Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) called House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) a "very weak speaker" Sunday.
The Maryland senator claimed that McCarthy does not control his caucus during an interview on ABC's This Week, saying that the House speaker's inability to control Republicans is the reason for chaos over debt ceiling negotiations.
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"We have a very weak speaker, Kevin McCarthy. We saw how many rounds of votes it took him to be elected speaker. He does not control his caucus," Van Hollen said.
He also pointed to the influence of former President Donald Trump as a reason for McCarthy's precarious position.
"He cannot take back a reasonable proposal to his caucus and expect it to get the votes, especially when you have Donald Trump egging them on and saying, 'don't give an inch, default. Don't give an inch.' So that's what we're facing right now," Van Hollen continued.
Van Hollen portrayed the position of President Joe Biden and the Democrats as completely reasonable, and that of the Republicans as completely unreasonable. He echoed Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-NY) accusation that McCarthy 'has taken the entire United States economy hostage' during debt limit negotiations.
"I again want to emphasize a really important difference," Van Hollen said. "It's not just both sides say this or that. The Democrats, President Biden is not saying that if he doesn't get his way on how we reduce the deficit over a period of time that he's going to blow up the economy. That's the difference. Speaker McCarthy and the MAGA Republicans are threatening to blow up the economy if we don't do things exactly their way."
Speaker Kevin McCarthy “does not control his caucus,” Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen tells @MarthaRaddatz.
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 21, 2023
“He cannot take back a reasonable proposal to his caucus and expect it to get the votes, especially when you have Donald Trump egging them on.” https://t.co/DrVev3kh3Z pic.twitter.com/Ibw7tAHb39
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On the flip side, McCarthy has portrayed Republicans as the reasonable ones, and Biden in the truly weak position. He also claims that Biden is beholden to radical elements within his own party, who are threatening to derail negotiations with unreasonable demands.
"He really wags the dog," McCarthy answered when asked if Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was the one leading the shift in the White House's debt ceiling negotiations. "I mean, when Bernie Sanders or AOC says something, the White House shifts the other way."