Shutdown averted. The bill is passed. Speaker mccarthy makes a lastminute call to work with democrats to keep the government open. But will it cost him his job . Is the speakership on the line. I would say it is on tenuous ground. Go ahead and try. Plus a shocking accusation. What general milley did is treasonous. Another fight with the nations top general. Will he pay a political price. And the president on the picket line. Wall street didnt build the country. He said hes a democrat with a plan to get back Working Class voters but is there any evidence it is working. Inside politics starts now. Good morning, and welcome to Inside Politics sunday. Im manu raju. Lets start with the good news. The government is still open. Both parties came together yesterday to prevent a shutdown. The bad news, all this was was a punt. It is a spending bill that funds government for 45 days so well be having all of these same fights over Spending Cuts, Border Security and aid to ukraine in november. Dozens of republicans voted against it meaning he could only pass it with democratic votes. And now hardliners in mccarthys conference want to punish him for him by voting to remove him. Matt gaetz will bring that vote up this week and if it is successful, it would be unprecedented in american history. Here is what he told jake tapper just this morning. I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker Mccarthy this week. I think we need to rip off the band aid and move on with new leadership that could be trustworthy. The one thing that everybody has in common is that nobody trusts Kevin Mccarthy. He lied to biden and to house conservatives. The only way Kevin Mccarthy is speaker at the house at the end of this coming week is if Democrats Pail Bail him out. Now they probably will. I think that when you believe in nothing as Kevin Mccarthy does, everything is negotiable. Okay. Now mccarthy had this response moments ago in cbs. Hes coming for you. Can you survive . Yes, ill survive. This is personal with matt. Matt voted against the most conservative ability to protect our border, secure or border, hes more interested in securing Tv Interviews than doing something. He wanted to push us into a shutdown even threatening his own district with all of the military people there who would not be paid, only because he wanted to take this motion. So be it. Bring it on. Lets get over with it and lets start governing. Some sharp words there. So much to break down with my great panel this morning. Amy walter, the political report. And jeff zeleny and Melanie Zanona and Seung Min Kim of the associat associated press. We thought we just went through a crazy news cycle. Get ready for this. Something weve never seen before in american history, getting pushed out as the speaker house. To give viewers a sense, any one member could ask for a vote and that could happen within two legislative days but it ways toush it to the side and send it to the House Committee and we dont know if hes going to do that yet. But the question at the moment, does matt gaetz have the votes to succeed . I want to show you how a potential candidates, people who could potentially vote against matt gaetz. There are 21 House Republicans who voted against the conservative Stopgap Measure to keep the government open. The best candidates of the people who we could potentially see voting with democrats, if democrats vote to kick him out, we just need five. Melanie, look at that list. Who do you see as likely to join matt gaetz and how successful and do you think gaetz will be successful . Do i think gaetz will be successful. That depends on how many republicans are on his side and what democrats do. Hakeem jeffries told members to keep their powder dry. There are different belief views within the caucus. Some say they would not save him and some of them, the more moderate democrats dont wan to throw the house into chaos and they would be willing to potentially vote present. But that is a conversation the caucus is going to have. Manu, we knew this is either a shutdown or a showdown and this is a battle that both sides have been waiting to have. Mccarthy wants to get it over with and have this threat be done with and gaetz has been itching for his moment since j january. It feels like this is groundhog day. And who could get 218 of the list. No one else can. And i done think anybody else could sit through and suffer the way mccarthy can. Hes very good at be able to go and he wants to do it. Hes willing to grind it out. And hes willing to do that. Would he be willing to sit for 15 more rounds of wait until i get my 218. I dont think anyone else is wig to do that. So at the end of the day, it feels like well have more of this drawn out chaos. But i dont know how it ends any differently than what we saw in january. Hes been underestimated throughout the process of the year. I mean, without question, his shelf life may be nearing an end here. But for the first time hes actually standing up and saying bring it on as opposed to cowering. So that often brings strength. Well see if it does. I think interesting what you said about Hakeem Jeffries. He has a different relationship with ken mccarthy than nancy pelosi. They are of the same era. Theyre not of a by gone era so well see if anyone throws him a lifeline. But there are a lot of moderate democrats who dont want the house in chaos. So i think mccarthy is not in as weak of a position as we may think. Well see. Well see. There are still discussions that need to play out. And i was just looking at that list. I could think of four or five that will probably vote to kick out mccarthy on the republican side, Eli Crane Sugged that he would and Matt Rosendale and matt gaetz will, and paul gosar and maybe even ken buck and andy biggs. He could only lose five if democrats vote against him. And that is the question. What do the democrats do . Hakeem jeffries and mccarthy said to cbs that he has not had conversations with Hakeem Jeffries about this. Now ive been told by a senior democratic source that there is just skepticism within the Democratic Caucus about saving mccarthy. In their view, he has not done bipartisan taken bipartisan action. He launched this Impeachment Inquiry into joe biden and they see a need to save him. Maybe some of the more moderates will do that. But it is an open question at this moment. It is a matter of launching Impeachment Inquiry against the president of the United States. But it is coming down to the issue of trust. How could Democrats Trust Mccarthy when, for example, the speaker and the president struck this budget deal in may and within a matter of weeks he was willing to go beyond it. So i think it is going to take a big Leap Of Faith for democrats to strike some sort of a deal with mccarthy and im not quite sure it is a Leap Of Faith that a lot of democrats are willing to take. And mccarthy yesterday, i asked him about this directly, i said do you need democratic votes . He didnt answer. Do you expect to rely on democratic votes if the vote to vacate comes up, will you need democrats to keep you in the speakership . Could we now realize what the question was and realize what is happened today. We were within a few hours of government shutting down. Where the military would not be paid. Where the border would not be paid. All of that has now been waived away. And the only question cnn has for me today was whether im worried about someone make a motion to vacate against me. So i actually, and i said right after that, that wasnt my question. It was were you worried . Are you going to rely on democrats and he still didnt answer. Melanie, how do you think the Speakers Team is gaming out this vote . This their minds, they knew this was a fight that would happen at some point regardless. They need democrats to fund the government at some point. So might as well avoid a shutdown and spare the vulnerable members a pain of a shutdown and build some good will with democrats for them to at least step in and vote present which could make it harder for gaetz to oust him. But gaetz needs democrats too which is very thing that hes criticizing mccarthy for. Whoever wins in this fight needs democratic support and as we reported, manu, gaetzs has been reaching out to democrats and see where they fit on this issue. And they hold the cards right now. And this is coming as there is so much tension within the house gop. This obviously started in the speakers race in jarnuary. And then there was a bit of a Honeymoon Period and then the debt ceiling, that angered the far right members. Mccarthy had to cut this deal with the far right members to seek deeper Spending Cuts that led to all of the mess. He walked a way from a bipartisan deal that would have Set Top Line Spending Deals and perhaps they wouldnt be in this position today. But he didnt. And as a result, there is all of this back and forth. A lond the criticism from the more moderate members angry at way that these hardliners have essentially held the Floor Hostage and taking personal shots at them as well. So they killed that. They killed the most conservative position we could take and then called themselves the real conservatives. So this is become a situation where the American People are going to be harmed because of one person, matt gaetz. I think there is a lot of frustration growing with the 21 individuals who chose to vote no on what was a very good plan. And there are people out there that are using this to build their brand, raise money and beat their chest back at home. But, look, america right now needs our help. Yeah, and it is not just the division within, it is also the votes that their forcing them to take. Even there is not a shutdown, there was still that c. R. That did pass. It had a lot in there that democrats are really excited to use on the Campaign Trail against republicansm cuts to popular programs. That did not pass. The bill that did no the pass. But they still voted for it. So youll see them on the Campaign Trail. And cultural and Appropriation Bills and putting many of the members into those tough districts in a very difficult spot. Whether theyre voting for it to help leadership or voting against it to help themselves. So, and finally, if you are running in 2024 as a republican in a Biden District or a swing district, youre argument to the voters is, dont worry, were here, republicans are the party that could fix what biden messed up. Could fix what democrats messed up. This is not helping them make that case. And this is 45 days. I mean, that is the whole point of this. This is not exactly solving the problem for rest of the congress. It is only for a month and a half. So i think that is another example. But youre absolutely right about the overall argument here. If this helps President Biden more than anything in terms of a if there was a shutdown or not, well see how the Speaker Drama Plays out this week. But it is all just continuing the argument that, you know, why the country hates congress so much. And you talk about the fight. The big issue they left off the table is ukraine. 6. 2 billion. And 24 billion, they want to approve the congress. And the house gop, that is why the speaker didnt go forward. And there was also some divisions within the Senate Republican conference. I was told by a source familiar with the matter that john thune, the number two republican and john brass, the number three republican have concerns with moving forward in the senate plan that included ukraine money at this moment. And look, if the senate gop gets wobbly on ukraine funding, that is a real concern for people who are supporting this aid. Right. It is a real concern for the white house because Senate Republicans and particularly Mitch Mcconnell are kind of the white houses last line of defense. They know that they have really tricky politics in the House Republican conference but have been confident because of Mitch Mcconnell and many of the North Carolina senate have such a stalwart supporters of ukraine aid. And now i cant it is hard to underef mate how tricky the road is ahead as moving ukraine as a separate matter. I was struck by the comments from the president and by Democratic Leader last night saying we expect mccarthy to move on ukraine expeditiously. Do they have a secret deal . Is it just the public pressure and expectation and going on mccarthys previous words that he supports ukraine because i dont think that is enough for mccarthy when his speakership is on the line to move this while all of this is going on. That is a huge part of it. And hes never guaranteed that this money will pass. Hes professed support for ukraine but that money is a whole another question and it could open up to a challenge from the right. So many huge questions ahead. Next, The Big Question facing the Republican Party. As the trump train already left the station . They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. That is what donald trump is betting after skipping a second primary debate and so far his bet is paying off. Voters dont seem to care in primary races in the polls show that hes still dominated every national and early state poll. Tab lishment republicans have spent months hoping for i atrump alternative but it is not happening. With less than four months until iowa, antitrump groups and gop donors looking to put money behind another option seem to be looking hope. The panel is back here with to discuss this. Jeff, you were on the trail all the time. Are voters open to another option at this point or are they resigned or do they are they happy that trump is running away with this . The voters are definitely open to another option where the race is actually on. It is very hard for any of these candidates to break through and get any oxygen at all because of trump. His legal charges, the shutdown, et cetera. But when you talk to the voters would will make these early decisions, they are interested in looking at the candidates. And if donald trump was so conv confident, i dont think he would spend his day in iowa. There are many other cities along the way and a motorcade and where is he going next weekend . Cedar rapids. So hes doing one of two ing thises. Either trying to put his foot on the gas and his boot on the throat of ron desantis or perhaps a little bit worried and wondering if he has this closed down. So where the race is actually playing out, it is still a race. The question, of course, is there any time for these candidates, for someone to emer emerge out of this field. The debate was interesting. I guess that is a word for it. But i do think that Florida Governor ron desantis improved his standing. Nikki haley is still strong in the mind of some voters. So i think the race is playing out. And there is always this tension with trump. Primary versus general and what he be like as a general election candidate and his rhetoric is what we hear about. He had a speech in friday in california where he made some eyebrow raising claims. Well stand up to crazy nancy pelosi who ruined san francisco. How is her Husband Doing by the way . Anybody know . If you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store. Shot. [ Crowd Chanting ] trump, trump, trump. There must be retribution for threat and destruction and the ruination of our country. I mean, hes talking about the former speaker of houses husband who was attacked in the head with a hammer after someone, an assailant broke into their home in san francisco. And suggesting that people robbing a store should be shot. Do voters realize or recognition his rhetoric or is it already baked in . It is already baked in. I dont think there are many viewers out there who say, gosh, i dont know what i this i about donald trump but now that saw that ive changed my mind or painted this picture of him. And this is what the Biden Campaign is counting on. Going forward. That right now this is still sort of in the background. This is the California Republican convention. This isnt getting 24 hour News Coverage like he will get if hes the knominee and reminding this is what the Biden Campaign is happy about, reminding voters who are right now feeling pretty nah about biden and democrats and running with what the stakes are. This is the same guy and if not even more radical than he was back when he was president. And all of this plays out as he had this big back and forth with the top official mark milley raising concerns about trump in his farewell as the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and trump making some comments in response. We are unique among the worlds militaries. We dont take an oath to a country, we dont take an oath to a tribe, we dont take an oath to a religion, we dont take an oath to a king or a queen or to a tyrant or a dictator, and we dont