House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s speakership position is currently at risk as he faces stiff opposition to his latest spending bill.
This may force him into attempting to compromise with Democrats in order to get it passed.
This has been a major challenge for McCarthy since January when he suffered 14 failed votes before finally winning a majority of his caucus to take the speaker’s gavel.
Now, the fight over the coming vote on the budget bill is shaping up as an especially perilous time for him and could put his position in jeopardy.
The “move to vacate” provision that McCarthy accepted upon becoming speaker allows a single Republican representative to bring a motion of removal against him from the speakership chair, which makes him far less stable than any previous holder of this seat.
Conservatives are now saying that if he compromises too much with Democrats on the budget then they will bring this rule into effect.
Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho said if McCarthy does not hold strong against President Joe Biden and Democratic demands then they will initiate proceedings against him.
Compounding matters is McCarthy’s reluctance to launch impeachment proceedings against Biden.
Some conservative members are pushing hard for these proceedings but there are only 222 Republicans compared to 212 Democrats so they do not have enough votes without involving moderate Republicans who were elected in districts won by Biden last year.
The speaker has stated that he wants these representatives heard before taking any action, something which further stalls progress on determining a resolution regarding impeachment or passing the budget bill without compromise.
