How Donald Trump could hold Kevin McCarthy’s fate in his hands
Cami Mondeaux
Video Embed
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) owes a lot to former President Donald Trump for his leadership position and growing influence over different corners of the Republican Party.
Trump helped McCarthy secure the speakership earlier this year when the former president convinced key GOP holdouts to support the California Republican after 15 rounds of voting. The former president has also supported McCarthy as he navigates his new role as House leader to keep the GOP in line.
BIDEN MAY BUCK BIPARTISAN VOTE TO KEEP MORTGAGE OVERHAUL IN PLACE
However, that relationship may be strained after McCarthy suggested earlier this week that Trump may not be the “strongest candidate” to take on President Joe Biden in 2024, angering the former president and his close allies.
“Can he win that election? Yeah, he can win that election,” McCarthy told CNBC of a possible rematch between Biden and Trump. “The question is: ‘Is he the strongest to win the election?’ I don’t know that answer.”
The comment sparked fury among Trump’s team and his top aides, according to Politico. It has also raised questions about how long McCarthy can stay in Trump’s good graces.
The House speaker went into damage-control mode almost immediately, calling Trump to apologize and speaking with Breitbart to walk back his comments and offer a stronger assessment of the former president.
“Trump is stronger today than he was in 2016,” he said.
Instead, McCarthy sought to blame the media for taking his comments out of context.
“As usual, the media is attempting to drive a wedge between President Trump and House Republicans as our committees are holding Biden’s DOJ accountable for their two-tiered levels of justice,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy’s team also sought to clean up the mess by sending out a flurry of campaign missives and fundraising emails calling Trump the “STRONGEST opponent to Biden” — while asking for campaign donations to the speaker’s campaign.
However, using Trump’s name for campaign purposes without his explicit permission is considered a no-go, and the former president’s team asked McCarthy to rescind the fundraising pitch on Tuesday, according to Politico.
Trump has not yet publicly responded to McCarthy’s comments, and it remains unclear whether the speaker’s frantic cleanup efforts were enough to assuage the former president. However, Trump’s reaction could have a massive influence over how members of the GOP caucus respond, especially when McCarthy’s leadership position is already vulnerable after debt ceiling negotiations.
Several hard-line conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus came out against the Fiscal Responsibility Act in the days before its passage, calling on their GOP colleagues to strike it down. Some lawmakers, such as Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC), even threatened a motion to vacate McCarthy from his leadership position if the bill passed.
Under House rules, it only takes one member to file a motion to vacate to bring the matter to the floor, meaning Bishop could do so himself if he feels inclined. No other House Republican has followed through with those threats, although talks had emerged among GOP members about the measure earlier this month.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
McCarthy has repeatedly brushed off threats of a no-confidence vote, expressing self-assurance in his leadership position. Still, with the relationship hiccup between him and Trump on Tuesday, those efforts could be revived.
“If Donald Trump wanted … he could have him out as speaker by the end of the week,” a GOP consultant said.