Kevin McCarthy braces for GoP rebellion

US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy is staring down a threat to his leadership, which could plunge the Republican Party back into a crisis this week, days after dodging a federal government shutdown.

Rebellious Republican Representative Matt Gaetz on Sunday pledged to launch a bid to oust McCarthy as House speaker, just nine months after he struggled to win the job amid challenges from Gaetz and other hardline conservative Republicans.

"I am relentless and I will continue to pursue this objective," Gaetz told ABC, referring to a "motion to vacate" - the formal term in Congress for forcing a vote to remove McCarthy and trigger a battle for installing a new speaker.


McCarthy dismissed the threat from Gaetz telling CBS, "I'll survive." No US House speaker has ever been removed from this high office that puts the holder second in line for the presidency after the vice president.

Gaetz was angered by McCarthy's move to pass a short-term funding bill on Saturday with support from opposition Democrats to keep the government fully operating. Gaetz and a group of other hardline House Republicans insist on deep spending cuts that Democrats argue would break a deal brokered earlier this year by President Joe Biden and McCarthy.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has not said if his caucus would join right-wing Republicans to help topple McCarthy or if Democrats might support him in exchange for political or legislative favours. The House and Senate now have until Nov. 17 to either agree to 12 spending bills for fiscal year 2024 or pass another stopgap measure to avoid shutdowns. The Republican speaker is hoping to spend this week passing more individual spending bills to fund government programs in the new fiscal year that began on Sunday.