Gaetz Pitches House Dems On McCarthy Replacement

CNN reports:

With the clock ticking down toward a government shutdown, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz approached a Democratic lawmaker on the House floor this week with a surprising pitch. Gaetz then floated veteran Republican Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma and House GOP Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota as two alternative examples he had in mind, and then attempted to gauge whether this member would be open to supporting an effort to oust McCarthy.

But McCarthy’s critics aren’t the only ones privately courting House Democrats to play for their team in the ongoing speaker drama. GOP moderates and pragmatic members have also been working Democrats on a plan to get them out of a likely government shutdown and build a consensus to save McCarthy if he faces a so-called “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair – an effort that has taken on more urgency since a House GOP stopgap bill failed on the floor Friday.

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With their votes up for grabs, Democrats are starting to weigh their asking price for what would be a difficult decision: either save Speaker Kevin McCarthy or team up with one of his chief antagonists to oust McCarthy and throw the House into chaos https://t.co/pFK78pvQ6v

— CNN (@CNN) September 30, 2023