PRESS RELEASE Contact: [email protected]
For Immediate Release
Date: January 9, 2023
Washington, D.C. – Last week, Kevin McCarthy gave into the demands of the MAGA faction of the House in order to win the speaker’s gavel. This cements the power of the most extreme members of the House, and Donald Trump’s closest allies are now fully in charge of the House of Representatives – further endangering our democracy and our most fundamental rights.
“The simple truth is that MAGA controls the Republican caucus in Congress. MAGA now owns the Speaker and every leadership position in the House. The most extreme members, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, are pulling the strings behind closed doors,” said Defend Democracy Project Communications Director, Nicole Haley. “Rather than focusing on issues Americans care about, this MAGA extremist faction is ready to launch partisan investigations into their political opponents and use their power to strip away our freedoms and pursue their own radical agenda. Such an agenda that is spearheaded by Donald Trump himself.”
Kevin McCarthy’s Concessions Put Extremists In Charge of the House of Representatives
CNN: McCarthy Is Speaker, But The Extremists Hold The Power. “…The risk for McCarthy is not just that he undermined his own tenure by agreeing to one particular rule change that means a single member can call for a vote to topple him at any time. It is that he has empowered extremists who could alienate mainstream America and in 2024 endanger the tiny new GOP majority that was built on flipping formerly Democratic seats in states like New York and California. The ideological extremism of the new House was encapsulated by the fact that on the second anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, McCarthy needed the help of former President Donald Trump, who incited the worst attack on democracy in modern times, to get over the line in the cliffhanger final ballot. In a chilling reminder of that day of infamy, Brazil suffered its own version of January 6 on Sunday as a mob loyal to defeated former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings. Like Trump, Bolsonaro lost reelection after raising unsubstantiated doubts about the fairness of the vote. But after last week’s farcical events in the US, which saw McCarthy constantly outwitted or betrayed by rebel lawmakers and a fight almost break out on the House floor, the triumphant radical wing of the House GOP is making no apologies. ‘We need a little of this sort of breaking the glass in order to get us to the table, in order for us to fight for the American people,’ Texas Rep. Chip Roy, a leading conservative who extracted concessions from McCarthy in return for the votes of a bloc of lawmakers, told Jake Tapper on CNN’s ‘State of the Union.’ ‘Are we going to have this kind of conflict going forward? I hope so,’ he added.” [CNN, 1/9/23]
The National Review: Kevin McCarthy Thanks Trump after Speakership Win: ‘I Don’t Think Anybody Should Doubt His Influence’. “Kevin McCarthy thanked former president Donald Trump early Saturday morning for helping him finally secure a win in the 15th round of voting for the House speakership. ‘I do want to especially thank President Trump,’ McCarthy told reporters. ‘I don’t think anybody should doubt his influence. He was with me from the beginning … he was all in.’ ‘He would call me, and he would call others. He really was — I was just talking to him tonight — helping get those final votes,’ McCarthy said. ‘What he’s really saying, really, for the party and the country, that we have to come together. We have to focus on the economy. We’ve got to focus, make our borders secure. We gotta do so much work to do, and he was a great influence to make that all happen. So, thank you President Trump.’ McCarthy at last clinched the speakership just after midnight Saturday after an all-week marathon of ballots and negotiations and a heated final stretch on the House floor.” [The National Review, 1/7/23]
The Washington Post: Kevin McCarthy, A Divided Republican Party And The Curse Of Jan. 6. “…That it took McCarthy so much effort to win the speakership is a direct reflection of how Jan. 6 influenced what happened two months ago in the midterm elections, when House Republicans fell far short of their expectations and McCarthy was left to scratch for votes in a conference with the slimmest of majorities. […] Yet they only had themselves to blame. Even after the attack on the Capitol, a majority of House Republicans sought to challenge the results in the electoral college. Trump’s continuing lies about a stolen election infected the party’s rank and file. A majority of people who identify themselves as Republicans still say they do not believe President Biden was legitimately elected in 2020. […] McCarthy had an opportunity to distance himself and his party from the mayhem of the former president. For a brief moment, he condemned Trump, only to pay penance with a visit to Mar-a-Lago and continuing obeisance to Trump in the two years since. Had he sought to move his party away from election denialism, Republicans might have done better in November and he could have done what every other speaker in the last century had done, which was to win on a single ballot. House Republicans sought both to ignore and dismiss the work of the Jan. 6 committee. Many Americans, however, did not look away from the committee’s work.’ […] McCarthy has no doubt learned some things from what happened this week. Whether they are the right lessons in the aftermath of Jan. 6, 2021, and the midterm elections last November, will only become clear in the months ahead. The opening days of the 118th Congress leave little room for optimism that such is the case.” [The Washington Post, 1/7/23]
The Hill: Jeffries Says McCarthy Concessions To Far-Right Members ‘Just The Beginning’. “House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) concessions to far-right lawmakers in order to flip their votes in his favor during the Speakership elections are ‘just the beginning’ of ‘dysfunction’ in the new GOP-led House. ‘Well, our general concern is that the dysfunction that was historic that we saw this week is not at an end, it’s just the beginning,’ Jeffries said on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ with host Chuck Todd. ‘And while the Congress was held captive this particular time, what is going to be a problem is if the American people will be held captive over the next two years to the extreme ‘MAGA’ Republican agenda that apparently has been negotiated into the House rules and the functioning of the Congress,’ Jeffries said. […] McCarthy made a number of concessions to far-right lawmakers that empower the rank-and-file, including some of McCarthy’s own foes, at the expense of his own leadership, raising concerns that it could cripple government’s function.” [The Hill, 1/8/23]
Vanity Fair: “He Was All In”: Donald Trump’s Influence Over Congress Remains A Force To Be Reckoned With, Even If Waning. “Two years after former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6 to stop the election certification of Joe Biden, Congress is still in chaos as his presence haunts the House chamber and continues to fracture the Republican party. Although a group of Republicans refused to back Trump’s pick for speaker, Kevin McCarthy, last night gave new life to the former president, thanking the former president even though he did not provide any additional votes for McCarthy. After McCarthy won the race for House Speaker—after four days and 15 rounds of voting—he gave credit to Trump: ‘But I do want to especially thank President Trump. I don’t think anybody should doubt his influence. He was with me from the beginning,’ McCarthy told reporters after a dragged-out path to victory. ‘He was with me from the beginning — somebody wrote the doubt of whether he was there — and he was all in,’ McCarthy added. ‘He would call me, and he would call others. And he really was — I was just talking to him tonight — helping get those final votes.’ The lack of unwavering loyalty to Trump’s pleas exemplifies Trump’s waning influence in the party, while McCarthy’s display of gratitude underscores the hold the former president still has on many Republicans in Congress.” [Vanity Fair, 1/7/23]
CNN: McCarthy Speaker Saga Shows Trump Is Far From Untouchable Ahead Of 2024. “Kevin McCarthy’s seven-year-plus dream to become House speaker finally became reality early Saturday morning. The California Republican’s tumultuous journey concluded after six Republican holdouts voted ‘present,’ allowing him to win on the 15th ballot with a lower majority threshold. McCarthy credited Donald Trump for his support in the speaker’s race, and the former president was quick to bask in the glory of McCarthy’s victory. Make no mistake, though: McCarthy’s struggle to win the speaker’s gavel is only the latest indication that Trump’s brand among Republicans has been significantly weakened. Trump is no doubt still a powerful presence in the GOP, but he’s very vulnerable in his bid to win the Republican presidential nomination for a third time. […] The bottom line is that what happened to McCarthy and Trump’s inability to prevent a once-in-a-generation speaker ballot saga is a manifestation of what is going on among Republicans at large. Trump is no longer the dominant figure, untouchable by GOP voters. He isn’t even holding on to those Republicans who essentially thought he could walk on water. This leaves the answer to the question of who wins the 2024 Republican nomination very much unclear at this point.” [CNN, 1/8/23]
Fox News: Florida Rep. Byron Donalds Reveals Committee Appointment In Exchange For McCarthy House Speaker Vote. “To become House speaker, McCarthy had to make concessions to a group of hard-liners who refused to support him until he yielded to their demands. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., revealed on Sunday that he is being placed on the House Republican Steering Committee in exchange for supporting Kevin McCarthy for House speaker. […] The committee’s purpose is to assign fellow Republicans to other House committees. Donalds noted that his appointment to the Steering Committee was an important step to having ‘more [Republican] voices on more committees.’ Donalds was among a group of 20 hardline Republicans who refused to vote for McCarthy after he initially voted in his favor. He then switched to support Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, before his fellow Republicans nominated him for the role. […] To become speaker, and win over skeptics, McCarthy had to make concessions to a small group of hardliners who refused to support his ascension until he yielded to their demands. Now those promises — or at least some of them — are being put into writing to be voted on when lawmakers return this week for their first votes as the majority party.” [Fox News, 1/8/23]
MSNBC: Did Kevin McCarthy Pay Too High A Price For The Speaker’s Gavel? “…He survived by caving — making a deal in which McCarthy gave up more than he ever thought he’d have to. Asked why he ultimately allowed McCarthy to become speaker, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida conceded, ‘I ran out of things I could even imagine to ask for.’ McCarthy prevailed, in other words, because his opponents took ‘yes’ for an answer. Consider some of the most notable concessions: Motion to vacate the chair: Don’t get hung up on the congressional jargon. In practical terms, the motion to vacate the chair allows House members to oust their own sitting speaker — or at least try to — by way of a vote that effectively serves as a no-confidence vote. McCarthy said for weeks that he wouldn’t give in on this point, because he didn’t want that sword hanging over his head for the next two years, putting him in constant jeopardy. […] Rules Committee: Those who keep an eye on Congress might be under the impression that after a bill clears the relevant committee, it heads to the floor for a vote. But that’s not quite right: Measures first have to go to the Rules Committee, which sets the terms of the floor debate. McCarthy’s far-right opponents have reportedly secured three slots on this panel, which matters a great deal: With those Rules Committee seats, far-right Republicans could join with the panel’s Democrats in killing practically any piece of legislation before it has a chance to reach the floor. […] Yes, McCarthy’s ambitions have been fulfilled, and he’ll get to sit in a very nice office with a beautiful view. But he’s also agreed to a deal in which his most radical flank will have undue influence over the House’s direction, leaving him in a weaker position than any modern speaker.” [MSNBC, 1/9/23]
New York Times: House Republicans Preparing Broad Inquiry Into F.B.I. And Security Agencies. “Newly empowered House Republicans are preparing a wide-ranging investigation into law enforcement and national security agencies, raising the prospect of politically charged fights with the Biden administration over access to sensitive information like highly classified intelligence and the details of continuing criminal inquiries by the Justice Department. The House plans to vote this week on a resolution to create a special Judiciary subcommittee on what it calls the ‘weaponization of the federal government,’ a topic that Republicans have signaled could include reviewing investigations into former President Donald J. Trump. The panel would be overseen by Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, who is also poised to become the Judiciary Committee’s chairman. It remains to be seen who else Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who made numerous concessions to a far-right faction of his party to win the speakership, will put on it. In a Fox News interview on Friday evening, Representative Chip Roy of Texas, a lead negotiator for hard-right lawmakers who pushed Mr. McCarthy’s team for concessions, portrayed the panel as part of the agreement they struck for their support. He said Mr. McCarthy had committed to giving the subcommittee at least as much funding and staffing as the House special committee in the last Congress that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.” [New York Times, 1/8/23]
