Politics- If Matt Gaetz forces a vote on ousting Kevin McCarthy, House Democrats will have to decide what to do.
- One top Democrat is floating bailing him out — if he puts an end to the Biden impeachment inquiry.
A top House Democrat suggested that members of her caucus could vote against a motion to boot House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his job. But the price for that vote is probably too steep for him to accept.
In a podcast interview with POLITICO, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts was asked what it would take for Democrats to bail out the top Republican as he faces the ongoing threat of a "motion to vacate" vote from Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
"Listen, we've been here waiting to have Kevin McCarthy ask for our help in governing responsibly," said Clark. "I haven't gotten that call."
But when pressed further, Clark began to list some of the things that Democrats would be interested in seeing from McCarthy.
"We want to get disaster aid out, we want to continue our support for Ukraine, and we want them to end this sham of an impeachment inquiry," said Clark. "If Kevin McCarthy chooses to... get back to work for the American people, to do the right thing, we're going to be there to, you know, meet and compromise with him."
Needless to say, McCarthy is unlikely to do anything of the sort.
He would face fury from members of his own caucus, former President Donald Trump, and the Republican base if he ended the impeachment inquiry simply to keep his job. But Clark's comments illustrate where Democrats' heads are on the question.
Meanwhile, several progressive Democrats told Insider recently that if the vote comes up, they'd gladly vote to tank McCarthy.
"I mean, if that vote comes up, I'll vote to vacate," Rep. Maxwell Frost of Florida said last week. "I think Kevin McCarthy is a horrible speaker."
But one, Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, floated the vague notion of trying to cut a deal with the House Speaker.
"We should have a conversation with him about whether we're going to stop deliberately hurting the American people with their votes every week," Casar said at the time.
"A small number of Freedom Caucus members have been able to do a ton of damage," the Texas Democrat added. "I think that a significant number of progressive members hopefully can stop a bunch of that damage."