McCarthy blames conservatives' House floor revolt on possible Scalise 'miscalculation'

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appeared to issue a rare public rebuke of his top deputy on Wednesday, blaming the chaos that unfolded on the House floor Tuesday on a "miscalculation" between Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and a conservative member. 

Eleven hard-line Republicans banded together to tank a procedural measure, known as a vote on rules, that was meant to precede a GOP bill cementing Americans’ access to gas stoves. It was the first time a rules vote has failed in two decades.

McCarthy admitted to feeling "blindsided" by the rebellion and explained, "I don't run… I try to.. look. We put different rules out there, and the Majority Leader runs the floor.

"Yesterday was started on something else. It was a, it was a conversation that the Majority Leader had with [Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga.], and I think it was a miscalculation or misinterpretation of what one said to another. And that's what started this and then something else bellowed into it."

GOP TOUTS MCCARTHY-BIDEN DEAL AS ‘CONSERVATIVE’ VICTORY AS SOME REPUBLICANS DEFECT

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., right, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., conduct a news conference after the House passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act in the U.S. Capitol's Rayburn Room in Washington, D.C., on May 31, 2023.

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and their allies have signaled they will blockade further action on the chamber floor over anger at McCarthy for how he handled the debt limit deal struck between him and President Biden over Memorial Day weekend, which passed along bipartisan lines in both the House and Senate. Many have claimed the GOP got "rolled" on the compromise, pointing out that more Democrats than Republicans had voted for it in both chambers.

The rebels also accused GOP leadership of exacting revenge against Clyde for his and others’ attempt to block the debt limit bill from coming to a vote in the House last week by stymieing legislation introduced by Clyde to roll back a Biden administration gun control provision.

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Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., attends the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing titled FY2024 Request for the Department of Justice, in Rayburn Building on March 29, 2023.

Clyde tweeted on Tuesday evening that House Republican leaders agreed to bring his bill for a vote next week.

Scalise denied holding the bill hostage over Clyde’s debt limit vote during a press conference Tuesday morning, and appeared to fire right back at McCarthy in remarks to reporters on Wednesday.

"I talked to a number of the members as the voted was ending yesterday on the floor, and you know, clearly there was some anger expressed about the debt ceiling deal and even some perceived broken promises going back to the speakers race in January," Scalise said. "Other things came up, too. We're still working to bring the pistol brace bill to the floor. And there's been vote issues with that bill for a long time. I'm working with Congressman Clyde to get the pistol brace bill onto the floor but also to make sure it passes."

DEBT DEAL WITH BIDEN A 'BETRAYAL' THAT COULD COST MCCARTHY SPEAKERSHIP, HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS MEMBER SAYS

McCarthy and Scalise’s alliance has faced reports of tension in the past, despite the latter asserting earlier this year on ABC News that the pair "have a very strong, open relationship." And while he supported McCarthy during all 15 rounds of the speaker vote in January, Scalise’s name was still floated by some GOP lawmakers as a possible alternative to the former minority leader at the time. 

 Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks during the House Freedom Caucus news conference to oppose the debt limit deal outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 30, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Speaking to reporters Wednesday, McCarthy expressed confidence that he would emerge from the current drama unscathed.

"I'm a little bigger of a risk-taker. I don't think going down is a bad thing. I don't think not winning on the first vote for speaker is a bad thing," he said. "So if there is going to be some conflict, if there’s going to be disruption, what's going to happen is the bill is going to be better at the other end, my speakership stronger from that point, too."