House Republicans Rebel Against McCarthy Over Debt Deal

On Tuesday, a group of House conservatives staged a rebellion against their own party leaders, specifically targeting Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The rebellion was met with surprise from senior Republicans, leaving some concerned about possible efforts to undercut the Speaker and his team in the future.

Tensions seemingly stemmed from the debt-vote controversy, in which many House Republicans have claimed that they are being “strong-armed” by GOP leaders.

House members spent nearly an hour on Tuesday trying to resolve the issues of those who expressed disapproval, which interfered with plans to pass legislation that would protect gas stoves from being banned under President Joe Biden and his administration. Contrary to what Republican leaders had expected, about a dozen conservatives voted against moving forward with the bill.

Those who voted no wanted to reject other legislation as well in an attempt to make their point.

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia) was a prominent voice amongst House conservatives on Tuesday, presenting the accusation that GOP leaders had threatened to sink his bill to repeal a gun regulation unless he advanced their debt deal. Clyde criticized the manipulative methods being used by his party.

“Democrats might do that a lot,” Clyde said, “but I don’t think that has a place in the Republican majority.”

Members of the Freedom Caucus also expressed anger on Tuesday concerning Republican leadership’s work on the debt deal. Some even suggested the possibility of moving to oust McCarthy and his team.

When asked whether they would attempt to overthrow McCarthy, though, conservatives called it “the nuclear” option.

“Right now I think we need to work on the issues in the Republican conference before we deal with motion to vacate [the Speakership],” said Clyde. “I would much prefer to see us work things out.”