It's looking more and more likely that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will have to face a motion to vacate in the coming weeks as rebellious Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) plot to oust him.
However, The Messenger reports that McCarthy's allies aren't taking this potential challenge lying down and are working to crush the attempt to give him the boot.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) told The Messenger that he's all but resigned to a fight over McCarthy's speakership, but he defiantly dared Gaetz and his like-minded Republicans to bring it on.
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
"Let's get it over with," he said. "I think we would ram it up their rear ends."
Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) also felt optimistic about McCarthy's chances, although he did acknowledge that, "I don’t think it’s ever beneficial, particularly, to have family fights in public."
That said, the publication noted that McCarthy can only afford to lose four Republicans and that some of his critics seem intractable at this point, which means that he may have to cut a deal with Democrats in order to remain in power.
Gaetz has suggested that he would use any such deal to his own advantage and would "showcase to the country that if it's Democrats bailing out Kevin, that he works for them."
