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WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing a challenge to his leadership after he successfully averted a government shutdown by passing a stopgap spending bill over the weekend.
But McCarthy still has his backers — including all three Utah Republican congressmen.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said he plans to try to oust McCarthy this week. He alleged on the House floor that McCarthy, R-Calif., cut "a side deal to bring Ukraine legislation to this floor with President (Joe) Biden and House Democrats."
He said that neither Republican leadership nor conference members knew about the alleged backroom deal, pressing McCarthy for answers.
These remarks come after Biden suggested that McCarthy promised to introduce a measure increasing aid to Ukraine, saying he hoped his friends on the other side of the aisle "keep their word."
According to the Washington Examiner, McCarthy denied making any such promise and told reporters he wasn't worried about Gaetz's potential motion to vacate him.
"They elected me to be speaker, so I made a decision. I thought it was best to keep the government open," he said. "There was no guarantee Democrats would vote for it. ... But at times like this, I need to make decisions."
If Gaetz's "motion to vacate" doesn't pass the first time, he said he plans to raise it again multiple times, which could derail McCarthy's legislative agenda.
Utah Republicans support McCarthy
Republican Rep. Burgess Owens, who represents Utah's 4th District, told the Deseret News he supports McCarthy — while questioning Gaetz's motives. When asked if McCarthy was uniquely positioned to lead the conference, Owens said that the speaker "has been ready."
"I've never seen anyone who works as hard, who works to strategically and rationally open the door for everybody to come in and talk with him about their positions," he said.
"On the other side, we have a guy like Gaetz. I don't think he's worked with anybody. He's just not a person that is pulling us together. At the same time, everything he's doing right now seems to be very self-centered, to push us apart."
Who could replace Speaker McCarthy?
Rep. John Curtis, who represents Utah's 3rd Congressional District, told the Deseret News last week that McCarthy might be safer than he was earlier in his speakership since no one has surfaced to replace him.
"I think there's a growing awareness that nobody can do this better than Kevin is doing it," he said.
Curtis raised the name of former House Minority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who is McCarthy's right hand man and is, as Curtis said, "very well respected." But, the Utah lawmaker said he assumed Scalise's name is off the table because of his serious health problems.
"I don't see anybody who can do this as well as Kevin and I think that has actually made his seat just a tad bit more secure," Curtis said.
Apart from Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., has also been brought up as a potential option, but Emmer has said he has no desire to challenge McCarthy.
"I fully support Speaker McCarthy. He knows that and I know that. I have zero interest in palace intrigue. End of discussion," the Minnesota representative told Politico.
Other Republicans in the House conference have also spoken up in support of McCarthy.
"The problem is — and this is the same problem we saw with the 15 ballots at the beginning of the year — it is my belief that there is nobody at this point in time that has the majority votes in order to become speaker other than Kevin McCarthy," said Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va.
How many votes would Gaetz need to oust McCarthy?
To keep his role as speaker, McCarthy can only spare five Republican votes. Since a small group of House Republicans, potentially around 20, are expected to help Gaetz to try to oust McCarthy, the speaker will need Democrats to vote for him — or to use other legislative maneuvers to keep him in power.
But hardline Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., aren't too happy to lend a hand.
Ocasio-Cortez said on CNN on Sunday that she doesn't plan to support McCarthy. "It's not up to Democrats to save Republicans," she said. "I don't think we give up votes for free."
It's unclear what stance the other members of her caucus might take if the motion to vacate is introduced. The Washington Post reported that many Democrats might vote "present," instead of "yes" or "no," to avoid actively helping McCarthy. This would still benefit the speaker by lowering the threshold of votes he would need to keep his job.
This leaves House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a position where he can negotiate for his party's priorities in exchange for helping McCarthy. Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., said that the House minority leader has plenty of leverage.
"McCarthy can't get to 218," Kuster told Punchbowl News, referring to the number of votes the Speaker needs. "At the end of the day, Jeffries is the Wizard of Oz — he is the one behind the curtain."
GOP lawmakers might expel Gaetz over ethics committee report
Gaetz's attempts to challenge McCarthy's speakership have been met with pushback in the Republican conference.
Fox News reported that some GOP lawmakers are looking to expel the Florida representative if the Ethics Committee reports anything against Gaetz, who has been accused of alleged sexual misconduct as well as violating campaign finance rules, taking bribes and using drugs.
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said on social media that trying to expel Gaetz from Congress, which requires a two-thirds majority in the lower chamber, "may be a step too far."
"However," Gingrich said, "expelling him from the House Republican Conference and eliminating all his committee assignments and all resources other than those an individual member is entitled to would be a rational response to his suicidal efforts to cripple the House GOP."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, who stood firmly behind McCarthy when his bid for the speakership was faltering in January, also took to X and gave a lengthy explanation on why she opposes the motion to expel Gaetz.
Green said that the Republican family feud comes after Congress passed a continuing resolution, which she said, included "borrowed money and borrowed time" — and now, lawmakers must prioritize passing eight more spending bills.
"All of this has the Democrats, who America's electorate fired last congress, giddy with opportunity to take full advantage of gleaning prizes for themselves in exchange for votes," she said. "All of this now has the House of Representatives on the verge of chaos and will only leave our majority weakened and dangerously fractured."
She said she believes Republicans across the country wouldn't tolerate any effort to expel Gaetz.
"Republicans need to get off the power trips, stop the absurd drama, remember who the enemy is, stop fighting with each other, and get serious about solving the problems that produce annual systemic failure," Green said.
Contributing: Brigham Tomco
