What do you get when you combine a tiny legislative majority, a former president itching for influence and a rogue group of lawmakers who like making headlines? House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s hellish life these days. The pressure has been fierce on McCarthy to fashion an agreement with his caucus to stave off a government shutdown. But every day seems to bring another set of demands from hardline House Freedom Caucus members, who seem unwilling to accept a deal – and willing to risk a shutdown to make their points. The Conversation spoke with congressional expert Charles R. Hunt, a political scientist at Boise State University, about the current political standoff, its roots and what it means for people across the country.
Why does a small faction of GOP lawmakers have control over McCarthy?
The 2022 elections were much closer than Republicans thought they were going to be. And there is a big difference between having a 20-vote margin and the nine-vote margin that McCarthy has now. A big part of the speaker’s job is to whip votes and to keep people in line, mainly in the speaker’s own party. And that becomes much more difficult when you have such a small margin.
McCarthy’s job is made even more difficult by the extremist wing of the Republican Party. Though the extremists have been around for years, starting with the Tea Party during the Obama Administration, they have changed over the years. Back then, they were hyper-focused on true ideological battles such as small government and spending cuts.
What do you get when you combine a tiny legislative majority, a former president itching for influence and a rogue group of lawmakers who like making headlines? House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s hellish life these days. The pressure has been fierce on McCarthy to fashion an agreement with his caucus to stave off a government shutdown. But every day seems to bring another set of demands from hardline House Freedom Caucus members, who seem unwilling to accept a deal – and willing to risk a shutdown to make their points. The Conversation spoke with congressional expert Charles R. Hunt, a political scientist at Boise State University, about the current political standoff, its roots and what it means for people across the country.
Why does a small faction of GOP lawmakers have control over McCarthy?
The 2022 elections were much closer than Republicans thought they were going to be. And there is a big difference between having a 20-vote margin and the nine-vote margin that McCarthy has now. A big part of the speaker’s job is to whip votes and to keep people in line, mainly in the speaker’s own party. And that becomes much more difficult when you have such a small margin.
McCarthy’s job is made even more difficult by the extremist wing of the Republican Party. Though the extremists have been around for years, starting with the Tea Party during the Obama Administration, they have changed over the years. Back then, they were hyper-focused on true ideological battles such as small government and spending cuts.
It’s not that the current crop of lawmakers in the Freedom Caucus don’t want those things. But more and more, it’s not so much issue positions, but rather personality and culture that are driving this faction of Republicans – as well as the voters that they need to win.
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