Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) says a shutdown seems inevitable as House Republicans can’t agree on a spending deal to keep the government open.
And that, she said on MSNBC on Wednesday night, could force House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to give up the gavel in a matter of weeks.
“Here’s the problem he has: In order to keep the government from shutting down or to open the government back up, he’s gonna have to go to Democratic voters,” she said. “And that means he can’t be speaker anymore.”
She’s referring to a hardline group of Republicans who’ve threatened to boot McCarthy from the speaker’s chair if he makes any deal with Democratic lawmakers.
But McCaskill urged him to do it anyway.
“Kevin, here’s the thing: It’s gonna be painful,” she said. “Tear off the frickin’ Band-Aid. Confront those extreme people in your caucus and say, ’Take me out if you can but I’m going to do what’s best for this country and frankly what’s best for the party.’”
There’s just one problem with that.
“But he seems like he’s really a bad negotiator and a really big coward,” she said.
McCaskill said a shutdown seems inevitable, and McCarthy will need Democrats to end it ― and those extremists will then turn on the speaker.
That could lead to some chilling news for McCarthy before Halloween.
“I predict before we say ‘trick-or-treat,’ we’ll be calling somebody else speaker,” she said.
See the full conversation with MSNBC’s Alex Wagner and Joy Reid below: