Simmering tensions among House Republicans flared anew over the weekend, following a New York Times report that detailed how Kevin McCarthy’s (R., Calif.) bitterly contested speakership battle has undermined his confidence in colleagues.
While it took McCarthy a historic 15 ballots to secure the position through January’s chaos and infighting, the speaker reportedly remains particularly frustrated by certain Republicans — including Jodey Arrington (R., Texas) and Steve Scalise (R., La.), the budget committee chairman and House majority leader, respectively.
“Mr. McCarthy has told colleagues he has no confidence in Mr. Arrington, the man responsible for delivering a budget framework laying out the spending cuts that Republicans have said they will demand in exchange for any move to increase the debt limit,” Jonathan Swan and Annie Karni wrote in the Times. McCarthy still regards Arrington, who sought to nominate Scalise during the speakership balloting, “as incompetent, according to more than half a dozen people familiar with this his thinking,” the Times revealed.
The leaks, in turn, appear only to have further chilled relations between McCarthy and some members of the conference.
“The members I’ve spoken with are just stunned by his rebuking of his budget chair, and certainly of our leadership,” an unnamed House Republican told Axios on Saturday. The representative expressed doubts McCarthy will serve the full extent of his speakership term.