Player of the week: Rep. Kevin McCarthy

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will have a very busy week.

The majority whip has the challenging task of keeping House Republicans in line with Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) new plan to cut spending and reduce the deficit.

{mosads}McCarthy attracted praise last week for his vote-counting effort on the “cut, cap and balance” plan. Despite some chatter that the vote would be close, it sailed through the House, 234-190. 

The margin is significant because that bill, touted by conservatives, calls for raising the debt ceiling. Only nine Republicans, including Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.), defected, saying they will reject any measure that seeks to hike the $14.3 trillion limit. Meanwhile, five Democrats voted for “cut, cap and balance,” which went on to be defeated in the Senate on Friday.

McCarthy’s job will be tougher this week, because some people on the right dislike Boehner’s new proposal.

The bill, expected to be considered on the House floor later this week, would save $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years and raise the debt ceiling by $1 trillion immediately. The proposal caps discretionary spending over 10 years and provides a mechanism to cut spending automatically if those caps are breached. The plan requires the House and Senate to vote on a balanced-budget amendment before the end of the year.

Conservatives on and off Capitol Hill expressed skepticism about the measure, questioning why Boehner is not sticking to the initial “cut, cap and balance” bill. 

Those negative early reviews come in the wake of his request for unity, made on a conference call with colleagues on Sunday.

McCarthy cannot rely on help from Democrats in the lower chamber, so he will have to focus on minimizing defections. With 240 Republicans in the House, McCarthy can only afford about two dozen defections if every Democrat rejects the legislation.

If the bill falters, GOP leaders will lose leverage in the debate. Passing this bill will be a major test of McCarthy’s whipping operation.