Rep. Thomas Massie, a longtime conservative maverick, is waving caution flags over Rep. Matt Gaetz’s threat to try to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy this week.
“I fear that attempting to vacate Speaker McCarthy at this juncture is a bad idea that will lead to worse outcomes for conservatives,” Mr. Massie, Kentucky Republican, said Sunday on X.
Mr. Massie is the only still-serving sponsor from the last motion to vacate the speaker post. In 2015, then-Rep. Mark Meadows, North Carolina Republican, led the effort to oust then-Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican. Mr. Boehner stepped down as speaker and resigned from Congress in October 2015. He was replaced as speaker by Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican.
Mr. Gaetz, Florida Republican, announced Sunday that he will file a motion to vacate against Mr. McCarthy after the passage of a clean stopgap spending measure Saturday night, citing a lack of trust within the party. Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, said he thinks Mr. Gaetz’s attack is personal and he’ll survive the motion.
In a post on X Monday, Mr. Massie clarified why he thinks ousting Mr. McCarthy would be a bad idea: an omnibus spending bill.
“Creating a Republican vacancy in the Republican controlled House, while [Senate Majority Leader Charles E.] Schumer & [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell lead the Senate, seems like a recipe for an Omnibus,” he wrote.
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“Forcing the existing Speaker or a new Speaker into a power sharing arrangement with House Democrats probably results in an Omni too,” he said.
An omnibus bill would group together several appropriations bills into a single piece of legislation that Republicans might not want. Mr. Gaetz has been vocal about pushing Mr. McCarthy to send single-subject spending bills to the House floor for votes with open amendments.
The clean stopgap spending bill passed Saturday to avoid a government shutdown did not include any funding for Ukraine, which some House Republicans were staunchly against, or funds for border security, an addition that Democrats would have rejected.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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