Anti-McCarthy Republicans got 'direct threats' from major GOP donor before switching

Rebellious Republicans who withheld their votes from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for multiple days last week were directly pressured by a major GOP donor to back off or see their campaign contributions go up in smoke.

As reported by Politico's Olivia Beavers, at least two Republicans got what she describes as a "direct threat" from Hungarian-born American businessman Thomas Peterffy to fall in line with the other Republicans.

In fact, one source shared a screenshot of a message Peterffy sent to one member that read, "What goes on in the House is weakening the party, unless you vote for Kevin now we'll never give you any money."

As noted by Audrey Fahlberg, a reported for The Dispatch, Peterffy this past fall donated $5 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a McCarthy-aligned organization that had come under fire from the right-wing Club for Growth for interfering in Republican primaries in safe Republican districts.

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McCarthy eventually won the vote to become Speaker of the House of Representatives late last week, but only after the 15th ballot, making his ascension the most drawn out in decades.