Far-Right Legislators Who Made McCarthy Fight For Speakership Don’t Sound Keen On This Deal

As details of the deal struck between the White House and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy’s negotiators emerged through the weekend, it became clear that some of the furthest-right members of the House are not pleased.

Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC), for instance, offered up a vomiting emoji.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-TX) remarked that “virtually no cuts is not what we agreed to.”

McCarthy took to Fox News on Sunday to defend the deal against a line of critical questioning, and the criticisms of his fellow Republican lawmakers.

“I think you’re going to get a majority of Republicans voting for this bill,” McCarthy said.

“More than 95 percent of all those in the conference were very excited,” he added.

That math invited more critiques. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) appeared to call that 95% “NPCs” — seemingly a joke about “non-playable characters,” or people with no influence.

Rep. Chip Roy also took issue with the “95%” line.

In a separate tweet, Roy said he would try to stop the bill from passing.

The House Freedom Caucus, which includes a few dozen members of the House’s right wing, had tremendous influence on McCarthy’s initial list of demands, which took the form of a bill that passed the House in April. As the White House began to negotiate with McCarthy, Freedom Caucus members giddily heaped new demands atop the speaker. They also questioned whether the U.S. would truly run out of money to meet its obligations in June, at one point demanding that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen “show her math.”

If Democrats support the deal, McCarthy will not necessarily be reliant on these far-right members’ votes. But they do hold over him the ability to challenge his speakership should he displease them. As he fought to win far-right votes for his speakership in January, he reluctantly agreed to an arrangement that would allow a single lawmaker to force a vote to oust him from the role. So far, he has not faced any such votes.

Many Democrats are also unhappy with the deal — both with the hostage situation through which it came about, and with its contents. Provisions strengthening work requirements for SNAP for people in their early 50s have prompted particular frustration.

Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has at times been a surprise ally of McCarthy, struck a different note.

The first stop for the legislative text stemming from the deal will be the House Rules Committee on Tuesday. Reps. Roy and Norman sit on the committee, as well as another member of Congress who has sounded critical of the bill, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).

Punchbowl reported Monday that Democrats on the rules committee are also not keen to help Republicans resolve the situation they created by voting to bring the bill to the House floor.

According to Yellen, the government will be unable to borrow more money, and will begin to default on its obligations, on June 5 — a week from today.