BURSTRep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a Sunday interview that House Republicans know they won’t be reelected if they vote against final passage of President Trump’s megabill.
In an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” McCaul outlined three reasons he supports the bill: border security, funding for the Department of Defense “at a time when [it] … is desperately needed” and an extension of tax cuts to avoid “the largest tax increase in American history.”
He added that Republicans might face backlash from their GOP base if they block the president’s massive agenda bill, which was narrowly advanced in the Senate on Saturday.
“For those three reasons, I’m a yes,” McCaul said. “I think everyone in the House, they know the peril they're in if they vote no on this thing.”
Moderator Margaret Brennan pushed McCaul to elaborate on what “peril” the members are in.
“I think, first of all, it's good for the nation. Secondly, they know that their jobs are at risk,” McCaul said.
“Not just from the president, but from the voting — the American people,” he added. “Our base back home will not reelect us to office if we vote no on this.”
The bill narrowly advanced in the Senate this weekend, despite dissenting votes from two GOP senators, including Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), who took issue with the deep cuts to Medicaid in the bill.
Trump, in turn, took aim at Tillis, floating the prospect of a primary challenge in his next reelection cycle. Tillis said Sunday he would not run for reelection.