Many of the Republican caucus hates Gaetz, so there's that. But the Freedom Caucus nutjobs really, really, want to punish McCarthy. Democrats won't save his ass without some serious concessions -- if at all. Via the New York Times:
Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida moved on Monday to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post in an act of vengeance that posed the clearest threat yet to Mr. McCarthy’s tenure and could plunge the House into chaos.
After days of warnings, Mr. Gaetz rose on Monday evening to bring up a resolution declaring the speakership vacant. That started a process that would force a vote within days on whether to keep Mr. McCarthy in his post. In doing so, Mr. Gaetz sought to subject Mr. McCarthy to a rare form of political punishment experienced by only two other speakers in the history of the House of Representatives.
The move came just days after Mr. McCarthy opted to avert a government shutdown the only way he could — by relying on Democratic votes to push through a stopgap spending bill over the objections of an unmovable bloc of hard-liners in his own party, including Mr. Gaetz.
Meanwhile, back in the Democratic caucus:
However, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, has made no firm decision with his lieutenants about how to proceed. Democrats were expected to meet later Monday and Tuesday to discuss their position.
Their choices include siding with Mr. McCarthy’s right-wing detractors in voting to remove him, joining most Republicans in backing him or helping him in more passive ways: either failing to show up for the vote or voting “present,” both of which would lower the threshold needed for him to win a majority and keep his job.
As of Monday afternoon, Mr. McCarthy had not approached Democrats with any offer in exchange for their help, and Democrats had not yet reached out to him with an ask, according to people in both camps familiar with the matter and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.
The two adversaries.
Democrats less than impressed.
