McCarthy Won't Give Anything To Dems In Return For Support In Speaker Ballot

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has told CNBC that, "Democrats have not asked for anything, and I am not going to provide anything in speakership vote."

• McCarthy's comments come after conservative House Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) yesterday submitted a resolution to oust McCarthy in response to the bipartisan Continuing Resolution and an alleged "secret side deal" with President Biden on Ukraine funding.
• House Democrats and House Republicans will hold conference meetings today at 09:00 ET 14:00 BST to discuss strategy. It appears unlikely that McCarthy can keep hold of the gavel without some level of support from Democrats.
• Democrat support could come in two forms. They could support McCarthy and table the motion, effectively blocking the resolution from coming to the floor.
• Should the resolution come up for a vote, they could vote in favour of McCarthy or they could vote “present.” As the Speaker ballot requires a simple majority of voting members, if Democrats vote “present,” it would lower the number of GOP votes McCarthy would require. A Democrat “present” vote would roughly translate as half-a-vote in favour of McCarthy.
• It is currently unclear if Democrat will be willing to support McCarthy considering his approval of a Biden impeachment inquiry and his rejection of agreed topline spending levels for FY24 appropriations bills.
• Democrats will also have an eye on 2024. McCarthy’s prolific fundraising contributed to a mini “red wave” in New York at last year's midterms. Vulnerable Democrat House reps will likely press Jeffries to withhold support from McCarthy.