Senate Republicans watch McCarthy ouster with alarm, disbelief

Senate Republicans are watching the rebellion against Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in the House with serious alarm and are concerned over what the chaos will mean for the GOP’s brand in the 2024 election.

GOP senators are worried about the party’s ability to govern over the next 13 months and whether they’ll be able to avoid a government shutdown later this year.

They also feel anxious about the growing radicalization of their party’s base.

The growing strength of far-right populists in the House raises disconcerting questions about how next year’s primaries will play out for the GOP and whether candidates with more appeal with swing voters can advance to the general election.

“These insurgents have no plan and now they’ve created even more chaos and it’s not good for the House, it’s not good for Republicans and they have no clear path forward,” fumed Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate GOP leadership team.

“A handful [of] House members just want to blow up the institution and themselves in the process. Sad,” Cornyn posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, immediately after the vote to ouster McCarthy.

Cornyn said the “unprecedented” situation creates deep uncertainty about what to expect in the coming days.

“My understanding is with no Speaker, the only two things they can do, they can either elect another Speaker or adjourn,” he said.

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Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the successful coup against McCarthy “stinks, and it’s not good for the country.”

He also said “it can’t possibly help” getting the annual defense appropriations bill or annual Defense Department reauthorization passed before Jan. 1.

Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) somberly called it “a really unfortunate circumstance for the House.”

But he said there’s not much Senate Republicans can do about the situation except to watch the messy aftermath unfold.

“I hope they sort it out,” he said, adding, “I feel bad” for McCarthy, because he “was trying to do the right thing [and] keep the government open.

“We’ll figure out in the aftermath of this what happens next,” he said.

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) took over as Speaker pro tempore immediately after the House voted on a motion offered by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to vacate the Speakership.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he now expects McCarthy and other House leaders to begin negotiating with Gaetz and his allies to get a new leadership team in place.

“At the end of the day, we have to demonstrate we have the gavels, and we can govern. This is a step away from that, so they got some work to do,” he said.

Cornyn said he hoped that Democrats might eventually come to McCarthy’s rescue, even though they voted for the motion to vacate the Speakership on Tuesday afternoon.

“Maybe there’s a handful of Democrats, maybe Blue Dogs or Problem Solvers — they haven’t done it yet, but they may want to see him twist in the wind a little bit and then they come to his rescue,” he speculated. “They’re not going to be able to get anybody they would prefer, the Democrats won’t.”

One Senate GOP aide said McCarthy doesn’t appear to have any clear path to keeping his job, given that at least six House “hard-liners” are staunchly opposed to him wielding the Speaker’s gavel, specifically Gaetz, and fellow Republican Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Bob Good (Va.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.).

“It’s crazy,” the source said of the vote to depose McCarthy. “He’s done.”

Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) also voted to fire McCarthy.

Senate Republican sources warned Tuesday that House Republican fundraising would take a major hit without McCarthy.

“They’re not going to raise money at the same level without McCarthy,” a Senate GOP strategist warned. “It’s really going to hurt their fundraising. There’s so much chaos in House that voters may lose confidence in Republicans’ ability to solve big problems.”

The strategist said upcoming special elections for vacant House seats in Rhode Island’s 1st District and Utah’s 2nd District would provide an early glimpse of the political fallout from the instability in the House.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) warned that McCarthy’s ouster would paralyze Congress and delay work on passing the annual spending bills and other must-pass legislation, such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization and farm bill reauthorization.

“We’ve got a huge amount of work to do in the Senate,” he said. “We’re hoping they can get this leadership issue as quickly as possible.”

He said a vacant Speaker’s chair “simply sets us back.”

“This is not going to help us get our work done any quicker,” he warned.

“It’s frustrating. Normally, we’re the party of reason,” he said. “Clearly, the House is challenged.”

The chaos that enveloped the House GOP conference Tuesday played right into the messaging strategy of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has argued for months that McCarthy was being held hostage by a group of radical conservatives.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the vice chairwoman of the Senate GOP Conference, called it a “sad day.”

“I’m a good friend of Kevin’s. I think he’s had a tough hand dealt. He’s tried to deal with it as responsibly as he can with the thin margins,” she said.

She asked what many GOP senators are now wondering: What do the House rebels hope to accomplish by pushing McCarthy out of power?

“I don’t hear what their solutions are,” she said.

Asked what voters might be thinking about the tumult in the House, Capito answered: “’What are you guys nuts?’ That’s what they’re thinking.”

Al Weaver contributed.  

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