The White House is calling on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to "come clean" about the deals he made with the group of Republican lawmakers who initially objected to his speakership bid.
“An unprecedented tax hike on the middle class and a national abortion ban are just a glimpse of the secret, backroom deals Speaker McCarthy made with extreme MAGA members to end this month’s chaotic elections and claim the gavel,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement to Politico. “It is well past time for Speaker McCarthy and the ultra MAGA Republican House members to come out of the dark and tell the American people, in-full, what they decided in secret.”
McCarthy was finally elected speaker of the House of Representatives on Jan. 7 on the 15th ballot after receiving 216 votes, with five members voting "present."
As Spencer reported, there were a number of concessions made to finally convince the anti-McCarthy group, including:
- a solitary member can request a vote to remove the House Speaker
- a new subcommittee investigating the "weaponization of the federal government"
- hold votes on key conservative issues such as a balanced budget amendment and border security
- debt ceiling increases are tied to spending cuts
- vote on appropriations bills individually and not via an omnibus
- McCarthy's leadership PAC won't intervene in open-seat races in safe Republican House districts
“The few agreements we know about would fundamentally reshape our economy in a devastating way for working families and criminalize women for making their own health care decisions,” Bates claimed. “They’re also planning to plunge the economy into chaos and take millions of American jobs and 401k plans hostage unless they can cut Medicare.”
Bates wondered what other deals there are.
“The American people have a right to know — now — which is why we are calling on him to make every single one of them public immediately," he added.
When asked last week about backroom deals, McCarthy insisted “there’s not a side deal to anything.”
The White House's demand comes after Republicans have been calling on President Biden to be more transparent about his handling of classified documents, which have been found at his Wilmington residence and a private office.