Kevin McCarthy apparently gave away the farm to put him in place to win the Speakership of the US House. But the list of items requested for votes is missing the biggest thing.
The Daily Mail reports:
Kevin McCarthy‘s concessions to a group of arch conservatives has won him 15 votes and (maybe) counting – while also likely ensuring future headaches, floor fights, Senate clashes and perhaps even a crisis over whether the U.S. goes into default.
The final concessions that McCarthy negotiated were enough to bring over a group of fellow elected lawmakers who had voted against him repeatedly on 12 successive votes, amid the prolonged televised spectacle.
They got nearly everything they asked for – beyond subcommittee gavels that other members of the Conference rejected as an unfair boost, although McCarthy still wasn’t able to prevail on the 13th vote to elect him as Speaker.
According to the report, the list of items McCarthy promised is as follows:
- Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus got commitments to be added to the Rules panel. The committee exerts tremendous power by setting the terms of debate, but usually operates as a tool of the Speaker. (It traditionally has a 9:4 ratio, so the majority never loses).
- McCarthy had already agreed to a five-vote requirement to make the motion, which sets up essentially a vote of no-confidence in the Speaker, and agreed to lower it to a single lawmaker.
- McCarthy has agreed to take a hard line on increasing the statutory debt limit – which Congress must lift to accommodate spending it has agreed to through appropriations.
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The holdouts reportedly got a pledge to get floor votes on term limits and border security. The former in particular could drive a wedge through the conference. McCarthy himself was elected to the House in 2006.
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The Conservative Leadership Fund, a PAC backed by McCarthy, brokered a deal with the Club for Growth that will impact Republicans that join the House in the future. The CLF committed to stay out of ‘open’ primaries when a lawmakers vacates a seat. That gives arch conservatives a chance to prevail in a primary without getting pounded by leadership, which sometimes weighs in on behalf of candidates deemed more ‘electable.’
- McCarthy reportedly agreed to allow ‘open rules’ on spending measures, which could lead to lengthy debates and efforts to zero out funding for programs unpopular with Republicans.
- Another concessions is a cap on discretionary spending, CNN reported. although spending levels are usually negotiated by both chambers – and get influenced by the president’s budget requests.
- Republicans are girding to take on the Biden administration, and the rebels forced a commitment to set up a committee on the ‘weaponization’ of the DOJ. The idea had been floated as a subcommittee on the House Judiciary Committee. It’s exact structure and membership was uncertain.
