McCarthy ally says speakership ‘absolutely safe’ despite conservative fury over debt limit

A key ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy downplayed talks from hardline conservatives Sunday that the California Republican may deserve to be ousted as speaker over the debt limit deal with President Biden.

“I’ll tell you right now, Speaker McCarthy’s position is absolutely safe,” Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana, a top Republican budget negotiator, said on “Face the Nation.”

“He is going to continue delivering wins for the country, changing the direction of Washington and being more representative of the priorities of Americans across the country,” Mr. Graves told CBS.

Several conservatives, particularly in the House Freedom Caucus, such as Chairman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, have vowed there will be “a reckoning” when the dust settles from Congress narrowly passing the bipartisan agreement to waive the debt ceiling and dodge a first-ever default.

Hardliners in both parties felt too many concessions were made, with conservatives saying the White House came out on top by staving off deep budget cuts proposed by Republicans.

In order to secure the speaker’s gavel, Mr. McCarthy changed House procedures to make it easier for any one member to lead a motion to vacate the position.

“I have no doubt his position is safe, and we’re going to keep marching forward, continuing to build upon the historic wins that he’s been able to achieve this year,” Mr. Graves said.

Mr. Roy has indicated he is set to speak with Mr. McCarthy later this week amid broader tensions with conservatives like himself.

“I think there needs to be a bit of a reckoning and a review of how we’re organizing ourselves in order to get things done, because what broke down this week was that we weren’t all sitting around the table,” Mr. Roy said last week during a radio interview with “The Guy Benson Show.”

Mr. Roy did not directly say he or anyone else will move to vacate the speakership, but did say “we’ve got to have a sit-down. I will say that.”

The bipartisan deal passed by Congress last week, and signed into law by Mr. Biden, suspends the debt ceiling until January 2025, after next year’s presidential election.

It includes spending caps, stronger work requirements for food stamps, cuts to the IRS and assistance to the fossil-fuel industry, all measures pushed by Republicans.

However, many Republicans in both chambers still opposed the legislation because it did not include steep spending cuts. Others said that with a Democratic Senate and a Democrat in the White House, such major cuts simply cannot happen and this was the best deal possible.

Notwithstanding Mr. Roy and Mr. Perry, some Freedom Caucus members are rallying around Mr. McCarthy.

Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, both of whom voted for the deal, have advocated against ousting the speaker. Mr. Jordan has labeled it a “terrible idea” while Ms. Greene called it “absolutely absurd.”

Mr. McCarthy defended the debt-limit deal in an appearance on “Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo.”

“It’s the first time that we’re finally spending less than we spent the year before,” Mr. McCarthy said. “This is the largest cut in American history.”