Can't quell...

Democrats doubt McCarthy can quell Republican rebellions

By Lauren French

Congressional Democrats knew what they were getting when they battled with Speaker John Boehner, for better or worse.

With Kevin McCarthy, they'd be dealing with a virtual unknown – and top Democrats are worried about what that will mean for the coming high-stakes battles to raise the debt limit and prevent a government shutdown.

A Democratic leadership aide said McCarthy, the frontrunner to become speaker, has never had a private meeting with Minority Leader and fellow Californian Nancy Pelosi. Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, also from McCarthy’s home state, described his relationship with the likely next speaker as “friends [but] not a close friend.”

Boehner, to the chagrin of the House conservatives who pushed him out, was willing to turn to Democrats time and again to stave off government shutdowns and avoid a first-ever default on the nation’s debt. The fear among Democrats is that McCarthy will have even less room to maneuver as firebrands on the right push for more confrontation.

Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, one of the few prominent Democrats who can point to a relatively tight relationship with McCarthy, said he’s not optimistic that the California Republican can change or improve the gridlock that has gripped the chamber. “We have worked together but I think he’s [going to be] in the same position that Mr. Boehner has been in,” Hoyer said.

McCarthy has risen through the House ranks so quickly he hasn’t had time to forge many deep relationships across the aisle – the kinds of bonds that Boehner used to great effect. The same is true for the White House, where officials haven’t had frequent interactions with the majority leader.

Still, Democrats would like to work with McCarthy to avoid plunging over any future cliffs, and perhaps even make some deals on legislation. But they’re not holding their breath.

Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill said his boss “hopes to work with Mr. McCarthy to create a dialogue through which the House can take steps to address the major challenges our country faces.”

But he said that bipartisan cooperation is the only way to avoid disaster. “With a Democratic President and sufficient Democratic support in both chambers to sustain vetoes, working with Democrats will remain the only sustainable path to moving our country through the Republican calendar of chaos that lies before Congress this fall,” Hammill added.

Top Democrats say they haven’t been impressed by his tenure in leadership – McCarthy was majority whip before becoming the No. 2 – as the GOP has repeatedly pulled difficult legislation off the floor, not to mention the 2013 government shutdown.

Across the Capitol, McCarthy’s relationships with the Senate minority aren’t much tighter. When asked about his relationship with Democratic leaders, one source pointed to McCarthy’s failed negotiations with Sen. Chuck Schumer to try and re-up a terrorism risk reauthorization bill – a priority for the New York Democrat. McCarthy was tapped by Boehner to lead negotiations on a compromise package but he couldn’t overcome a conservative rebellion to strike a deal.

Still, McCarthy has at times played a central role during negotiations between President Barack Obama and House Republicans, but administration officials are still trying to get a sense of the California lawmaker’s grip on his members.

A White House official said there has always been “an open line of communication with the Majority Leader’s team”

“We have our policy disagreements, we are able to have candid conversations with each other on what is doable and what is not when it comes to legislation moving through the House,” the official said.

For his part, McCarthy describes his relationship with the Obama as solid.

“I have a good relationship with the president. I met him many times. We have been in a few meetings,” he said on CBS This Morning. “As you know, I have not been speaker so we have never sat down to negotiate or anything like that.”

It’s not unusual for the No. 2 or 3 leaders in a party to focus more on internal conference politics than building bridges with the other party. Since he was elected in 2006, McCarthy has spent the vast majority of his time counting votes for Republicans – a job that doesn’t often put him in the same room with Democrats.

And, first and foremost, McCarthy needs to earn the trust of GOP lawmakers, including the 40-person House Freedom Caucus. Any talks with Democrats are secondary to winning over restive conservatives.

Still, negotiating major budget legislation or other big bills will likely require Democratic support, if at the least in the Senate.

And it’s not that Democrats don’t like McCarthy – it’s just that they aren’t convinced he’ll be any more effective than Boehner was at containing rebellions from the right flank. Rep. Joe Crowley, the vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said he’s unsure McCarthy – or anyone – has the ability to convince rock-ribbed conservatives that compromising is worth the price.

Crowley, whose wife serves on the board of Ford’s Theatre with McCarthy’s wife, says he and the California Republican have a social relationship.

“I wouldn’t say I’m close to him but I find Kevin very approachable. He’s always very friendly,” Crowley said. “The biggest question for me is how he is going to deal with the floor situation within his own party.”

He added that to Democrats, McCarthy is just “an unknown entity at this point.”

The few Democrats McCarthy is close to, including Hoyer and Reps. Karen Bass of California and Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, say he is a sensible leader with an understanding of how to run a chamber.

McCarthy was part of Republican leadership when he served in the California State Legislature.

But even Bass, who was the majority whip back in California when McCarthy was in office, said he will face challenges from conservative Republicans.

“We’ve had a good relationship ever since but I am concerned about the challenges he is going to have because of how difficult things are in his caucus,” Bass said. “I definitely think he has the temperament to bring people together.”