Graves assures McCarthy’s speakership is secure.

Top GOP Negotiator Assures McCarthy’s Position is Safe

“I’ll tell you right now, Speaker McCarthy’s position is absolutely safe. He is going to continue delivering wins for the country, changing the direction of Washington, and being more representative of the priorities of Americans across the country,” Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) told CBS’s Face the Nation.

Despite concerns that the motion to vacate could be used against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) assures the public that McCarthy’s position is safe. Graves, who helped negotiate the debt limit deal on behalf of Republicans, believes that McCarthy will continue to deliver wins for the country and represent the priorities of Americans.

Good Cop, Bad Cop: How GOP Negotiators Handled Debt Ceiling Talks

While some detractors, such as Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC), have threatened to use the motion to vacate to oust McCarthy from the speakership, others, such as Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), have publicly suggested that McCarthy lost credibility with members of his conference over the debt ceiling agreement. However, Graves believes that McCarthy’s position is safe and that they will continue to build upon the historic wins that he’s been able to achieve this year.

McCarthy agreed to lower the threshold for a motion to vacate to one vote back in January when he faced a historically atypical 15 votes to win the gavel. The motion to vacate has been used by the hard-line conservative flank of the House GOP conference as leverage against prior speakers, such as former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) who stepped down from the speakership after then-Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) brought forward a motion to vacate in 2015.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

President Joe Biden signed the debt limit deal into law on Saturday, which suspended the debt ceiling until January 2025, soothing fears of a potential default. The bill, known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, will effectively keep nondefense and nonveteran discretionary spending growth down until 2024 before increasing by roughly 1% in 2025. In its present form, the bill could reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.

• McCarthy’s position is safe, according to Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA)
• Some detractors have threatened to use the motion to vacate to oust McCarthy from the speakership
• The motion to vacate has been used by the hard-line conservative flank of the House GOP conference as leverage against prior speakers
• The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 will suspend the debt ceiling until January 2025 and could reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years

Despite the threats against McCarthy’s position, Graves believes that he will continue to deliver wins for the country and represent the priorities of Americans. Only time will tell if the motion to vacate will be used against McCarthy, but for now, he remains in his position as House Speaker.