CNN reports that Kevin McCarthy plans to take revenge against the eight House Republicans who removed him from power.
According to congressional reporters Melanie Zanon and Manu Raju, McCarthy and his allies are mounting a full-fledged campaign of retribution behind the scenes:
Raju played a clip of McCarthy saying there needed to be “consequences” for those eight and added, “So part of the consequences appear to be donors now shutting their wallets.”
“And that's actually what a couple of the members who I spoke to, and I asked them about, what are they sensing from the donors? They're saying there has been an impact,” Raju added before playing some clips from recent interviews.
“Have you seen any of your fundraising dry up because of that vote?” Raju asked Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN).
“Yeah, absolutely,” Burchett replied.
When Raju pressed Burchett, the congressman explained that “some very wealthy folks” who had “been very kind to me in the past” were holding back on writing checks. “I hope that we can mend the fences,” he added.
Arizona Rep. Eli Crane acknowledged that major donors had ditched him after the vote to remove McCarthy, but he expected that.
Two especially vulnerable Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy, Nancy Mace (S.C.) and Bob Good (Va.) are facing tough primaries and rumors suggest that McCarthy may be getting involved in some way.
Florida Republican Matt Gaetz instigated the push to sack McCarthy last October. Ultimately, he convinced seven of his colleagues – less than 4% of House Republicans – to join Democrats and end McCarthy's speakership.
Gaetz claimed that McCarthy violated an agreement from January 2023 to follow conservative principles. The supposed deal resulted in Gaetz withdrawing his opposition to McCarthy's speakership nomination after 15 rounds of voting.
However, the Daily Beast claims that Gaetz took revenge on McCarthy for not ending an ethics investigation into whether the congressman violated sex trafficking laws.
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