GOP rep: What ‘backroom deals were cut’ to secure Speakership for McCarthy?

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she is nervous about possible “backroom deals” that were cut in negotiations that secured Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) the gavel, saying she is considering holding back her support of a House rules package.

“What I saw last week was a small faction … trying to cut backroom deals in private, in secret without anyone knowing what else was going on,” Mace said on “Face The Nation” with Margaret Brennan. “So my question today is what backroom deals were cut?”

Mace said lawmakers were unsure of the promises made to a group of Republican McCarthy holdouts to secure him the Speakership. The lack of transparency, she said, was a cause for “significant heartburn.”

“We don’t know what they got or didn’t get,” Mace said. “We haven’t seen it. We don’t have any idea what promises were made.”

Mace said she is “considering that as an option” when asked if she would withhold her support for a House rules package that is scheduled for a vote on Monday. She said she likes the House rules that have been proposed, but that she doesn’t support lawmakers trying to make private deals with McCarthy.

“I am on the fence right now about the rules package vote tomorrow for that reason.”