It is still unknown whether the Republicans will set their plan in motion or if it is just an attempt to show McCarthy the depth of their dissatisfaction with his positions on certain legislative matters, the newspaper said, adding that despite this uncertainty, some far-right members of the Grand Old Party (GOP) believe that removing McCarthy is "inevitable" and "imminent" and that it is going to happen soon enough.
If the Republican group succeeds in ousting the House Speaker in the midst of the shutdown, a protracted battle will begin within the party to appoint someone new to the position. This struggle would block all the legislative actions of the US Congress, which would threaten to further halt the work of the country's government, the newspaper added.
Given the potential disagreements among the Republicans, should the vote happen, the fate of McCarthy as speaker would be decided by the House Democrats, since the proposal to remove the speaker must be backed by a majority of House members, the report said. Democrats have not yet decided whether to defend McCarthy or vote against him, it added, citing people familiar with the Democratic leadership's thinking.
Far-right House Republicans believe a member of McCarthy's leadership team, Tom Emmer, should become the new speaker, as he has a better chance of delivering more conservative decisions, the newspaper said, adding that Emmer himself is not really interested in the possibility.
"I fully support Speaker McCarthy. He knows that and I know that," Emmer told the newspaper, adding that he has "zero interest in palace intrigue."
The US Congress is attempting to coordinate the budget before the end of the month to avoid a government shutdown. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have proposed short-term measures, although there are differences between the two bills.
The Senate proposal includes more than $6 billion in aid to Ukraine, which some Republican lawmakers have opposed. The House proposal includes border security measures, which the Democrat-majority Senate is unlikely to approve.