Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) says that some Republicans in the House of Representatives who are calling to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership have "no alternative" to provide.
Bacon expressed skepticism that McCarthy would be in danger of losing the speaker's gavel while speaking on NBC's Meet the Press Now on Friday.
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WATCH: GOP hardliners threatening to remove McCarthy as House Speaker “have no alternative” that the majority of the party would accept, says @RepDonBacon (R-Neb.).
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 22, 2023
“We have 5 people who want it their way or the highway. The problem is the other 210 people don’t.” pic.twitter.com/iSEWhRXbBL
“It only takes four Republicans to potentially put him at risk and lose the speakership, but the fact is they have no alternative,” Bacon said on Friday. “They have nobody else that they can offer to put up there that the 200 of us would ever vote for.”
The Nebraska Republican said despite the vulnerability McCarthy faces from the small group of House Republicans, he is secure in his role as House speaker.
“I think the speaker’s position is secure. It may go through turbulence. A vacate the chair motion, I don’t think it would survive the table vote," Bacon said. "Especially if the speaker decided to start working across the aisle and get a bipartisan deal, I think you’d have some Democrats vote ‘present’ and not vote to vacate."
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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been the most frequently vocal about wanting to oust McCarthy from his speakership, which took 15 rounds to secure in January's speaker election.
McCarthy himself has publicly downplayed any threats to his speakership, saying earlier this month about Gaetz's threat that "Matt’s Matt."