Let the blinking commence

Oh Steve. 

So-called House Speaker Kevin McCarthy went on CBS yesterday. And this is what he had to say:

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said ahead of a meeting with President Biden this week that cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table in talks around raising the debt limit.

McCarthy has said that Republicans want commitments to spending reductions in exchange for raising the debt limit but has been unclear about what exactly the GOP would be willing to cut. While he said Medicare and Social Security slashes are off the table in his interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, he essentially said everything else, including defense spending, is under the microscope.

“I want to make sure we’re protected in our defense spending, but I want to make sure it’s effective and efficient,” McCarthy said. “I want to look at every single dollar we are spending, no matter where it is being spent.”

He's caved on a major "bargaining chip" before he even meets Pres. Biden. And of course, he caved on it because enough of his caucus told him this was a nonstarter. This was always going to happen due to the fact that he has a bare five-seat majority and a fractious party which respects his "power" not a whit.

Oh, and those defense cuts? Yeah, good luck with that:

McCarthy came under fire from some in his party for possibly eyeing defense cuts. In order to become Speaker, he made a deal with some Republican holdouts that he would roll back defense spending to 2022 levels. The agreement drew the ire of some conservatives, who said any cut to defense spending would be irresponsible.

Much like Rishi Sunak in the UK, who took two weeks to fire the head of the Conservative Party in a tax scandal, Kevin McCarthy is in way over his head. He's someone not suited to wielding power. He has no gravitas. He gave up everything just to be able to wield the gavel. But to what purpose is he wielding it? He has just betrayed the far right, which sees Social Security and Medicare as socialist programs which have no place in the US economy. And the defense hawks in the party will have no truck with cuts to the military. So what is he going to do?

This is what he's going to do: He'll cave fully, and pass a clean debt ceiling hike. Why? Because he just gave away his major bargaining chip, entitlement "reform". Before he even meets with the president. Forget poker; this guy couldn't win at Yahtzee. 

Again, my friends: This is why Trevor and I, as he wrote last week, have very little fear about what the House GOP will do. McCarthy doesn't control his party. It will buffet him this way and that. The House will cobble together spending bills to keep the government running. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, will be the de facto Speaker. McCarthy humiliated himself for an empty title. And he will lose the majority in 2024.

Happy Monday, everyone!

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