House Republican Threatens to Back McCarthy Ouster if He Deals With Democrats to Avert Shutdown

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said he would “strongly” consider supporting the push to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House if he winds up making a spending deal with Democrats.

As McCarthy continues to fight with the Republican caucus amid the looming possibility of a government shutdown, Burchett has been among those openly questioning the speaker’s leadership aptitude. Burchett even gave Nancy Pelosi credit by saying that she was “pretty successful” at meeting with Congressional factions and getting legislation passed when she was speaker.

On Sunday, Burchett spoke with CNN’s Dana Bash about the possibility of a shutdown, where he denounced the idea of continuing resolutions to borrow more money to keep the government open. Bash concluded the interview by asking, “If Speaker McCarthy ultimately allows a deal to pass with Democratic votes, would you support ousting him from the speaker’s chair?”

Burchett’s answer:

That would be something I would look strongly at ma’am. If we do away with our duty that we said we were going to do — they’re all talk about this promise that he made with Biden a year ago. What about the promise that we made to the American public? That we were going to be responsible Americans? we are going to be governing over a pile on rubble if we’re not careful. Our financial ship is sinking and the American public needs to realize all of these fancy titles — CRs and ominubus that confuse the American public — are not working. The curtains off, we need to do our duty, we should be back in Washington right now and dealing with it. But what are we doing when they send us home?

Burchett’s comments also come as McCarthy deals with House GOP tensions where hard-right representatives have threatened to revolt against his leadership unless he agrees to their political demands

Watch above via CNN.