Speaker Kevin McCarthy told his GOP conference he plans to bring up a vote that could oust him from the speakership Tuesday afternoon, a person in the closed-door meeting told POLITICO.

Four GOP members have publicly committed to voting to boot McCarthy, while a handful of others say they are leaning that way. Given the House GOP’s slim margins, McCarthy can only afford to lose five Republicans if all Democrats vote against him.

Those who support removing McCarthy — including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who introduced the motion Monday night — are not pushing another candidate yet, and some of their colleagues say they have no alternatives lined up.

“There was an admission by Matt Gaetz, who’s my friend, that there is no plan. There’s no one that has stepped forward to run. There’s no one that is coming out saying: ‘I’ll be speaker’ and rallying support within the conference,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

Gaetz has said he could support Majority Leader Steve Scalise for speaker, but the Louisiana Republican reiterated his support for McCarthy Tuesday.

“I’m not running for speaker. Kevin is,” he said. “And I support Kevin. And our conference does as well.”

No deal? McCarthy told CNBC on Tuesday morning he’d give Democrats nothing in exchange for their votes to keep him in the speakership. “They haven’t asked for anything. I’m not going to provide anything,” he said.

McCarthy got a bit more specific in a press gaggle later in the morning, saying he would not engage in some sort of power-sharing agreement with Democrats in order to secure their votes: “That doesn’t work.” Democrats, meanwhile, were expected to speak about how they would handle the vote in a caucus meeting Tuesday morning.

“If five Republicans go with Democrats, then I’m out,” the speaker said.

He added that it “feels very personal” with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who filed the motion to boot the speaker Monday night, a move the conservative had threatened for weeks.

“If you throw a speaker out that has 99 percent of their conference, that kept government open and paid the troops, I think we’re in a really bad place,” McCarthy said.

Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas), one of the lawmakers who have sat on the fence, implied he was leaning in favor of keeping McCarthy in the speakership Tuesday morning.

“My calculus right now is I think it’s not the best timing for sure … right now we got to focus on finishing up appropriations,” he said.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also wouldn’t comment on whether Democrats would opt to save McCarthy amid a right-wing rebellion from a small bloc of his conference: “That remains to be seen.”

“We are in the midst of a Republican civil war and it is undermining the ability of the Congress to solve problems on behalf of hardworking taxpayers,” Jeffries said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Kierra Frazier and Matt Berg contributed.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy told his GOP conference he plans to bring up a vote that could oust him from the speakership Tuesday afternoon, a person in the closed-door meeting told POLITICO.
Four GOP members have publicly committed to voting to boot McCarthy, while a handful of others say they are leaning that way. Given the House GOP’s slim margins, McCarthy can only afford to lose five Republicans if all Democrats vote against him.
Those who support removing McCarthy — including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who introduced the motion Monday night — are not pushing another candidate yet, and some of their colleagues say they have no alternatives lined up.
“There was an admission by Matt Gaetz, who’s my friend, that there is no plan. There’s no one that has stepped forward to run. There’s no one that is coming out saying: ‘I’ll be speaker’ and rallying support within the conference,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).Gaetz has said he could support Majority Leader Steve Scalise for speaker, but the Louisiana Republican reiterated his support for McCarthy Tuesday.
“I’m not running for speaker. Kevin is,” he said. “And I support Kevin. And our conference does as well.”
No deal? McCarthy told CNBC on Tuesday morning he’d give Democrats nothing in exchange for their votes to keep him in the speakership. “They haven’t asked for anything. I’m not going to provide anything,” he said.
McCarthy got a bit more specific in a press gaggle later in the morning, saying he would not engage in some sort of power-sharing agreement with Democrats in order to secure their votes: “That doesn’t work.” Democrats, meanwhile, were expected to speak about how they would handle the vote in a caucus meeting Tuesday morning.
“If five Republicans go with Democrats, then I’m out,” the speaker said.He added that it “feels very personal” with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who filed the motion to boot the speaker Monday night, a move the conservative had threatened for weeks.
“If you throw a speaker out that has 99 percent of their conference, that kept government open and paid the troops, I think we’re in a really bad place,” McCarthy said.
Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas), one of the lawmakers who have sat on the fence, implied he was leaning in favor of keeping McCarthy in the speakership Tuesday morning.
“My calculus right now is I think it’s not the best timing for sure … right now we got to focus on finishing up appropriations,” he said.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also wouldn’t comment on whether Democrats would opt to save McCarthy amid a right-wing rebellion from a small bloc of his conference: “That remains to be seen.”
“We are in the midst of a Republican civil war and it is undermining the ability of the Congress to solve problems on behalf of hardworking taxpayers,” Jeffries said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Kierra Frazier and Matt Berg contributed.