QAnon supporter Allen West on Friday unexpectedly resigned after less than a year as the Chair of the Texas Republican Party. Later this morning he told WBAp radio he may challenge GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, The Dallas Morning News reports.

West has staged several re-incarnations.

He first came to national attention in his successful run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida, during which his military history was exposed. West was relieved of his command as a Lt. Col. in the Army after he staged a mock execution and fired an unloaded pistol at an Iraqi policeman’s head during an interrogation.

“Lt. Col. Allen West had been criminally charged with aggravated assault and communicating a threat, and faced the possibility of a court martial for his role in interrogating the Iraqi,” the Seattle Times reported in 2003. He was allowed to retire.

As a far right GOP congressman, West at one point told an audience, “I believe there’s about 78 to 81 members of the Democrat Party who are members of the Communist Party.”

Several years after his unsuccessful attempt to get elected to a second term in Congress, West moved to Texas and became the Chair of the Texas Republican Party.

“We know that wherever he goes next, he will continue to be a bulwark against progressive socialism and a champion for the principles of Texas and our American Republic,” the Texas GOP’s website, which he controls, now says.

The Chairman of the Travis County GOP blasted West:

It is now clear that @AllenWest’s entire tenure as @TexasGOP chair was intended to do only what many suspected: Provide him a platform for his political future, not an opportunity to build the party.

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— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) June 4, 2021

“For 7+ months, our state chair has been unconscionably attacking our statewide officials, rallying with Alex Jones at the Governor’s mansion, attacking our new Speaker, and doing the rhetorical work of Texas Democrats,” Mackowiak laments.

The Executive Director of former Obama HUD Secretary Julian Castro’s People First Future noted several days ago QAnon extremist Mike Flynn just endorsed West for governor.

Today Mike Flynn endorsed: 1) a Myanmar-like military coup for the U.S. 2) Allen West, a secessionist, for governor of Texas pic.twitter.com/UvKAuVT5wM

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) May 31, 2021

“West has said he’s not ruled out challenging Gov. Greg Abbott, and he has also had tension recently with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick,” the Texas Tribune today notes. “The state office for Land Commissioner is also an open seat this election season now that incumbent commissioner George P. Bush has announced he’s running for attorney general.”

When he took over, he gave the state party a new slogan, “We are the storm,” which raised speculation he was signaling support to QAnon, a conspiracy movement which has been identified by the FBI as a domestic terrorism threat. West said the slogan was unrelated to QAnon.

This past weekend, West delivered remarks at a Dallas conference whose organizers have ties to the QAnon movement.

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license

Democratic U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, whose home state of West Virginia desperately needs a federal infrastructure bill, says he refuses to support any infrastructure legislation that is not bipartisan.

“We need to be bipartisan,” Manchin, whose state’s infrastructure received a “D” on its last report card, told NBC News’ Garrett Haake.

Haake says via Twitter Sen. Manchin “REALLY isn’t interested in doing an infrastructure bill w/ only Democratic support,” and “Repeatedly says he thinks there will be a bipartisan deal between” President Joe Biden and Republican Senator Shelly Moore Capito, his West Virginia GOP Senate colleague.

Democrats could push through a $1 trillion infrastructure bill without support from Republicans via reconciliation, but Manchin also turned that down.

Infrastructure by reconciliation? Manchin isn’t there.

GH. Are you ready to go it alone with just Democrats?@Sen_JoeManchin: No. I don’t think we should. I really don’t.

GH: At all?

Manchin: I don’t think, right now, basically, we need to be bipartisan.

— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) June 3, 2021

Manchin is also opposed to killing the filibuster.

The White House has announced despite Senate Republicans killing legislation passed by the House to establish a commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection incited by then-President Donald Trump the executive branch will not form a Presidential January 6 Commission.

“Congress was attacked on that day, and President Biden firmly agrees with Speaker Pelosi that Congress itself has a unique role and ability to carry out that investigation,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told Axios. “Because of that, the President doesn’t plan to appoint his own commission.”

“The events of Jan. 6 were an unprecedented assault on our democracy — and he believes they deserve a full, and independent, investigation to determine what transpired and ensure it can never happen again,” Psaki added.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday called a Presidential Commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection “not a workable idea,” the Associated Press reported.

Speaker Pelosi believes the Senate should try once again to pass the legislation that failed last week in a 54-35 vote. Six Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

“Biden isn’t letting any daylight between himself and Pelosi,” Axios adds, citing an NBC News report.