Democrats refuse to be a 'cheap date' in exchange for rescuing Kevin McCarthy: reporter
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (AFP)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is going to face a direct challenge to his speakership this week, and Democrats in the chamber are being coy about whether they will agree to bail him out of trouble.

Rebellious Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) only needs to get four other Republicans to join him in his quest to oust McCarthy if all Democrats vote in favor of the motion, which means that McCarthy will likely need some Democrats to cross over in order to keep his job.

However, NBC News' Sahil Kapur reports that Democrats aren't feeling any urgency to save McCarthy, and one Democratic aide tells him that they won't be "a cheap date" when it comes time to get McCarthy off the hook.

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Punchbowl News' Heather Caygle similarly is reporting that Democrats are saying that it's up to McCarthy to reach out to them before they decided on how they'll vote on the upcoming motion to vacate the chair.

The problem McCarthy has is that making any deal with Democrats could further anger the GOP hardliners who have been making his life difficult all year.

So far, former President Donald Trump has yet to weigh in on the matter although he did express disappointment with the resolution McCarthy passed that kept the government open this weekend.