McCarthy plans drastic actions to 'institutionalize Trumpian priorities' if he becomes House speaker: report

On Thursday, Axios reported that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is already strategizing how he will run the House if the GOP takes the majority and elects him speaker — and many of his plans involve cutting off or sidelining interest groups that have traditionally leaned Republican for decades, but have not embraced former President Donald Trump.

The planned move is a sign that McCarthy will try to "institutionalize key Trumpian priorities" if he becomes the new House speaker, Axios said.

This would be a sharp departure from how former House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) conducted business — as he tried to put more emphasis on the traditional economic policy goals of the GOP, which align with those interest groups.

"Where Ryan focused on tax cuts and fostered friendly relations with corporate America, McCarthy is publicly excoriating the Chamber of Commerce, threateningcrippling regulations on social media companies and planning to inject an anti-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mindset into the work of every congressional committee possible," reported Jonathan Swan. "Where Ryan tried to maintain civil relationships across the aisle, McCarthy promises to strip high-profile Democrats of their committee assignments."

"He's excoriated the Chamber of Commerce — once a pillar of the Republican Party — telling Breitbart that "the Chamber left the party a long time ago" and noting its endorsements of House Democrats in 2020. McCarthy has made clear he wants nothing to do with the Chamber if the GOP returns to power," noted the report. "McCarthy also told Axios he plans to inject tough-on-China initiatives into the work of numerous congressional committees — putting him at odds with some of the GOP's traditional donor class."

Other reports have indicated that even if Republicans win the House, McCarthy's vote to become speaker may not be so simple, with some members divided over his leadership style and the most extreme members forcing him to show his loyalty or lose their vote.