It is conceivable–though hardly assured–that McCarthy can get unanimous GOP House approval of a plan by including everything in everyone’s wish list and telling moderates that it is just an opening bid that shouldn’t be taken seriously. That effectively puts off the hard choices to a later date. But what happens next?
The problem for McCarthy is that he can’t possibly get unanimous approval in his caucus for any deal that would be acceptable to the Democrats, who hold most of the cards in this process, as they are relatively united against fiscal blackmail and control the Senate. That means two things: first, if there is a deal, it will probably be made between the Democrats and moderate GOP members, with most GOP House members in opposition; and second, that deal would put his job in jeopardy, given the concessions he made to the extremists in January and his razor thin majority.