GOP lawmaker says Kevin McCarthy is ’emasculating’ himself by reaching debt ceiling deal with Biden, calls for his removal as Speaker of the House

Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina.

Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina.Win McNamee and Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

  • GOP Rep. Dan Bishop has called for the impeachment of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House after reaching a debt ceiling compromise with Biden.

  • “I think it has to be done,” Bishop said at a news conference on Tuesday.

  • He also accused McCarthy of “emasculating himself” and urged Republicans not to vote for compromise.

North Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop on Tuesday called for the impeachment of Rep. Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House, after McCarthy reached an agreement with Speaker Joe Biden to suspend the debt ceiling until 2025.

Bishop, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, is the first Republican lawmaker to publicly demand McCarthy’s ouster.

His comments came after a caucus press conference in which members urged GOP lawmakers not to vote for the deal, saying it did not cut spending enough. McCarthy said the House will vote on the Fiscal Responsibility Act on Wednesday and the Democratic-controlled Senate will need to vote on the measure by June 5 to avoid a default.

“I think it needs to be done,” Bishop told reporters, referring to McCarthy’s removal as a speaker.

“I’m just sick of the lies,” he said, according to The Hill. “I’m sick of the lack of courage, the cowardice. And I fully intend to make sure that there is someone who is ready to say what to do.”

But he didn’t say whether he would file a petition about it, saying, “I’ll decide that in conjunction with others.”

The North Carolina lawmaker also excoriated McCarthy in an interview with Steve Bannon, who briefly served as President Donald Trump’s chief White House strategist.

“All you hear in the mainstream media is Kevin McCarthy is an adult. Kevin McCarthy is a leader. Kevin McCarthy is in charge,” Bannon said. “What does that tell you, Congressman?” »

“Thinly concealed joy,” Bishop replied, adding that McCarthy “didn’t want to gloat because people wouldn’t vote for it.”

He went on to call the debt ceiling compromise a “disaster”, saying it represents a “complete capitulation of the momentum created in January”, when McCarthy became Speaker of the House. Bishop also said McCarthy is “emasculating himself and the Republican majority” by making a bipartisan deal to avoid a default.

He urged House Republicans not to vote for the Fiscal Responsibility Act and to force McCarthy to pass it with Democratic votes. He also said Republicans who support the bill risk “themselves being destroyed by voting for it.”

“If they do, they’re gone,” Bishop said.

Biden announced the debt ceiling deal on Sunday, saying it would remove the threat of a “catastrophic default.”

McCarthy said he expects more than 95% of House Republicans to vote for the bill, adding in a statement Sunday that it would limit Biden’s White House spending by “[forcing] the executive branch to find dollar-for-dollar savings in government for costly rules and regulations, so that executive overreach is contained and held accountable.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Leave a Comment