EXCLUSIVE — House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) still has a viable path to the speakership despite repeated setbacks thrown his way, according to one Republican in talks with GOP leadership and the defectors.
Some 20 Republicans have so far refused to back McCarthy for the top House post.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that the California Republican has worked with the defectors, but they have continued to move the goalposts when it comes to demands.
“There was a lot of late-night conversations with, like, leadership teams. I’ve personally spoken with a lot of these guys. It’s just really hard to get, like … ‘What do you need?’” Crenshaw told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday morning ahead of a fourth vote that failed shortly after the conversation. “It’s a very strange conversation.”
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“As far as the tangible items that they want, they’ve gotten pretty much all of them. It becomes less clear beyond that,” said Crenshaw. “There’s certain things they want that McCarthy can’t deliver them, like committee assignments. It’s like they forget that we have a steering committee.”
The divide is emblematic of the fractions within the Republican Party and how a few holdouts could derail legislation over the next two years. Republicans won a majority last November but by small numbers — 222 of the 434 filled seats.
McCarthy needs 218 votes of support from members but has fallen short.
Crenshaw applauded former President Donald Trump for urging all Republicans to back McCarthy, which was noteworthy given that the 20 outliers are ardent Trump supporters. But the endorsement did not move the needle Wednesday.
The breakdown of agreement among Republicans comes down to two different views on how deep the party should draw a line in the sand in general, not necessarily ideological differences.
“There’s a difference in how different factions of the Republican Party view reality,” said Crenshaw. “Some of us say, ‘Look, we can push this forward. We can accomplish this much.’ And then there’s a wall in front of us. And that wall is the Senate, that wall is the president, that wall is the basic constructs of our laws and Constitution, that wall is public opinion.
“The other faction of the Republican Party just don’t believe those walls exist. That’s when they get very frustrated; they get really mad,” Crenshaw continued. “That other faction will say, ‘Well, they’re just sellouts.’ Right? And that this is where the bomb-throwing comes in — ‘establishment [Republican in name only] sellouts.'”
Crenshaw said the name-calling and taunting only produces frustration among leadership and claims from sideliners of “victimhood” by the rest of the party. He vented further to a Washington Post reporter Wednesday.
“I’m tired of your stupid platitudes that some — that some consultant told you to say on the campaign trail, all right? Behind closed doors, tell us what you actually want or shut the f*** up,” Crenshaw told reporter Dylan Wells.
Rep. @DanCrenshawTX is pissed.
“I’m tired of your stupid platitudes that some that some consultant told you to say on the campaign trail, alright. Behind closed doors tell us what you actually want, or shut the fuck up,” he said of the 20 defectors.
— Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) January 4, 2023
Even if McCarthy can lock down 218 votes, the path forward, notably in the appropriations process, is likely to be hijacked by many of the same Republicans who refused to cooperate this week.
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“We’re going to push ourselves to use as much leverage as we possibly can,” said Crenshaw, “My worry is that one faction will just never be satisfied with that. They’ll move the goalposts. They’ll say, ‘You could have done better.’ ‘How can we do better?’ And they won’t have an answer for that.”
