Vote to Oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Imminent?

Many House Republicans are livid over House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ‘agreement in principle‘ with Joe Biden on the debt ceiling.

Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy Reach ‘Agreement In Principle’ on Debt Ceiling

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) laid out all the reasons why zero congressional Republicans should support this agreement.

Why I will oppose the #DebtCeiling “deal.” It’s not a good deal. Some $4 Trillion in debt for - at best - a two year spending freeze and no serious substantive policy reforms. #NoDeal pic.twitter.com/C73fjSA2Fr

— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 29, 2023

"Not one Republican should vote for this deal. It is a bad deal. No one sent us here to borrow an additional 4 trillion dollars to get absolutely nothing in return," Roy said during a Tuesday press conference.

"There's going to be a reckoning about what just occurred unless we stop this bill by tomorrow," he added.

WATCH:

Chip Roy on fire:

"Not one Republican should vote for this deal. It is a bad deal. No one sent us here to borrow an additional 4 trillion dollars to get absolutely nothing in return... There will be a reckoning about what just occurred unless we stop this bill." pic.twitter.com/DXBFFl6oCn

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) May 30, 2023

The House Freedom Caucus gave a fiery press conference to express their dissatisfaction with the deal.

The group said they would do everything in their power to stop it.

.@freedomcaucus Chair @RepScottPerry on deal between President Biden and Speaker McCarthy: "This deal fails, fails completely…we will do everything in our power to stop it and end it now." pic.twitter.com/1kvN5DOEot

— CSPAN (@cspan) May 30, 2023

The House Freedom Caucus didn't seem opposed to filing a motion to vacate the chair if McCarthy pushes the deal through.

WATCH:

🚨BREAKING: House Freedom Caucus leaves open possibility of filing a motion to vacate the chair if Speaker McCarthy pushes through the debt deal

pic.twitter.com/ut7j6i7sHr

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 30, 2023

"I'm not sure what in the bill people are concerned about. It is the largest savings of $2.1 trillion that we've ever had," McCarthy responded. "I'm not quite sure where they're opposed," he added.

WATCH:

Kevin McCarthy to House Freedom Caucus: "I'm not sure what in the bill people are concerned about. It is the largest savings of $2.1 trillion that we've ever had. I'm not quite sure where they're opposed." pic.twitter.com/SqJk6rdZct

— Becker Clips (@NewsBecker) May 30, 2023

Multiple House Freedom Caucus members didn't shy away from their threats to oust McCarthy from House Speaker should the deal move forward.

Politico reported:

Conservative angst over the debt deal has triggered Kevin McCarthy’s biggest fear — threats to oust him from the speakership.

Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) on Tuesday became the first House conservative to explicitly state he is considering a push to oust McCarthy over his recent deal with President Joe Biden.

“Absolutely,” Bishop told POLITICO in an interview, when asked about using the tool to force out a sitting speaker. “It is inescapable to me. It has to be done.”

The procedure Bishop is considering would essentially trigger a vote of no confidence against McCarthy — a tool that’s been weaponized by the conservative House Freedom Caucus against the past two speakers in attempts to keep party leaders from leaning too much towards the center.

It would only take one House member to decide to trigger the vote, which would then require a simple majority to oust the speaker.

It’s not clear yet if Bishop will go ahead with his threat: He noted he wants support from other colleagues before he takes such a move.

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CNN added:

McCarthy faces a test on Tuesday as House lawmakers return to Washington and a powerful committee takes up the bill to suspend the debt limit through January 1, 2025. Some of the bill’s loudest conservative critics sit on the panel and pressure is growing on a key Republican swing vote as leadership works to advance the deal to a final floor vote on Wednesday.

One of those critics – GOP Rep Chip Roy – made the strongest threat yet to McCarthy’s gavel during an interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck, saying if the deal can’t be killed in the Rules Committee or on the floor: “Then we’re going to have to then regroup and figure out the whole leadership arrangement again.”

The comments were confirmed to CNN through his spokesperson.

The timeframe to get the bill passed through both chambers of Congress and signed into law is extremely tight. Lawmakers are racing the clock to avert a catastrophic default ahead of June 5, the day the Treasury Department has said it will no longer be able to pay all of the nation’s obligations in full and on time.

“This deal is a clear failure of Republican leadership, and if it goes through, we will have no choice but to introduce a motion to vacate," the House Freedom Caucus wrote in a Monday memo.

House Freedom Caucus:
“This deal is a clear failure of Republican leadership, and if it goes through, we will have no choice but to introduce a motion to vacate.” pic.twitter.com/AX7HlMDXRv

— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) May 30, 2023