Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) shrugged off the threat of a motion to vacate being weaponized against him amid backlash to the debt ceiling deal.
Back in January, when McCarthy struggled through a historically unprecedented 15 votes to claim the gavel, he agreed to lower the threshold for a motion to vacate down to a single vote in order to win over holdouts. This means that any member upset with the tentative debt limit deal could move to oust him.
BIDEN AND MCCARTHY’S TENTATIVE DEAL RAISES DEBT CEILING UNTIL 2025
“Not at all worried,” McCarthy said when asked about the threat.
A cacophony of conservatives from the hard right flank of the GOP caucus have come out in opposition to the recent debt limit framework deal negotiators struck Saturday night, voicing concerns that Republicans didn’t make enough gains. Still, GOP leadership feels that a sizable majority of House Republicans will back it.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
McCarthy has vowed to give members 72 hours to review the text of the debt limit legislation. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently bumped the “X-date” for when the government runs out of cash to foot all its bills to June 5, giving Congress sufficient time to pass the deal.
The agreement entails a two-year debt limit hike in exchange for rescinding unspent COVID-19 funds, substantial reductions in annual spending growth, more stringent work requirements for social programs, and more.
