Kevin McCarthy is desperate to become House speaker — and he needs every vote he can get. Now, seven extreme House Republicans put out a letter demanding that McCarthy threaten to CRASH THE ECONOMY to force cuts to key programs, which could include Social Security and Medicare, if he wants their votes.

Let’s be 100% clear: McCarthy needs these MAGA Republican votes. His path to the speakership depends on him making some kind of bargain with the most MAGA members of his caucus — even if that means risking running our economy into the ground.

Semafor: “Seven members of the House Freedom Caucus released a new set of demands for the incoming speaker that would require House Republicans to give their most conservative members more power and commit to using hardline tactics to pursue dramatic government spending cuts.”

Earlier this week, one of the letter’s signatories — MAGA GOP Congressman Chip Roy of Texas — called funding for key programs like Social Security and Medicare “fat and garbage” that “we can cut.”

CNN: “‘Hell no,’ Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said when asked if he’d support a clean debt ceiling hike without slashing discretionary programs at federal agencies and mandatory spending, which includes entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.

‘There’s a lot of fat and garbage that’s way off the mission that we can cut,’ Roy said.”

None of this is new from the House GOP: In September, top House Republican leaders promised they would make it one of their “top priorities” to force spending cuts if they took control.

Bloomberg Government: “Social Security and Medicare eligibility changes, spending caps, and safety-net work requirements are among the top priorities for key House Republicans who want to use next year’s debt-limit deadline to extract concessions from Democrats.”

The only way Kevin McCarthy becomes Speaker is if he makes a deal with the most MAGA members of his caucus and commits to holding our economy hostage to force cuts to key programs like Social Security and Medicare. That’s it. That’s the deal.