Several House Republicans in a major bipartisan group said there could soon be a mass defection over Democrats’ role in this week’s firing of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“I am strongly considering leaving the Problem Solvers Caucus,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (RN.Y.) told FOX News Digital. “I think there are a lot of Republicans who are disillusioned with the Democratic members of the Problem Solvers Caucus.”
McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted as Speaker of the House for the first time in U.S. history after eight party hardliners joined all Democrats in voting to remove him from Congress.
Mr Malliotakis said: “I am extremely frustrated that not a single member of parliament who claims to be centrist is willing to work with us to defeat this secession motion.” “If their objective is to bring about good governance and make sure we get through this appropriations process in the next 40 days, they should have done the right thing here, which is to make Congress function. I should have kept letting him do it.”
Here are four of the likely candidates to replace McCarthy as speaker
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the top job on Tuesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Asked if he and other Republicans wanted to leave the group, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., said, “I don’t want to speak for them, but I’m definitely not happy about it. I know that, and that’s what I think.” …I talked to others who felt the same way. ”
A person familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital that Republican leaders on the Problem Solvers Caucus are under the impression that several Democrats will defend McCarthy.
House of Representatives votes in favor of removing Kevin McCarthy as speaker for the first time in history
“Republican leaders of the Problem Solvers Caucus made a last-ditch effort to get Democrats to work with them to save Speaker McCarthy’s chairmanship. After introducing the bill, they saw this as an opportunity to save the organization on a bipartisan basis.”Government agencies are shut down on the floor,” the official said.
“Several Democrats had indicated before the House Democratic Conference that they were likely to help rescue McCarthy, but then reversed and joined in.” [Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.] By expelling the speaker. ”
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis is one of the members of the Republican Problem Solvers Caucus considering leaving the party.
Democrats wouldn’t necessarily have needed to vote for McCarthy to save him. If enough members had voted “present,” the threshold needed to reach a simple majority would have been lower, but the result would have been the same.
“I think a lot of my colleagues certainly point that out,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said when asked about Republicans leaving the Problem Solvers Caucus.
“We haven’t done that yet. I would like for us to cool down a little bit before we have that conversation,” Lawler said. “But, you know, I think this was a problem that needed to be solved, but people just didn’t meet the moment.”
‘Shocked’ Kevin McCarthy won’t run for House speaker again after firing
“We’re going to have to take a step back and say, ‘We’re going to have to do something about it,'” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, said on CNBC Thursday. The militants in Congress and the organization as a whole were inadequate. ”
Malliotakis, like Gaetz and other Republican hardliners, accused Democrats of hypocritical behavior in voting.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito accused Democrats of forming an “unholy alliance” with Republican “misfits.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
“You can’t have it both ways,” she said. She said: “We can’t say we reject extremists and go out of our way to work with them.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
D’Esposito called it “the most extreme legislative action” he had seen in the House.
“Many Democrats have unfairly slandered their Republican colleagues as ‘extremists,’ but when push comes to shove, those same Democrats have formed an unholy alliance with misfits like Matt Gaetz to paralyze the government.” ” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Problem Solvers Caucus for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
