags on through Jan. 13, the lawmakers themselves and certain aides won’t get paid.

However, it’s possible the House could eventually elect a speaker without an outright majority of those casting ballots by name. In both the elections of Howell Cobb in 1849 and Nathaniel Banks in 1856, the repeated voting wore members down. For both Cobb and Banks, the House adopted a resolution that then allowed it to pick a speaker with a simple majority. In other words, the resolution said that the winner simply secured the most votes. It’s possible the House could do the same in these circumstances if it flails long enough to elect a speaker.

But we have not addressed a unique scenario which could unfold this Jan. 3: whether to seat Rep.-elect George Santos, R-N.Y.

We noted earlier that once the House concludes its initial quorum call, the next order of business is to select a speaker. Fox is told it’s possible members could try to challenge whether the House should seat Santos. Members of both parties view Santos as tainted. So why should he get to cast what could be a decisive ballot for speaker when he may be a fraud?

Late House Democratic Caucus Chairman Vic Fazio, D-Calif., attempted to sidetrack the vsote in 1997 because Newt Gingrich had faced an ethics investigation. However, it was ruled that the selection of the speaker was of the highest importance to begin the new Congress. So ethics questions must wait.

CONGRESS MISSES ITS DEADLINE TO FUND THE GOVERNMENT AGAIN

One could anticipate a similar situation – and outcome – if there’s a challenge to seat Santos before the speaker vote.

However, once the House picks a speaker – yet before the speaker swears-in the members – a lawmaker could contest whether the House should seat Santos.

Regardless of Santos’ problems, 142,673 voters in New York’s 3rd Congressional District elected him as their congressman. Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states that “No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been Seven Years a Citizen of the United States, who shall not, when elected be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.”

Santos meets that bar. We think.

But Article, I, Section 5 of the Constitution also says that the House and Senate have the final say as to who is seated.

This brings us to a phenomenon in Congress known as “exclusion.”

The House has challenged the seating of dozens of members over the years. Lawmakers have raised questions about ethics, finances, bigamy, polygamy and residence. In 1985, the House refused to seat either late Rep. Frank McCloskey, D-Ind., or his GOP challenger Richard McIntyre because of a dispute over ballots. The House investigated and finally re-seated McCloskey months later. But McCloskey did not get to be a member on opening day.

In early 1967, House Speaker John McCormack, D-Mass., decided against seating Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, D-N.Y., due to a host of ethics and financial issues. Later that year, the House voted 307-116 to exclude Powell from taking his seat in the House. Powell then sued McCormack and the House and ran again for his vacant seat. Powell won, and the House seated him in January 1969. The Supreme Court ruled in Powell v. McCormack that the House overstepped its bounds by barring Powell from being seated in 1967.

The Constitution is clear about the requirements to become a member. But the House may not add requirements for people to be sworn-in. It says nothing about character.

So, any challenge regarding Santos may have to wait until after the speaker vote is complete – whenever that is.

Moreover, once the House swears-in Santos, it could move to expel him. Nothing in the Constitution says how long you get to stay. That’s why Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution also grants the House and Senate the right to kick out members. Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote. The House has only expelled five members in its history.

So, this could be a doozy of a few days on Capitol Hill. And, it may be a while until America’s bicameral legislature has two functioning bodies.

A skier died in an avalanche outside a Colorado resort

January 2, 2023 Published by CNN

CNN
—

A man died while skiing with his father in Colorado on Saturday when an avalanche struck and engulfed them both, a rescue team statement said.

The avalanche struck outside the Breckenridge Ski Resort when the men went skiing through “a backcountry area called The Numbers, which is outside the Breckenridge Ski Resort boundary on Peak 10,” the Summit County Rescue Group said in a Facebook post.

“They were caught in an avalanche at approximately 1:00 pm, with the father partially buried and the son fully buried,” the post said.

While the father was able to dig himself out and call 911 for help, his son did not make it, the post said.

Nearly two dozen rescue group members and three Summit County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Unit members responded, the post said.

“A probe line was formed to find the son and the onsite command confirmed that the subject was found by a dog team at 3:11, deceased,” the post said. “Our deepest condolences to all those affected by this tragedy.”

More details about the death will be released by the coroner’s office, the rescue group said. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center will conduct an accident investigation on Sunday, the post added.

There have been three avalanche fatalities in the US this season, two in Colorado and one in Montana, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

The Breckenridge Ski Resort is about 80 miles west of Denver.

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It’s been a bleak year for stocks. This is what investors can expect in 2023 — according to history

January 2, 2023 Published by Ganesh Rao

US Top News and Analysis

2022 has been a bleak year for stock markets worldwide. A confluence of global factors has meant the MSCI World index of large and mid-cap stocks finished the year down by nearly 20 % . That is the biggest one-year loss for the index since 2008 when it dropped 40.1% during the financial crisis. But investors looking ahead to what 2023 might have in store may find it useful to know that stock markets generally deliver a positive start to the year following a year of poor returns. MSCI World index since 1970 CNBC Pro’s analysis of MSCI World index data since 1970 has found that the index was, 75% of the time, up by an average of 18.4% in the year following a negative one. To be sure, past performance is not indicative of future returns. There have been only two instances in which the index declined on two or more consecutive years: the 1973-1974 fallout from the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, which was compounded by an oil crisis; and the 2000-2002 dotcom crash, which was followed by the 9/11 terror attacks. The data on the first quarter following a year of negative returns was generally inconclusive, with the index rising 53.3% of the time by an average of 11%. Conversely, when the index does fall, it declines by an average of 5.7%. In January alone, after a year of negative returns, the index rose 60% of the time by an average of 4.6%. When stocks failed to rise, they fell by 3.2% on average. The S & P 500 since 1929 CNBC also analyzed the S & P 500 since 1929, which showed a similar picture. The U.S. large-cap index had a positive return the year after a bad one 65% of the time. On average, the index rose by 23.7%. But when it declined, it fell an average of 21.1%. However, the index performed worse on a quarterly basis. The S & P 500 declined more often (55%) than it rose after a year of negative returns. History could repeat itself — Goldman Sachs has forecast a decline of 9% for the first quarter of 2023. That will bring the S & P 500 down to 3,600 from its current level of around 3,800 points. The investment bank then sees the index rising to 3,900 over six months. As for the month of January, after a year of negative returns, the U.S. index performed very similarly to the MSCI World index. It rose 61.3% of the time by an average of 4.5%. When stocks failed to rise, they fell by an average of 4.1%. — MSCI derived data for the World index before 1986 by calculating how the index might have performed over that period had the index existed. Data was sourced from FactSet.

'GOAT' tops school's list of banished words for 2023

January 2, 2023 Published by The Hill

(NEXSTAR) – Moving forward, irregardless of how you may feel about it, the judges of a Michigan university’s annual list would like you to quietly quit using some words and phrases, including “GOAT” and “amazing,” among others. Does that make sense?

Annually, since 1976, Lake Superior State University has released a list of words and phrases to be banished for the new year. More than 1,000 everyday terms have been banished – some more than once.

School officials explained the process to Nexstar’s WJMN last year. Anyone can submit a word or term they’d like to see banned. Then, the school’s English department decides which words will be banished.

Words and terms banned in 2022 included “no worries,” “you’re on mute,” and, topping out the list, “wait, what?”

After reviewing more than 1,500 submissions, the judges at Lake Superior State University found their GOAT to ban – GOAT, an acronym for ‘Greatest of All Time.’

“The many nominators didn’t have to be physicists or grammarians to determine the literal impossibility and technical vagueness of this wannabe superlative. Yet it’s bestowed on everyone from Olympic gold medalists to ‘Jeopardy!’ champions, as one muckraker playfully deplored. Meanwhile, other naysayers remarked on social media posts that brandish a photo of, for instance, multiple cricket players or soccer stars with a caption about several GOATs in one frame,” the school explained in a press release. Judges went on to call it “an indiscriminate flaunt.”

After GOAT was “inflection point,” which received its banishment for losing its original meaning as a mathematical term. “Moving forward,” landing at No. 5 on the list, was also banished because, as one person noted, “Where else would we go?”

Three of this year’s entries – “absolutely,” “amazing,” and “it is what it is” – have been banned before but were repeated this year for their reported overuse.

“Quiet quitting” and “gaslighting” were selected for their inaccuracy and overuse and misuse, respectively.

Quiet quitting, used to describe someone who does the minimum amount of work at their job, even has the potential to be banished again in 2024 for “ongoing misuse and overuse,” Lake Superior State University writes. Instead, judges recommend “normal job performance.”

“Does that make sense?” was listed because, as judges explain, you should “always make sense.” Those that submitted the term referred to it as “filler, insecurity, and passive aggression.”

Coming in at No. 8 was “irregardless.” Why? It isn’t even a word.

Here are the 10 words and terms that have been banished for 2023:

GOAT
Inflection point
Quiet quitting
Gaslighting
Moving forward
Amazing
Does that make sense?
Irregardless
Absolutely
It is what it is

You can now submit a word to be banished in 2024 on Lake Superior State University’s website.

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NATO chief calls on allies to stockpile weapons for Ukraine: Report

January 2, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged members of NATO to stock up on weapons to supply Ukraine as attacks from Russia continue, according to reports.

Reuters reported that the NATO chief called for allies to stock up just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for weapons and defense systems to stand up to a Russian invasion.

“I call on allies to do more,” Stoltenberg said. “It is in all our security interests to make sure Ukraine prevails and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin does not win.”

BIDEN TO DELIVER PATRIOT MISSILES TO UKRAINE AS ZELENSKYY VISITS WASHINGTON

He also asked Western allies to get Ukraine ammunition and spare parts for the systems already in place.

Late last month, both chambers of Congress agreed on a $45 billion aid package for Ukraine after Zelenskyy visited the U.S.

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President Biden also announced the U.S. would spend another $2 billion in military aid, including the Patriot Air Defense System, which can defend against ballistic, aircraft, and cruise missiles.

Stoltenberg told DPA during the interview that the fastest way to peace in Ukraine was military support, Reuters reported.

“We know that most wars end at the negotiating table – probably this war too – but we know that what Ukraine can achieve in these negotiations depends inextricably on the military situation,” he said.

Family of suspect in Idaho stabbings say they're trying to ‘promote his presumption of innocence’

January 2, 2023 Published by The Hill

The family of the suspect arrested this week in the deadly November stabbings of four University of Idaho students said they were cooperating with law enforcement in an effort to promote his “presumption of innocence” in the murder case.

In a statement released Sunday, the family of suspect Bryan Christopher Kohberger said they “care deeply for the four families who have lost their precious children.”

“There are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them. We will continue to let the legal process unfold and as a family we will love and support our son and brother,” the statement reads. “We have fully cooperated with law enforcement agencies in an attempt to seek the truth and promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions.

“We respect privacy in this matter as our family and the families suffering loss can move forward through the legal process,” the statement continues.

The statement was released by Kohberger’s attorney Jason LaBar, the chief public defender in Monroe County, and shared online in full by several outlets.

Police arrested Kohberger on Friday in Pennsylvania, where he is awaiting extradition to Idaho to face four counts of first-degree murder and a felony burglary charge.

Authorities said they linked Kohberger to the crime through DNA evidence and his ownership of a white Hyundai Elantra that was allegedly seen near the crime scene in Moscow, Idaho, the night of the murder.

Police have not yet disclosed a possible motive or whether they believe Kohberger knew the victims. A murder weapon has also not been located.

LaBar said his client is eager to prove his innocence and that Kohberger will waive his extradition hearing to quicken the legal process.

Four University of Idaho students were found dead with stabbing wounds inside a rental home in the city of Moscow on Nov. 13.

The deaths of 21-year-olds Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen and 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin shocked the small town and college community just before Thanksgiving break.

All four college students were remembered as beloved members of the community and their families. The three women were roommates at the rental home and Chapin was dating Kernodle.

The case quickly grew into a national story, and authorities faced some criticism when weeks passed without a suspect being publicly identified or a murder weapon found.

Kohberger is a graduate at Washington State University (WSU) and lives in Pullman, Wash., not far from the border with Idaho. He is reportedly a doctoral student in the criminal justice and criminology department.

Kohberger traveled to his parent’s home in Pennsylvania for the holidays, according to LaBar. He was reportedly tracked by police for days before his arrest.

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2 dead, 4 injured in Florida shooting early New Year's Day

January 2, 2023 Published by The Hill

An early new year’s morning shooting in Ocala, Fla., left two people dead and four wounded.

Davonta Harris, 30, and Abdul Hakeem Van Croskey, 24, were killed in the shooting, the Ocala Police Department said in a statement Sunday afternoon.

Four people are being treated for gunshot wounds sustained in the shooting, the department added, but did not disclose the names of the injured or where they were being treated.

Police said the shooting occurred at roughly 4:30 a.m., adding that around that time around 100 people were gathered in the area.

Detectives are actively investigating the crime, but police believe there is no immediate threat to the community, the department said.

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Alabama police arrest suspect in NYE shooting that killed 1 and injured 9

January 2, 2023 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

Mobile, Alabama police said a suspect from last night’s shooting that left one person dead, and nine others injured on New Year’s Eve, was in custody.

“The Mobile Police Department reports that we currently have a male subject in custody from last night’s New Year’s Eve shooting,” a statement from the department read. “The subject is receiving medical treatment and, upon release, will be transported to Metro Jail and charged with murder.”

Officers responded to Dauphin Street at about 11:15 p.m. last night to reports of shots being fired.

NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOOTING IN SOUTH ALABAMA LEAVES 1 DEAD, 9 INJURED

The shooting took place as thousands of people were attending the city’s 15th annual MoonPie Over Mobile New Year’s Eve event.

When the officers arrived, the department said, they discovered an unknown person shot a 24-year-old man and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

As the shots were fired, nine other people suffered gunshot wounds.

The victims ranged in age from 17 to 57 and were all transported to local hospitals.

BLOODY NEW YORK CITY NEW YEAR’S EVE ‘GANG RELATED’ STABBING IN TIMES SQUARE SENDS MAN TO HOSPITAL

According to police, the severity of the injuries ranged from nonlife-threatening to severe.

In addition to people being hit with bullets, two nearby business were also struck by gunfire, police said.

Police did not provide information about the suspect and the investigation remains active.

MULTIPLE NYPD OFFICERS STABBED WITH MACHETE NEAR TIMES SQUARE

A graphic video circulating on Twitter showed at least two people lying on the sidewalk with injuries moments after the shooting. Witnesses in the area told Fox station WALA in Alabama that groups of people started running for cover as soon as the shots rang out.

Carly Bragg, who was downtown celebrating New Year’s Eve, told Fox 10 the gunshots were terrifying and “sounded like super-close fireworks.”

“The timing of it was wild,” Bragg said. “We walked right past the area, and then it happened.”

She told the outlet she and her friends hid inside a corridor that was “maybe 15 to 20 feet away from the sound and noticed the window shot out of Urban Emporium when we realized how close we were.”

Ex-Capitol Police chief warns agency still 'not in a better place' two years after Jan. 6 failures: book

January 2, 2023 Published by The Hill

Former Capitol Police chief Steven Sund writes in a forthcoming book that issues remain at the agency two years after “a failure” in its upper ranks left it unprepared for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

“Almost two years after the events of Jan. 6, the department is not in a better place or on a readier footing,” Sund wrote in his book “Courage Under Fire,” according to The Washington Post, which obtained a copy in advance of its Tuesday publication.

“Few people in the department feel there is a viable plan to move the agency into a better position. Hundreds of officers have left the department since Jan. 6 and many feel it is only going to get worse.”

Sund said in the book that despite the FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Capitol Police’s intelligence unit being alerted to indications that right-wing extremists were arming for an attack on the Capitol weeks before Jan. 6, the agencies failed to take even basic steps to act on those warnings, according to the Post. He also said senior military leaders delayed sending help due to political and tactical concerns.

“The security and information-sharing policies and mandates put in place after September 11 failed miserably on January 6,” Sund wrote. “We failed miserably to see the apparent warning signs and the danger, like a ‘gray rhino,’ charging right at us.”

Sund said he wasn’t warned about the red flags the agencies had received, which included calls for protesters to come armed, attack Capitol tunnels and be willing to shoot officers, per the Post.

While applauding Capitol Police officers who responded to the attack, he said that leaders in his department had failed.

“Many of our Capitol Police just acted so bravely and with such concern for the staff, the members, for the Capitol … and they deserve our gratitude. But there was a failure at the top of the Capitol Police,” he said, adding that the “biggest intelligence failure was within my department.”

He also wrote that he learned following the attack that the sergeants-at-arms hired by Senate and House leaders declined a request he made days before Jan. 6 that the National Guard by put on standby because they thought House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wouldn’t permit it, according to the Post.

He said flaws in the power structure at the agency, such as congressional leaders’ political concerns overruling the chief’s security assessments, remain, per the outlet.

Sund warned that the department’s command structure, which he wrote had serious consequences on Jan. 6, is “a recipe for disaster.”

He recommended a fundamental change in the power structure under which congressional leaders would let future Capitol Police chiefs carry out their own security plans alone, rather than having to report to the Capitol Police Board, according to the Post.

“The security apparatus that exists on Capitol Hill creates a no-win situation for whoever is chief. You have the Capitol Police Board, four oversight committees, and 535 bosses plus their staffs telling you what to do,” Sund wrote.

Sund stepped down the day after the insurrection following Pelosi’s public call for his resignation.

“No one holds themselves more accountable than I do” for the officers’ experiences that day, Sund wrote, “and I wish I could have done more.”

But Sund wrote he also regrets resigning before he saw the full picture about the intelligence he never received, which he said would have prompted him to develop a different security plan, according to the Post.

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Packers destroy division rival Vikings to keep playoff dreams alive

January 2, 2023 Published by Fox News

The Green Bay Packers held their own destiny in their hands: Win the remaining two games of the season and get in.

They can check Week 17 off their list.

Green Bay showed out for their home fans at Lambeau Field on Sunday, dominating the Minnesota Vikings, this year’s NFC North champs, 41-17, to keep their playoff dreams alive.

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Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander (23) dances after breaking up a pass meant for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson in the first quarter of an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis., on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023.
(Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)

Leading up to the game, there was a lot of hype surrounding these two teams as has been the case for quite some time in this historic rivalry.

Minnesota clinched the division title last week. The Packers won three straight to get back into playoff contention. And of course, Packers top cornerback Jaire Alexander called Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson’s performance the first time these two teams matched up this year – nine catches, 184, two touchdowns – a fluke.

So, with tensions high at kickoff, this was a game that was pegged to be a good one. But nobody expected what transpired for the Packers.

VIKINGS’ JUSTIN JEFFERSON HITS REF IN BACK WITH HELMET AS FRUSTRATIONS BOIL OVER

It wasn’t a great start as the Vikings blocked a punt that landed them near the goal line, though they weren’t able to punch it in for a touchdown. Instead, Greg Joseph plugged a very short field goal to get the Vikings on the board first.

Then, it was all Packers from there and it began with a 105-yard kickoff return by Keisean Nixon, the first of his career. It didn’t look like Nixon should’ve brought the ball out at all, but he clearly had a feeling and it was worth the long sprint down the gridiron.

Later in the first quarter, the Vikings had solid field position after the Packers couldn’t convert on fourth down. But Kirk Cousins threw a pick to Darnell Savage on their own attempt at a fourth-down conversion, and he took it 75 yards to the house to make it a 14-3 game.

That’s when the rails fell off for the Vikings. The next drive was a missed field goal by Joseph, which the Packers turned into one of their own. Cousins was then picked off again on a deep ball intended for Jefferson. Adrian Amos took that one away.

PACKERS PUT UP 105-YARD KICKOFF RETURN, PICK-SIX IN WILD FIRST QUARTER VS VIKINGS

Robert Tonyan would find the end zone on the ensuing drive from a pretty Aaron Rodgers pass, and after Joseph missed his second field goal of the night, Mason Crosby ended the first half with a bomb from 56 yards to make it 27-3 at halftime.

AJ Dillon #28 of the Green Bay Packers celebrates with teammates after rushing for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings during the fourth quarter of the game at Lambeau Field on January 01, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
(Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

In the second half, more turnovers plagued the Vikings, as their first two drives ended in disaster. First, Cousins was strip sacked by Kenny Clark, who recovered the ball in Packers territory. Then, just after the Packers made it 34-3 when A.J. Dillon punched in his sixth rushing touchdown in five games, Cousins threw another interception on the first play of the next drive.

Rodgers capped off a solid game with a rushing touchdown himself to make it 41-3, and even with time left, this one was over. The Vikings had two charity touchdowns at the end of the game, but it didn’t matter: The Packers were moving on with a chance to make the playoffs if they can get the Detroit Lions in Week 18.

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Rodgers finished 15 of 24 for 159 yards and one touchdown, while collecting that rushing score as well. Aaron Jones looked healthier in this game, totaling 111 yards on 14 carries. Allen Lazard led the receiving corps with 59 yards on five catches.

As for the Vikings, Cousins finished 18 of 31 for 205 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, while Nick Mullens eventually came in for him. The Packers were able to swallow up Dalvin Cook, who had just 27 yards on nine carries.

Oh, and Alexander lived up to his words about Jefferson: The NFL’s top wide receiver on the stat sheet had just 15 yards on one catch (five targets). After a pass breakup, Alexander was even seen doing Jefferson’s signature “Griddy” dance.

Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers runs for a two yard touchdown during the fourth quarter Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field on January 01, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
(Kayla Wolf/Getty Images)

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But, at the end of the day, the Vikings are only playing for seeding while the Packers are hoping they can take down Detroit, who is also looking to sneak into the playoffs.

Minnesota is now the No. 3 seed in the NFC after the San Francisco 49ers extended their win streak with an overtime victory against the Las Vegas Raiders. They will take on the Chicago Bears in Week 18.

Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

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