MAGA civil war? Bannon calls for primary challenges after debt package passes
What We Know: The deal between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday night.
Now, there’s a battle bringing between MAGA supporters who backed the compromise and those who did not.
Trouble in MAGA Land
The deal struck between President Joseph Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the debt ceiling for two years in exchange for spending cuts is the sort of thing that supposedly doesn’t happen in Washington anymore: Bipartisan compromise, that upsets members of both parties.
According to the New York Times, the House passed the debt limit compromise by a 314-117 vote, with 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats voting yes and 71 Republicans and 46 Democrats voting no. The no votes came from many members of the archconservative House Freedom Caucus, as well as many Democrats on the party’s left flank in the House, while the leadership of both parties supported the measure.
This has led to a great deal of consternation on the right in particular, with some in the House Freedom Caucus discussing invoking a motion to vacate McCarthy’s speaker’s chair. However, one Congressman who bandied about doing so, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), admitted to the Times that “I’m not suggesting the votes are there to remove the speaker.”
In addition, there is grassroots opposition to the outspoken conservatives who voted “yes,” including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). Greene had come forward in support of the deal earlier this week, stating that “the debt ceiling fight has never been our only chance. This is a game of inches and we have the momentum.”
Greene, while the debt ceiling talks were going on, was focusing on her quixotic efforts to impeach President Biden, as well as several other administration officials.
According to Newsweek, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has called on “Real MAGA” to back primary challenges to both Greene and Jordan. Greene is close to McCarthy, the speaker who restored her committee assignments, while Jordan is a part of the House Republican leadership, which indicates why they voted with McCarthy.
Bannon’s comments came on the social media network Gettr, Newsweek said.
Greene, meanwhile, posted a Twitter thread Wednesday explaining her vote for the deal.
“I agree with my conservative friends in the Freedom Caucus on some of the flaws in the Fiscal Responsibility Act and I’ve never wanted to raise the debt ceiling on debt that I never voted to create,” Greene said. “.but I came to Washington to make changes and this bill actually provides a tool (an idea from @RepThomasMassie) that gives us a chance to make those fiscal changes.”
She went on to note that the Republicans have a tiny House majority and that “the only power Republicans currently have is barely one-half of Congress, which is only one-third of the federal government. Democrats control the rest.”
Per Newsweek, Greene has also faced some pushback from the community at Alex Jones’ Infowars, who called her a “fraud.”
Will Steve Bannon really expend the political capital to mount primary challenges to two of the most powerful Republicans in the House of Representatives? That’s unclear, especially considering Bannon is currently facing legal jeopardy on multiple fronts. Bannon is set to stand trial next May in connection with the “We Build the Wall” scheme, in which two associates of Bannon were convicted of federal charges of defrauding donors. Bannon had been indicted as well but was pardoned by Trump in his last days in office, although he was also brought up on separate state charges.
As for presidential candidates, Gov. Ron DeSantis has ripped the debt ceiling deal, stating that “prior to this deal, our country was careening towards bankruptcy, and after this deal, our country will still be careening towards bankruptcy.” Donald Trump, however, has not been making public comments about the deal.
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Expertise and Experience
Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.
