1 year ago
51
Bruised and battered after a week of daily public humiliation, Kevin McCarthy has won the prize of being in charge of the House of Representatives. Just how powerless he’s going to as Speaker will in part be determined Monday evening, when the House reconvenes to vote on the rules package that will govern the 118th session, the package that was the subject of so much of the concessions McCarthy gave to the radical Freedom Caucus to be allowed to hold the gavel.
The stuff that everyone knows about that he gave away has caused some consternation among the 200 of the House GOP, and the secret stuff he gave away—all those rumored promises of committee seats and gavels—could combine to make passing this package dicey for McCarthy. As with the speaker’s vote, he has a margin of no more than four votes—it’s not clear yet how many members will be in town and voting Monday.
That uncertainty is going to be a daily headache for McCarthy with his tiny majority and his already proven difficulty in counting votes, by the way. Just one of many. The biggest one could end up being his caving in on the motion to vacate the chair. That’s the rule that allows for members to call immediate votes on ousting the Speaker.
