House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vented his frustration about the hard-line conservatives holding up appropriations, dropping an expletive as he dared his fiercest critics to attempt a vote to oust him.
During a closed-door conference meeting Thursday, McCarthy addressed an uptick in threats from members to call a motion to vacate the chair — a move to force a vote on ousting the Speaker.
“If you want to file a motion to vacate, then file the f‑‑‑ing motion,” McCarthy said, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) recounted.
McCarthy’s comments follow Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) earlier this week explicitly threatening to call a motion to vacate if McCarthy does not follow through with a number of spending priorities and votes on bills that his detractors were promised in January.
And it also comes after hard-line conservatives, who have been battling with GOP leadership for months over topline numbers in spending bills, forced GOP leaders to punt consideration of a Department of Defense appropriations bill Wednesday.
“I showed frustration in here because I am frustrated,” McCarthy told reporters after the meeting. “Frustrated with some people in the conference.”
“We had the DOD appropriations bill yesterday, couldn’t put it on the floor,” McCarthy said. “I don’t have one complaint by any member of what’s wrong with this bill.”
The battles are playing out against the backdrop of a potential government shutdown deadline of Sept. 30 if Congress cannot pass a stopgap government funding bill — which the House Freedom Caucus has also put demands on.
The House departs after Thursday for the weekend in observance of Rosh Hashanah.
“But when we come back, we’re not going to leave,” McCarthy said.
Gaetz fired back at McCarthy.
“Instead of emotionally cursing, maybe the Speaker should just keep his word from January on balanced budgets, term limits and single-subject spending bills,” Gaetz told The Hill.
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