Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Faces Potential Ouster After Preventing Government Shutdown
Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is at risk of being ousted from his position after successfully averting a government shutdown that could have had costly consequences. McCarthy managed to secure bipartisan support for a 45-day stopgap bill that received more backing from Democrats than Republicans, sparking criticism from hardline members of his own party.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 335-91 in favor of the stopgap measure just hours before federal agency funding was set to expire. The bill later gained approval in the Democratic-led Senate with bipartisan support, and it is now awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature to become law.
However, McCarthy’s efforts to secure Democratic support for the bill have stirred dissatisfaction among Republican hardliners who view it as a victory for the Uniparty of Washington. One of these hardliners, Republican Representative Andy Biggs, expressed his concerns on the social platform X (formerly known as Twitter), asking if McCarthy should continue as Speaker of the House.
McCarthy made a calculated decision to bring a vote on a bill that could attract Democratic support, fully aware that it could put his job at risk. According to one of his advisers, the Speaker anticipated that some hardliners would attempt to remove him from his position under any circumstances.
In response to the threats against him, McCarthy defiantly stated on Saturday, Go ahead and try. You know what? If I have to risk my job for standing up for the American public, I will do that.
The bipartisan stopgap measure came into effect just a day after Biggs and 20 other hardliners blocked a Republican-backed bill that included significant spending cuts, as well as immigration and border restrictions that the hardliners favored. The failure of the Republican bill dashed their hopes of implementing a conservative measure and paved the way for the bipartisan alternative, which secured support from 209 House Democrats and 126 Republicans, with 90 Republicans opposing the stopgap bill.
Some hardline representatives, like Bob Good, criticized McCarthy for bringing a bill to the floor that garnered significant Democratic support. Good commented on X, saying, Kevin McCarthy put a CR on the Floor that got 209 Democrat votes, since it kept in place the Biden-Pelosi-Schumer policies that are destroying the country and the spending levels that are bankrupting us.
According to the agreement McCarthy reached with hardliners to become Speaker in January, just a single lawmaker would be required to initiate his potential removal by moving to vacate the chair. Representative Matt Gaetz openly threatened to take such action and reiterated his stance before the vote on Saturday, stating that McCarthy cannot remain as the Republican speaker if he relies on Democratic votes to advance Joe Biden’s spending priorities.
The course of action Democrats would take if a Republican initiated McCarthy’s removal and the House voted on the measure remains unclear.
Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, who co-chairs the bipartisan Problem Solvers’ Caucus, emphasized that bipartisanship itself would be the central issue in any decision regarding McCarthy’s future. Fitzpatrick stated, The motion to vacate will come… and the question will be, are we going to punish or reward leaders who put two-party solutions on the floor? That is squarely the question.
There are varied opinions within the Democratic party regarding McCarthy’s potential ouster. Some have suggested they would support McCarthy if an attempt took place during a turbulent period, while others have proposed backing a moderate Republican who would share power with them and allow for power-sharing within House committees. However, some Democrats have shown no interest in aiding any speaker candidate other than House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. Representative Jim McGovern summed up his stance by saying, That’s his problem. I vote for Hakeem Jeffries for speaker.
The uncertainties surrounding McCarthy’s future highlight the challenges he faces within his own party. As tensions between hardliners and moderates grow, the question of whether McCarthy can maintain his position as House Speaker remains uncertain.
