House Staffers: McCarthy Doing Better Job Than Expected

The drawn-out drama of electing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in January had some members openly questioning if the extended election was a sign his tenure would be marked by a fractured GOP and gridlock in Congress.

Six months later and senior staffers on both sides of the aisle are starting to rethink their positions and acknowledge they might have underestimated McCarthy's sway over the Republican caucus.

According to a recent Canvass Capitol Hill poll, approximately 85% of Republican and Democrat senior staffers in the House say McCarthy has surprised them and is more effective than they initially believed he would be.

The poll found 97% of Republican staffers and 73% of Democrat staffers admitted to underestimating the Republican leader.

The Washington Examiner reports the high approval ratings are a major change from a poll conducted a month after McCarthy's election that showed most senior staffers had doubts about his ability to control his own party in light of concessions he made to members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus in exchange for their support.

Those doubts seemed to recede after McCarthy hammered out a debt-ceiling deal with President Joe Biden in late May, narrowly averting a default and economic chaos.

The agreement triggered a revolt within the House GOP, with nearly a dozen lawmakers bringing the chamber to a standstill over what they saw as inadequate spending cuts. According to the Examiner, 78% of senior staffers from the February poll predicted McCarthy's deal with Biden would damage his standing among "the GOP's most right-wing members."

McCarthy has frequently accused the media of underestimating his leadership and expressed confidence after the revolt from his caucus' members.

"I think a lot of you were beginning to not underestimate us when we had such a good victory last week," McCarthy said in June about the debt ceiling deal, according to the Examiner. "So I think [the revolt] kind of helps lower [expectations] again, so you'll underestimate us, so we'll have more victories. So, in the end, when I look back, this may be a very big positive thing."

The speaker seemingly resolved the impasse with the rankled lawmakers after holding what he described as a productive meeting June 12 and agreeing to further examine spending on various federal boards, commissions, and other entities that could be cut.

"Perhaps we'll be back here next week," Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., warned as he exited the meeting with McCarthy.