Either Kevin McCarthy made a major concession to Republicans who oppose him becoming the Speaker or he is taking a page out of the Democratic playbook and intends to backtrack on his promise to make it easier to get rid of the Speaker from office. Current rules say that the Speaker can only be ousted by a vote in which he only needs a simple majority to keep his seat to one where just 5 members are needed to oust him.
But, it appears that his promise is not good enough. South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman, does not trust McCarthy, and for good reason, he wants McCarthy to put his promise in writing. McCarthy might be trying to pull the same thing on Republicans that the Democrats pulled on Manchin. Make the promise and then break it. Manchin is already in deep trouble and he may decide not to run for reelection in 2024 if he thinks he would lose.
McCarthy is desperate, but is he so desperate that he would reduce the number of votes needed for his ouster by 95%? I hardly think so, but he might do it if it is the only way he gets his hands on the gavel. But, that will create all kinds of trouble for McCarthy with the RINOs who could take away his seat anytime he goes against the Democrats whom the RINOs serve. He is between a rock and a hard place.
Here are the key details from CNN:
McCarthy has been trying to find a compromise threshold that would appease his critics enough to earn their speaker vote, while still being palatable to the rest of the House GOP, and has been sounding out all corners of the conference in private phone calls this week.
One of the numbers that has come up in recent conversations between McCarthy and GOP lawmakers – and which has not been previously reported – is a five-person threshold, according to two of the Republican sources.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELCurrently, the majority of the House GOP is required to call for the so-called motion to vacate the speaker’s chair. But some conservative hardliners are pushing for a single member to be able to call for such a vote, which they see as an important mechanism to hold the speaker accountable.
A five-person threshold, however, may be too low for the moderate wing of the party, some of whom have privately suggested they would be willing to agree on a 50-person threshold.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Should McCarthy give too much to the GOP’s conservative wing, he seriously risks losing votes from his fellow RINOS. But if McCarthy fails to capitulate completely, a pathway to the speakership is nearly impossible.
California Congressman Bill Thomas, lambasted McCarthy for his lies:
“Kevin basically is whatever you want him to be. He lies. He’ll change the lie if necessary. How can anyone trust his word?”
To my way of thinking, there should be no deal for McCarthy and Steve Scalise might not be any better. The Speaker should be a solid conservative such as Jim banks or Jim Jordan. There is no compromising with Democrats. They just keep pounding away at RINOs until they fold like a cheap card table.
