Punchbowl PM: Whither @tedcruz and @HawleyMO

The joke in the Capitol last week was that Cruz decided to challenge the electoral results in Arizona because he would have his chance to object before Hawley (R-Mo.), who had already said he would object to Pennsylvania’s results.

The 2 -- not so secret aspirants for the White House in 2024 -- seemed to be in an all-out dash to grab hold of Donald Trump’s mantle, and what better way than to launch a hopeless attempt to overturn the election results because the president and his base wanted the same thing?

Now, after a mob sacked the Capitol, Washington has started assessing how far the pair have fallen, and whether they’ll ever rise again.

MO GOV has distanced himself from Hawley. Staff leaving. Donors dashing.

Several members of Cruz and Hawley’s staff have privately reached out to colleagues and reporters to assess the damage and begin to plan their exits.

You won’t find many senators who are fans of Cruz & Hawley, so it would be folly to measure whether their internal standing has been impacted. Can you descend lower than the sub-basement? But they face a Capitol filled w ppl who will be skeptical of their intentions & motivations

Aides to both men say they don’t condone violence, and they were not aiming to cause a riot on the Capitol grounds. But absent some contrition, they’re unlikely to make much headway, Republicans and Democrats tell us.