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McCarthy, All Carrots and No Sticks, Grinned His Way to the Speakership


WASHINGTON — For days as far-right lawmakers voted again and again to prevent him from becoming a speaker, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California sat on the floor of the House of Representatives with a grin on his face.

Speaking to reporters, he dismissed the notion that his historic and humiliating election slogan – the longest running campaign since 1859 – foreshadowed any trouble to come for him. in ruling with a narrow and unruly majority.

“This is the great part,” Mr. McCarthy said. “Because it took so long, now we have learned to manage.”

What has become perhaps the most painful and grisly week of McCarthy’s political career has also reaffirmed a portrait of him known to both his allies and detractors: that of class likable chieftain who is completely carrot and stickless, and moreover adept at political support and strategy than policymaking or legislative lobbying.

At the 15th vote early Saturday morning, when Mr McCarthy finally won the right to speak, it appeared his flexibility was paying off.

It’s very near zero.

Late on Friday night, just when it looked like Mr. McCarthy would finally win over the speaker’s hammer that had eluded him for so long, it was suddenly snatched from him at the last minute, in a tense moment above floor of the House of Representatives when some of his remaining opponents refused to bow.

As the vote drags on, it becomes clear that Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, who has emerged as Mr McCarthy’s main rival, will become the decisive vote. And when Mr. Gaetz voted “present,” depriving McCarthy of the majority support McCarthy needed, the California Republican turned pale, rose from his chair, and walked across the House of Representatives to speak to Gaetz himself. .

After Mr. Gaetz gesticulated and energetically refused Mr. McCarthy’s request, for the first time this week, Mr. McCarthy’s shoulders sagged markedly, and he shuffled slowly back to the floor and sat down. slouched down in his chair.

But after former President Donald J. Trump made a phone call to a group of key supporters and a frenetic bargain in the House of Representatives, Mr. McCarthy grinned again. About an hour later, he won the right to speak.

It comes after he made a series of sweeping concessions that significantly undermined his power as speaker and created an unwieldy environment in the House of Commons, where the party’s slim majority Republicans and far-right troublemakers are ready. promise to make it difficult to accomplish anything.

Representative Dusty Johnson of South Dakota, an ally of McCarthy, said: “The sticks don’t work in this town. “I heard they might work across the aisle. They certainly don’t work for the Republican party. You are not going to threaten and prevent people from doing the right thing, especially not with a narrow majority.”

That style, however, doesn’t seem particularly suited to the challenge McCarthy faces in cracking down on a group of dissident House Republicans who are obsessed with political parties. Legislative details and procedural break skills.

In part, the disconnect facilitated the historic duel on McCarthy’s stage, further emboldening a group of defectors who neither feared nor respected him, and who had expected wanted to get concessions from a legislator who offered it. He’s obviously not going to stop at anything to win the job. Mr. Gaetz said on Tuesday that legislators should not give office to someone who is willing to sell “his shares for” it.

Russ Vought, president of the Center for American Innovation, rejoices: “You have the moment when McCarthy really wants it and just burned coals for four wonderful days. Republican leaders have suggested.

Carrots may have succeeded in winning the speaker McCarthy’s hammer. But his willingness to compromise also ensures that he has virtually no control over the rebels in his ranks and ensures that the House can carry out its most basic duties in two years. such as funding the government, including the military, or avoiding a catastrophic federal default.

“He’s going to have to live his entire role as a speaker in a tight coat built by the rules we’re working on now,” said Mr. Gaetz.

However, both admirers and detractors say Mr McCarthy’s total willingness to sit in the House of Commons to pass the vote follows a humiliating vote against him – even if he offers a A series of concessions without knowing whether right-wing deserters would give in – were crucial to his change. Under pressure to step aside when there seemed to be no chance to counter the speaker’s hammer, he continued.

It also helps McCarthy’s argument that no viable opponent, like Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who wields his whip, or Patrick T. McHenry of North Carolina, ever stepped out to introduce himself. himself as a consensus candidate that could end the deadlock.

A longtime politician born and raised in one of California’s few remaining conservative groups, the agricultural and oil town of Bakersfield, McCarthy succeeded in the California State Assembly as was a minority leader, where he was known as a people pleaser. discounters, who shared iPods as gifts to their colleagues and compiled brochures to better remember their birthdays and wedding anniversaries.

That friendly style lasted into the Tea Party era, when Mr. McCarthy and friends calling themselves “Young Guns” Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and Eric Cantor of Virginia helped recruit a group of take-out candidates. populist-inspired people who helped sweep their party to a majority in the House and Mr. McCarthy became leader.

Mr. McCarthy watched the far right of that majority remove John A. Boehner of Ohio from his speaker position in 2015 and block his own first attempt at securing the job, after 40 members. members declared that they would not support him, questioning his conservative credentials.

They were also displeased when he suggested in a Fox News interview that the House committee investigating the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, had the political purpose of damaging the presidential campaign. by Hillary Clinton.

The California Republican Party quickly allied with Mr. Trump, endorsing him as the party’s nominee in 2016 even when Ryan was unwilling to do so, eventually cultivating a relationship so close that Mr. called him “my Kevin”. He famously gave Mr Trump a pack of Starburst candy in the former president’s favorite flavor.

Relations fractured after January 6, 2021, when pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol over lies about a stolen election, and McCarthy delivered a speech in the House of Representatives. condemn the role of Mr. Trump.

“The president is responsible for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioting,” he said. “He should have immediately denounced the crowd when he saw what was going on. These facts require President Trump to act immediately.”

But the speech angered Mr. Trump, and Mr. McCarthy quickly worked to win back the former president, arriving at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, three weeks later to meet him.

Almost exactly two years later, Mr. Trump helped count the votes for Mr. McCarthy this week, telling Republicans on Truth Social, his social media site, that “Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – WATCH! “

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