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

De: Annie Karni, Luke Broadwater

Narrado por: Karen Murray

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.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A vivid, juicy, and terrifying account of how we arrived at this political moment.”—Vogue

“Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater are two of the best congressional reporters in the business, and this dishy, fly-on-the-wall chronicle of the 118th Congress is neon proof. Mad House is an organized account of utter bedlam, a flamboyant tale of the House’s most outlandish members—their vanities, idiosyncrasies, rivalries, and devil’s pacts—that both beguiles and horrifies. It’s one of the most involving books about politics I’ve read in a long while.”—Jennifer Senior, New York Times bestselling author of All Joy and No Fun and winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing

“Every so often, a book comes along that makes you feel extremely hopeful about America. This is not one of those books. Mad House contains cyanide and candy on every page, which proves to be a killer combo. I loved it.”—Mark Leibovich, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Thank You for Your Servitude

“A field guide for those struggling to understand how the U.S. Congress got quite this crazy, Mad House by Luke Broadwater and Annie Karni also happens to be a delight to read—a vivid, deeply reported, and frequently entertaining account of the grifters, con men, and merely ambitious pols who populate the Capitol in this age of Trump. It’s a must-read for the Republican-ruled Washington that looms in 2025.”—Susan Glasser, New Yorker staff writer and co-author of the New York Times bestsellers The Divider and The Man Who Ran Washington

“New York Times politics reporters Karni and Broadwater, who cover Congress, paint a detailed picture of what one veteran Republican representative called a ‘shitshow.’ . . . Nancy Mace, George Santos, Jim Jordan, and many others come in for a drubbing, though Karni and Broadwater take time to review the endless series of Democratic Party mistakes that led to Joe Biden’s running against Trump in 2024 for as long as he did before dropping out. Much more fun than the Mueller Report, but just as damning.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This juicy debut account depicts the 118th Congress as marred by petty feuds and humiliating scandals. . . . Political junkies will appreciate this gossipy peek behind the Beltway curtain.”—Publishers Weekly

Entertaining. If only it was fiction.

I knew things were pretty bad in Congress. But didn't realize the extent of the dysfunction. What a waste of taxpayers' dollars. A bunch of immature, self centered people are supposedly running our country. It is sad and maddening at the same time. I do wish to applaud the people that are trying to govern and want to encourage them to stay the course. We will someday move on from this. I HOPE!

Minute by Minutes!

I like the Blow by Blow accounts of the Immortality, Naivety, lack of knowledge of Civics, and Bigotry so prevalent in these United States of North America.

The crazy behind the scenes in DC

Loved this book. Well written, giving you a fly on the wall perspective of the last 4 years from some of the most fascinating people in government.

Behind-the-Scene Stories

This book takes you behind the scenes of political intrigue. Stories like the one of Schumer visiting Joe Biden to urge him to quit the race for reelection is a good example. They’d is the kind of stuff you don’t get in normal news coverage. Very interesting. Well written. Well narrated too.

Great book for our time

What I enjoyed the most was the great detail of all the stories of what happened during those years. So much that I never knew!

How 1 circus man corrupts the moral fiber of so many

Would have liked more on the congressmen that were centrists and then sucked toward Trumpism to save their jobs. Also more on specific lobbyists and how they influence congress. Revolting though it has happened across the political spectrum

good

l iked all the chapters, especially about Marjorie Taylor GREEN and Matt Goetz. well written

Vulgarity & Thoughtlessness

I liked the straight forward about how immature our congressionals can be; pretty darn sobering.

Lost of democracy

Well-written book providing a detailed analysis of the Democrats' seat losses and the internal struggles within the Republican party.

perfect suited as AUDIObook

this is a real audiobook. i cannot imagine actually READING the book itself, which is like a gossip column and paparazzi magazine. there are often times when the book says: so and so denied it...so gossip is all. And my only complaint is how in the world does the writer know all of the intimate details like the conversation between biden and schumer where schumer told him not to run again, i thought you just said no 3rd person was at the meeting.
but i bought this audiobook and did not return it and listened to it in a few days before i fell asleep. it was fast faced and kind of nice when you are also a political junkie and listen to NPR.
i even developed empathy for nancy mace and MTG and lauren borbert after i learned their personal lives.
all in all, i am glad i bought this audiobook! definitely a better listen than rom coms like "The Accidental Dating Experiment" by Lauren Blakely, it still gives me cringe even thinking about it! i stopped half way and had to return it for a refund!