House Democrats made it clear Tuesday that there will be no way they will vote to save Kevin McCarthy’s job as speaker as his future looks bleak.
“We are not voting in any way that would help save Speaker McCarthy,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal said outside the House Democrats’ meeting in the basement of the Capitol. “No one trusts Kevin McCarthy, and why should they?”
McCarthy’s future looked bleak when he said he would vote on a motion to remove him from the presidency on Tuesday afternoon. He made it clear that he will not make a deal with the Democrats to stay in power. He set off an unpredictable confrontation after Republican Matt Gaetz’s motion Monday night to remove him from power.
Gaetz introduced a “motion to vacate,” a legislative maneuver that would result in the chairman’s removal if a majority of the House approves. The vote could take place Tuesday afternoon around 1:30 or 2:00 PM ET.
If four Republicans defect and not a single Democrat helps McCarthy, he will lose. And up to seven Republican lawmakers have charged that they will follow Gaetz and vote against the speaker.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will vote on his future Tuesday afternoon
McCarthy said during a meeting with House Republicans on Tuesday morning that he was confident he would remain as chairman.
“We will get through this,” he said. “If I had counted how many times someone tried to knock me out, I would have been gone a long time ago.”
McCarthy has a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. If five Republicans vote to impeach him, he would fall out of the presidency.
But Democrats could prove his saving grace — if they wanted to. For Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and his group, it is a difficult choice: save McCarthy and stick with the speaker they know, or vote for his impeachment and see who ultimately ends up in the speaker’s seat with the votes of the Republicans. to sit.
Jeffries and McCarthy spoke Monday evening, but provided no details about the conversation.
McCarthy is prepared to face his fate. When he brings up the “motion to vacate,” his allies will likely try to block it by “bringing up a motion” – or overruling – the resolution.
That’s where Democrats can help save McCarthy, if they support the move to bring the matter to the table.
Democrats don’t have to vote yes to help McCarthy. They could simply vote present, or not show up at all, and that would lower the threshold McCarthy needs to block the motion.
Even if the proposed motion fails, McCarthy would not have to immediately make Gaetz’s motion to impeach him, which could buy him time to try to get more votes on his side.
But he probably won’t find them among Democrats
“This issue is about Republican dysfunction,” said Rep. Mark Takano. “We have no obligation to elect a Republican chairman. But we have no special obligation to save this speaker either. So there is no obligation or sense that we have to do anything to save the speaker.”
“We are not here to keep Kevin McCarthy in power. This is their problem. If they have the votes to keep him, then so be it,” said Rep. Jim McGovern.
Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger said of McCarthy, “He made his bed.”
All Democrats said they were united behind their leader, Hakeem Jeffries.
And Jeffries gave no indication of his plan as he left Tuesday morning’s meeting.
“House Democrats will continue to push people above politics and fight to make life better for everyday Americans,” he said, adding that Republicans “must break with the extremists, put an end to the chaos, having to put an end to the dysfunction, having to put an end to the extremism.”
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Shows No Signs of Saving Kevin McCarthy
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz wanted to remove Kevin McCarthy from the speaker’s office
But in a closed-door meeting with Democrats, Jeffries pointed out that it was their party that gave McCarthy the votes this weekend to pass a continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown.
He then showed a video clip of McCarthy on CBS’s Face the Nation talking about how Republicans saved the country from a shutdown mess.
Democrats said these types of events led them to distrust McCarthy, along with McCarthy’s actions on Jan. 6, his trip to Mar-a-Lago to make amends with Donald Trump, his attempt to oust the Jan. 6 committee to discredit, and his reneging on the debt limit agreement.
“For many of us, there is a consensus that this is not someone who can be trusted. And it is not our job to save him as speaker,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar.
Jayapal said the distrust goes back to the Jan. 6 insurrection, when McCarthy went from railing against Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election results to embracing the former president.
“For many of us, we were here. It’s still very emotional for us,” she said. “Kevin McCarthy stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and said one thing, then spoke to Donald Trump and immediately did something else.”
Omar noted that McCarthy has reneged on spending deals and also allowed the start of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
‘He cannot be trusted. “It really plays a big part in the fact that we all know there’s no real deal to be had here,” she said.
Even moderate Democrats said they would not help McCarthy.
Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate Democrat who sometimes votes with Republicans, said he would vote to impeach McCarthy.
“The Republican Party controls the House of Representatives and it is their responsibility to elect their leaders. That decision has nothing to do with me or any Democrat,” Golden said in a statement. “In the absence of any significant meaningful benefit to Maine’s Second District, I see no reason to vote for him.”
Democrats met for more than two hours Tuesday morning in the basement of the Capitol. The leadership offered all members one minute to speak and 33 people took them up on the offer and took to the microphone to discuss the issue.
The meeting went on so long that aides brought Cava in for lunch. Cheers and applause could be heard at various times throughout the morning.
Gaetz’s move marks the first time a “motion to evict” has been used against a speaker.
Gaetz accuses McCarthy of breaking his word to conservatives on spending deals and how he would run the House of Representatives.
But McCarthy and his allies say it is a personal vendetta, pointing to the Ethics Commission that is investigating several allegations against Gaetz, including illegal drug use, sexual misconduct and misuse of campaign funds.
“Matt Gaetz planned this from the very beginning,” McCarthy told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” ‘He has personal things in his life that he is having problems with. That’s fine.’
McCarthy has repeatedly said he does not get involved in ethics complaints.
“He blames me for an ethics complaint against him that happened in the last Congress,” McCarthy noted.
“I have nothing to do with him wanting me to try to wipe that away. I’m not going to do that. That’s illegal. And you know what, if I somehow lose my job because I’m upholding the law, because I’m upholding the continuity of government. So it will be.’
And some accuse Gaetz of trying to attract attention ahead of a plan to run for governor of Florida.
Gaetz could easily make his move to oust McCarthy because of a deal struck in January as McCarthy tried to secure enough Republican votes to become chairman. To gain sufficient support from the party’s conservative wing, McCarthy agreed to their demand to allow them to do so calling a snap vote to “vacate the seat” and remove him from office.
Gaetz accused McCarthy in a speech in the House of Representatives on Monday of a “secret deal” with Democrats to finance Ukraine. Many conservative Republicans want to end US aid to the war-torn country.
McCarthy denied the accusation and said there is no secret plan.
Gaetz, meanwhile, noted of McCarthy, “If he is able to stay in power, it will be he who will work for the Democrats and continue to do their bidding.” So this is a revealing exercise, and I think it will show the country who is really in charge.”
“I have enough Republicans where at this point next week one of two things will happen: Kevin McCarthy will not be the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or he will be the Speaker of the House working at the pleasure of the Democrats Gaetz said. said.
McCarthy responded to the issue on social media, writing on X: “Bring it on.”
Gaetz soon replied in a message: “Just done.”
