McCarthy GOP Ally Dares Matt Gaetz Et Al. To Actually Oust The Speaker

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WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 18: Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) walks to House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building on July 18, 2023 in Washington, DC. As members walked to the conference meeting reporters ... WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 18: Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) walks to House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building on July 18, 2023 in Washington, DC. As members walked to the conference meeting reporters asked questions on topics pertaining to House Democrats recent resolution to censure Rep. George Santos (R-NY) and former U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that he is a target in Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) MORE LESS

September 25, 2023 6:15 p.m.

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One of the few tools far-right House Republicans have at their disposal to keep House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in their clutches is their ability to force a vote to oust him as speaker. It’s one of the many concessions he made to secure the gavel and why many speculate that McCarthy keeps returning to the hostage negotiation table with hardliners as they force a near-inevitable shutdown.

The speaker has just a few more days when the House comes back tomorrow to try to wrangle his caucus into agreeing on anything. As it becomes increasingly clear that a handful of far-right members aren’t going to accede to anything that would actually help avert a shutdown, McCarthy and his closest allies are becoming increasingly candid about their irritation with members like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and others, whom his allies have affectionately described as the “burn-it-all-down caucus.”

One such ally, Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA), spoke out about the hardliners’ gambit on Sunday, threatening to force Gaetz & Co.’s hand by filing a motion to vacate the speakership. Here’s what he told CNN:

“I don’t think the speaker is even remotely concerned about some of the theatrics going on right now,” he said. “As a matter of fact … I drafted a motion to vacate for the speaker as well. I’ve got it sitting on my desk right now. And I said, ‘Look, if you’re going to keep hanging this over [his] head and playing these games, let’s just do it now, let’s get it over with. Get your little games over with and then we’ll get back to the things that actually matter.’”