Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy apparently lashed out at colleagues during a closed-door meeting to discuss the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Florida Representative Brian Mast told the Huffington Post that McCarthy let rip about threats to his position as Speaker and said, “If you think you scare me because you want to file a motion to vacate, move the f****** motion.”
Mr. McCarthy is facing growing opposition on Republican benches. Floridian Matt Gaetz believes the Speaker has not been robust enough since taking the gavel and warned that he must take a tougher line on negotiations with the White House, including on the debt ceiling and balancing the nation’s budgets.
Gaetz appeared to praise McCarthy’s hardline approach in pursuing impeachment proceedings against President Biden and tweeted, “Sounds like he’s getting my message.”
On September 13, McCarthy announced that an impeachment inquiry would progress, a move seen by many as a conciliation to warring Republicans. The formal inquiry will give GOP investigators more power to look for links between President Biden and the allegedly shady business dealings involving his son Hunter.
McCarthy is under fire as he negotiates with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown as funding dries up at the end of September. The Democrat-controlled Senate is pressuring the White House to increase spending while Republicans demand cuts.
The Speaker is, therefore, in the difficult position of trying to cut a deal that will please all sides of the GOP while the threat of a motion to remove him from his job hangs over him.
The impeachment process has likely bought McCarthy some time, but in reality, even if it were to gain the support of the House of Representatives, it would most probably die off in the Democrat-led Senate. A further complication arises on the right of the GOP as members want both tough negotiations with Biden and to avoid the possibility of a government shutdown, which would stop the impeachment inquiry in its tracks.
