McCarthy 'not worried' about threats to speakership from conservative revolt

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy does not fear the prospect of losing his leadership post amid an ongoing revolt by conservative lawmakers frustrated by the terms of a debt ceiling deal that he negotiated with President Joe Biden.

Dissident conservative lawmakers this week objected to advancing a rule to protect gas stoves to protest the terms of the debt deal. McCarthy dismissed concerns that the rule would fail to eventually advance or that the conservative revolt would threaten his position.

"I’m not worried about the rule. I’m not [worried] about the Speakership or anything else," he said Wednesday, according to The Hill. "If you’re worried about those things, you’re never going to govern."

The Republican Party currently has 222 seats of the 218 needed to maintain a majority, leaving McCarthy with little room for dissent.

The California Republican only secured the position after 15 votes in the lower chamber, but not before making promises to his conservative detractors to fight for budgetary concessions.

Before the final debt ceiling vote, McCarthy faced criticism from those lawmakers, who asserted that the terms would not accomplish their goals for the nation's finances. At least one, North Carolina GOP Rep. Dan Bishop, floated ousting McCarthy to stop the deal.

After opposing the gas stove rule on Tuesday, Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, insisted that the promises McCarthy made to his opponents "have been violated as a consequence of the debt limit deal."

McCarthy, meanwhile, addressed his detractors, asserting that he would bring further policy wins.

"A lot of you were beginning to not underestimate us when we had such a good victory last week," he said, in reference to the debt deal. "So I think this kind of helps lower [expectations] again."

"So you’ll underestimate us, so we’ll have more victories," he concluded.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.