HARDBALL: McCarthy’s future on the line as he whips debt ceiling deal.
Basic political wisdom dictates that McCarthy needs a majority of House Republicans to support the bill in order to maintain his political power, and McCarthy has repeatedly said that he will meet that standard. He knows he’ll need Democratic help to pass the measure, but the more GOP members that vote with him, the better for the Speaker.
“If a majority of Republicans are against a piece of legislation and you use Democrats to pass it, that would immediately be a black letter violation of the deal we had with McCarthy to allow his ascent to the Speakership, and it would likely trigger an immediate motion to vacate,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said on Newsmax on Tuesday – referring to a move to oust McCarthy from the Speakership.
As of Tuesday evening, more than two dozen members of the slim, four-seat GOP majority said they will vote against the bill, meaning McCarthy will need to rely on Democratic members supporting the Biden-blessed deal to pass the bill.
If more Democrats than Republicans vote for the bill, McCarthy could be in hot water.
It would also be a measure of the conservative quality of the bill, something that usually gets lost in these horse race type reports.