Rep. Tim Burchett is considering supporting a possible effort to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy if McCarthy makes a deal with Democrats as a way out of this week’s impending government shutdown.
“That would be something I would look strongly at, ma’am, if we do away with our duty that we said we’re going to do,” Burchett (R-Tenn.) told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked if he would support removing McCarthy as speaker.
Burchett’s comments come as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has used the shutdown as a launching pad to call for McCarthy’s removal as speaker. Overall, McCarthy has faced attacks from fellow Republicans accusing him of failing to lead his party, which holds a slim majority in the House, through the chaos.
The House last week failed to pass legislation to fund the government amid Republican infighting with hardliners who have promised to object to any stopgap measure. McCarthy wants to deliver a GOP opening bid to the Democratic Senate while also holding back a rebellion by far-right members of his party.
You only need one person to call for the vote to oust, so he doesn’t matter there.
You need a majority to vote him out. There’s already a majority to vote him out if you count rebellious Republicans and all Democrats, and there is a clear majority to keep him if the Democrats choose to keep him. So he doesn’t matter there.
Structurally, as long as 5 Republicans are against McCarthy, calling a vote to oust just lets Democrats pick if they want McCarthy or whoever the 5 pick. An incremental one person on the team with the 5 is meaningless.
Well the dems will bail out whoever it is that has the best offer.
Which basically means that if they pull the trigger they cede even more concessions to the dems.
So, I’d like to think they’re not that dumb, but then, they like to prove me wrong.
I thought you don’t need a majority to vote him out, but to vote him in.
It’s one person needed to file a ‘motion to vacate’ but THAT just triggers a House vote with a majority needed to remove him as Speaker.
Some people assume Democrats will always vote to remove a Republican Speaker and thus you would only need 5 Republicans to remove McCarthy, but while that might often be true it isn’t (necessarily) when a government shutdown is on the way.