It seems Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has found himself between what can only be described as a rock and a hard place. And it could cost him his seat as leader of the House of Representatives.
If you aren’t aware, the House is currently negotiating a new spending bill.
Conservatives far and wide have been working on cutting spending from wherever possible, as the US government is already in way over its head on that front. And just as naturally, the Democrats find themselves on the opposite side of the conversation.
But if agreements are not made, the government could soon find itself in the middle of a shutdown. Neither side wants a shutdown, but neither is willing to budge much on their budget bill position.
As speaker, McCarthy has been tasked with trying to negotiate something that both sides can agree to.
But there is a dangerous caveat there for McCarthy.
You see, when he was finally voted in and confirmed as Speaker (after 14 failed attempts), it was in agreement that should he do something the Republican caucus didn’t like, a single GOP member could bring a “move to vacate” vote to the floor, possibly ousting him from his leadership seat.
And it’s already been made clear that if he gives too much to Democrats during these budget negotiations, that “move to vacate” option will be put forward.
Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho said as much when speaking with CNN recently.
“The challenge for McCarthy… is that if he works with the Democrats, obviously, the Democrats will not do it for free. They want something. So, it’s going to be a compromise – one of those really bad words in Washington for some reason. Then you’re going to find a resolution introduced on the floor to vacate the chair.”
But if any budget bill is to pass, McCarthy will likely have to get a number of Democrats on his side. And that means giving them something in return.
Like I said, a rock and a hard place.
Of course, that’s not the only problem McCarthy has. In fact, he’s always had issues with this seat. He was nearly called to step down by several GOP members as soon as he assumed his new role in the House.
But now, with calls for McCarthy to begin impeachment proceedings against Democratic President Joe Biden, he has even more opposition than before.
It’s not that McCarthy is against impeaching Biden. But he doesn’t want to do so unless he has enough support and follows through on the proceedings.
As he told Breitbart News, impeachment should not be taken lightly. And therefore, he needs to ensure it is the American people speaking on the matter and not just “one person.”
While the House is definitely in Republican control, with a 10-member majority over Dems, it will take just about every one of the 222 GOP members to agree to an impeachment vote. However, about 20 or so of those are known as more “moderate” Republicans, some of whose elected districts went to Biden in 2020.
So they might not all be in on such a vote.
Plus, it won’t do any good to start all those proceedings and discover it’s going nowhere.
But his hesitancy isn’t winning him any more brownie points with conservatives. And that only makes it more likely they might turn on him sometime down the road.
Between that and the ongoing budget bill, it’s safe to say McCarthy is in a bit of hot water for sure.
