Kevin McCarthy tries to oust Chamber of Commerce CEO after years of group wavering on GOP support

On Wednesday, Axios reported that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is pressuring the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to oust Suzanne Clark, the organization's president and CEO.

"McCarthy’s direct conversations make clear he will not work with Clark and her leadership team if Republicans win control and he becomes House speaker," reported Hans Nichols and Jonathan Swan. "But he’s charting a potential path forward for the business group to reestablish a relationship with the GOP conference."

According to Axios, Chamber chairman of the board Mark Ordan has said he has no plans to remove Clark.

“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce team serves a vital role in the daily defense of American business. We serve our members, not a political party," Ordan told Axios. "Staying true to that mission requires a smart, savvy, vigorous leader like our CEO Suzanne Clark. It is for that reason that our governing body, the executive committee of the board of directors, is unequivocally enthusiastic about Suzanne’s performance and the importance of her ongoing tenure as CEO of the U.S. Chamber. She has our complete support.”

The Chamber of Commerce, a national interest group that advocates for American businesses, has been a longtime supporter of the Republican Party. However, in the Trump presidency, the group increasingly broke with Republicans on a number of issues, condemning the former president's trade war with China and efforts to dismantle residency protections for young, high-skilled immigrants. Tensions came to a head when the Chamber backed a number of Democratic candidates in 2020, and when several member companies of the lobbyist group came out against voter suppression bills being drafted in states like Georgia.

This is not the first time Republicans have signaled hostility to their longtime ally. In September, The Intercept reported that Republicans are threatening to launch a congressional investigation into the Chamber of Commerce next year, alleging that their embrace of climate change-conscious business policies constitutes a violation of their member companies' fiduciary duties to shareholders.

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