(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Several House Republicans and conservative personalities have initiated a campaign to remove Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from his position as House Speaker. The controversial move comes in response to McCarthy’s recent debt ceiling deal with embattled President Joe Biden and Democrats, which has raised concern about McCarthy’s ability to govern.
The debt ceiling debate between McCarthy and the White House came to a surprising end on Saturday when the House Speaker announced the deal. The text of the bill, which was released on Sunday, has been met with harsh criticism from several prominent Republican leaders. McCarthy said Republicans had three days to review the bill.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., torched the Biden deal as an “even more malodorous” plan than the GOP’s Limit, Save, Grow Act, which was passed earlier this year. “What a disaster,” Biggs added in a Sunday tweet. In a separate tweet, Biggs said the McCarthy-Biden deal does not “stop, or even slow down, deficit spending.”
I thought the GOP’s Limit, Save, Grow Act wasn’t a good plan because it increased our debt by $1.5 trillion in a few months.
But the McCarthy-Biden team produced an even more malodorous plan that will accelerate our nation’s debt, and our economic demise.
What a disaster.
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) May 28, 2023
Echoing Biggs’s concerns, Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., another conservative stalwart, called the deal “nothing material & just more talking points,” arguing that the agreement does not deal with debt.
Mounting criticism could lead to a congressional motion to oust McCarthy as the Republican leader in the House, warned Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, in a Sunday interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd on Meet the Press. Comer said that McCarthy deserves a chance to lead House Republicans but said there could be one person who “tries to abuse that motion.”
This “deal” is insanity.
A $4T debt ceiling increase with virtually no cuts is not what we agreed to.
Not gonna vote to bankrupt our country. The American people deserve better.
— Rep. Ralph Norman (@RepRalphNorman) May 28, 2023
Several provisions of the deal, including only withdrawing $1.9 billion from the leftist-ordered $80 billion funding to the IRS, have fueled calls to remove McCarthy.
Responding to the news that the bill only withdraws $1.9 billion from the IRS, congressional candidate Anthony Sabatini said on Monday, “Do we not have a single Republican with the courage to file a Motion to Vacate the chair?”
Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon blasted the Republican leader over what Bannon called a “total surrender” to the White House. In an interview with Newsweek, Bannon called the bill “not acceptable” and warned it will add another $4 to $5 trillion to the national debt.
“This shows no leadership whatsoever,” he added, also saying that a motion to vacate is likely to follow if the bill is passed.
Controversial activist Laura Loomer joined the calls to oust McCarthy, saying “MOTION TO VACATE. Too bad nobody in the GOP in Congress has the courage to do it.”
Political commentator Gunther Eagleman said McCarthy needed to be “held responsible for getting played by Joe Biden and the Democrats on the debt ceiling,” also adding a “#VacateTheChair” comment on a Sunday tweet.
McCarthy has dismissed the ousting efforts, saying he was “not at all worried.”
