House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will need to maintain a "thin margin" of support to keep his job despite having done "a good thing" and helping to avoid a government shutdown, former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker told Newsmax on Sunday morning.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., told CNN that he would file a "motion to vacate," a call for a vote to remove McCarthy as speaker.
"Sunday Report" host Jon Glasgow asked Whitaker about McCarthy's future in his job.
"He's obviously started with a thin margin, and he's going to have to somehow find a way to keep that thin margin," Whitaker told Glasgow. "There's several members of the House that we're not super excited about him in the first place, and obviously they remain that way and they're going to try to, you know a procedural motion, but I don't know who else stands ready and has the votes to become speaker.
"This is a great thing about American politics. Amid our overall dysfunction, it only becomes more dysfunctional until we find statesmen and stateswomen to put this country first, I think this is kind of par for the course."
Whitaker told Glasgow that lawmakers need to focus on long-term appropriations bills that address major issues such as the migrant crisis at the southern border.
"I don't think anybody including the House or the Senate, wanted the government to shut down, so ultimately this was a good thing," Whitaker said. "But you know, it's disappointing that we can't have a functioning government that can pass budgets and stick to those budgets.
"We have so many critical things that need attention and need funding, not only do our law enforcement and first responders need support, but certainly our military and our veterans. But, you know, I just look at the situation on the southern border, and if this is not the primary focus of both the health and Senate as a next six weeks roll by, I'll be very disappointed. It's really the No. 1 crisis in our country right now among so many."
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Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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