House members' war on Kevin McCarthy could leave GOP 'hopelessly damaged': former top GOP advisor

In a column for the New York Times, a former top adviser to House Speakers John Boehner (R-OH) and Paul Ryan (R-WI) hammered the GOP House members who are balking at voting for current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), saying that they are doing long-term damage to the party.

With the House convening after the holiday break, the California Republican is struggling to round up the 218 votes he needs to become speaker and resistance to his ascension appears to be growing after nine GOP House members sent off a letter to him over the weekend making more demands.

According to Brendan Buck, the inability of McCarthy to not immediately assume the Speaker's chair would be "no small event."

For the Times he wrote, "A small band of Republican misfits have vowed to vote against Kevin McCarthy, the party’s nominee for speaker. With a razor-thin majority, just five Republicans voting against him could deny Mr. McCarthy the gavel, before adding, "... a self-serving power play by a small group of Republicans threatens to make a mockery of the institution and further cement the notion that the party is not prepared to lead."

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For the Republican House majority, he claimed, things could not be worse.

"A failed vote would badly weaken Mr. McCarthy or whoever the new speaker will be. The House is a majoritarian institution, and a speaker’s power is ultimately derived from the ability to produce the 218 votes needed to do business. If Republicans are unable to muster the votes for a speaker, it will make very clear from the outset they cannot be counted on to fulfill the body’s basic responsibilities," he explained before lamenting, "no matter who ultimately emerges as the top House Republican, the prolonged spectacle would leave the Republican majority hopelessly damaged from the start, along with the institution of the House itself."

Writing, "Mr. McCarthy won an overwhelming vote within the House Republican conference to be the next speaker. Those opposing him know they are badly outnumbered, but they simply don’t care," Buck accused before concluding, "The dissident members believe a weak speaker would make them more powerful. In truth, it would benefit no one."

You can read his whole piece here.