Ousting McCarthy a 'disaster for the future of the Republican Party,' Lindsey Graham says

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation that taking down Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker of the House would be a "disaster" for Republicans.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said he would challenge the speaker's leadership because of the spending plan on which he worked with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.

“I think Kevin is the right guy at the right time," Graham said. "The only way he loses his job is if a handful of Republicans join up with the Democratic Party to fire him. That would be a disaster for the future of the Republican Party. That’s not going to happen.”

He gave McCarthy credit for avoiding the shutdown and said the Senate would soon put out bills that included disaster spending, support for Ukraine, and border security measures -- parts of Republicans' original bill that were cut out in order to reach the deal.

He added, “Kevin has the overwhelming confidence of his membership. He worked to avoid a shutdown.”

Most people were sure that the government would shut down at midnight on Sunday, closing national parks and not paying some workers including the military.