Senate Republicans are predicting that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will need to reach out to House Democrats to get the votes to prevent a government shutdown at the end of next week.

GOP senators don’t think McCarthy will be able to unify his entire GOP conference behind any measure to prevent an Oct. 1 shutdown and will have to rely on Democrats to keep federal departments and agencies open.

But they predict the Speaker won’t reach out across the aisle until the last possible moment to avoid a backlash from House conservatives, who are threatening to offer a motion to essentially dump him as Speaker if he does not hew to their demands for major spending cuts.

The reality, they say, is that the only spending measure that can pass both the Senate and House is one that has bipartisan support.

  • @aseriesoftubes
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    281 year ago

    McCarthy thought he could do it better than actual politically savy people

    I don’t know about that. I think he just wanted the job on his resume. A book deal or a job with a lobbying firm pays more to a former Speaker of the House than it does to some congressman from Bakersfield.

    • flipht
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      fedilink
      41 year ago

      I mean, sure. But it also helps if you were an effective speaker.

      Any lobbying firm hiring this speaker, who can’t keep the house’s business flowing, won’t be able to do shit when he isn’t speaker either.

    • @books
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      31 year ago

      Probably some truth to that, but also had an embarrassing nomination process, and had to give away way too much power.

      Like, it’s an impressive resume booster if you are a successful speaker of the house, or if you have enough sense to bow out at a reasonable time… but who gives a shit what is on his resume when the first thing you get when you google Kevin Mcarthy is the fact that he let one person write his death warrant as speaker, or the fact that he had 15 votes to get the gavel in the first place.

      I legitimately think that he believes he was more political savy than someone like Paul Ryan, and I don’t believe anyone in their right mind would agree with that.