Kevin McCarthy struggles to maintain a foothold in his party as extremists rise within the GOP: report

House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is courting far-right extremists as he seeks to become the next Speaker of the House of Representatives following the 2022 midterm elections, according to a new report from the New York Times.

"Even as he courts the mainstream elements of his party, he has defended Republicans who have called the Jan. 6 riot a righteous cause. And he sided against a member of his own conference in throwing his support behind the Wyoming primary challenger, Harriet Hageman, whose central message is that Ms. Cheney should be ousted for breaking with Mr. Trump and daring to investigate the most brutal attack on the Capitol in centuries," Annie Karni and Jonathan Weisman reported.

The newspaper noted McCarthy "has been engaging in a series of political contortions to try to secure a foothold in a party that has shifted under his feet, catering to a group that may ultimately be his undoing. In doing so, he has both empowered the hard-right fringe and tethered his fate to it, helping to solidify its dominance in today’s Republican Party."

The newspaper noted McCarthy is under pressure from people like Joe Kent, a congressional challenger in Washington state, who says, "Our job is to obstruct and impeach, not to cut any deals.”

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McCarthy has sought to transform himself "into a credible leader of House’s far-right, even as he assures donors that he remains an ally who knows how to navigate a debt ceiling increase and bills to fund the government."

The newspaper reported the Central Valley congressman had once stood up to demagogues in his own party.

"The old CPAC was also open to the wide variety of conservative viewpoints. In 2012, both the GOP leaders in the Senate and House, Mitch McConnell and then-House Speaker John A. Boehner, gave speeches. All of the leading presidential candidates that year also had solo speaking slots, as did many who had dropped out by the time CPAC was held. Libertarians and Christian conservatives both had sponsored panels and star speakers," the New York Times report stated.