One of Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) key allies of the Republican Party surprisingly revealed he had drafted a motion to oust the House leader.
Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), who helped negotiate the debt ceiling deal in May, suggested bringing the measure forward could appease McCarthy’s critics.
“I drafted a motion to vacate the speaker as well. I have it on my desk right now,” Graves told CNN on Saturday.
“I said if you’re going to keep hanging this thing up [his] head and play this game, let’s do it now and get this over with.”
Graves’ statement is the latest in a series of heated tensions among state lawmakers over spending bills that hit the public domain.
A motion to vacate the seat allows the rank and file member to attempt to remove the speaker.
During his 15-vote marathon for the gavel in January, McCarthy agreed to lower the threshold for a motion to vacate to one vote.
Given the Republicans’ four-seat majority in the lower house, such a motion could spell disaster for McCarthy, who barely picked up the gavel when the GOP had a five-seat majority earlier this year.
As a result, McCarthy’s chief agitator, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), publicly suspended removal — threatening to file a motion to vacate earlier this month, when the House reconvenes from a six-week recess.
The Speaker of the House plans to plow ahead with a lot of appropriations this week. Getty Images
So far, few of the nearly dozen Republicans holding up the bill to avoid an Oct. 1 government shutdown have gone that far publicly.
But Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) on Sunday threatened to back the effort if McCarthy cuts a deal with Democrats to bypass GOP rebels.
“That’s going to be something that I’m going to look very strongly at,” Burchett said when asked by CNN’s “State of the Union” host Dana Bash. “Our financial ship is sinking.”
Rep. Louisiana Republican Garret Graves has repeatedly criticized GOP hardliners who he believes have weakened the party’s negotiating position with Democrats. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida poses with GOP Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, both of whom have now suspended a motion to vacate if Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) doesn’t play ball.Getty Images
Burchett almost consistently supported McCarthy for speaker when the disputed vote began.
Meanwhile. McCarthy publicly and privately downplayed threats to his speakership.
“You think I’m afraid of the motion to vacate. Go ahead and do it. I’m not afraid,” McCarthy reportedly told Republicans at a closed-door meeting.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is rumored to be eyeing a run for Florida governor.AP
In addition to Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Graves helped cut a bipartisan deal to suspend the debt ceiling until January 2025 in exchange for limiting discretionary spending to $1.59 trillion — a move that angered hardliners.
Getty Images
GOP rebels want something closer to the fiscal year 2022 baseline discretionary spending level of $1.471 trillion that was Republicans’ initial offer in debt limit negotiations.
“Arsonists who set their house on fire, they whine about their house burning down, they’ll want credit for putting out the fire, and then they’ll set up a GoFundMe to get paid for what happened,” Graves lamented to reporters.
“@RepGarretGraves, while accepting new @johnFetterman dress code, so-called House Conservatives demand individual appropriations bill (versus CR) ARSONIS!!!” Gaetz responded on X, previously Twitter.
Graves, who represents Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District, could be in danger of losing his seat in the 2024 cycle depending on how the state redraws his district.
Although the country’s borrowing authority has been effectively withdrawn, the government is not funded for the next fiscal year, which begins in October.
If Congress fails to fund the government in some way, there will be a shutdown.
McCarthy has called for an ongoing temporary solution to give Congress time to cut spending.
But so far, the House has only managed to pass one of the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the government – and is at odds with the Senate and the White House over the top figure.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
