Democrats Face Big Decision on McCarthy

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is facing threats from hard-line Republicans to force a vote on ousting him from his post, which could soon thrust Democrats into a difficult decision: Do they save the Speaker who opened an impeachment inquiry into their president or join Republicans in booting him? Democrats have not formulated a strategy for handling such a vote, dismissing questions as hypothetical and insisting that they are focused on funding the government and averting a shutdown ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline1.

Here are the key bullet points:

• Hard-line Republican threats to force a vote on ousting Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his post could soon thrust Democrats into a difficult decision.
• Democrats have not formulated a strategy for handling such a vote, dismissing questions as hypothetical and insisting that they are focused on funding the government and averting a shutdown ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.
• McCarthy hasn’t been able to unite his fractious conference around a plan to fund the government, threats to oust him are growing louder, and internal GOP sniping is spilling into public view.
• McCarthy opponents have teased that there will be an alternative candidate for Speaker revealed at some point, but have declined to come together to name a consensus alternative, fearing backlash.
• Supporters of McCarthy argue that he has earned the position after leading House Republicans back to the majority through gains in both the 2020 and 2022 elections. The Democrats' decision on whether to save or end McCarthy's Speakership could have significant implications for the future of the House of Representatives.