Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will call a vote Tuesday on whether he will remain the leader of the House.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has led a charge among right-wing Republicans to strip McCarthy of the speakership after he cut a deal with Democrats to fund the government for another 45 days — just before it would have otherwise shut down. Gaetz brought a motion to vacate the chair on the House floor Monday night, a procedural move that has never before been successfully used to oust a speaker.
This time, however, could be different. Although McCarthy does still have most of his caucus behind him, he needs a majority of the House to vote against his removal to stay in power. At the moment, the GOP has a four-vote majority, and there are at least four Republican lawmakers including Gaetz who have said they’ll vote to get rid of McCarthy.
So while the speaker has said that he is “confident” about the vote, he will likely need Democratic support to retain the speakership, and Democrats — even those with good working relationships with the GOP — have decided they won’t come to his rescue. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave several reasons for backing his counterpart’s ouster in a letter to his colleagues, including issues with how the majority party set up the chamber’s rules, McCarthy’s legislative practices, and the decision to launch an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) put it more simply when speaking to reporters Tuesday: “We’re not voting in any way that would help Speaker McCarthy … Nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy, and why should they?”
So far, McCarthy has ruled out the possibility of offering concessions to Democrats in exchange for helping him retain the speakership. Such concessions could include passing funding for Ukraine, which had become a sticking point in the spending fight amid waning public support for continuing to aid the…
Read the full article here