GOP senators brush off "silly" McCarthy budget threat

Senate Republicans on Tuesday shrugged off a vow from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to block the legislative priorities of any GOP senator who votes for the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill.

Why it matters: Senate Republicans are saying what their House counterparts can't — that McCarthy's tough talk is intended to win over the conservatives whose votes he needs to become speaker and that he won't follow through.

What they're saying: In interviews with Axios, nearly a dozen Senate Republicans said McCarthy's threat is not to be taken seriously on their side of the Capitol.

“He’s focused on being speaker, and if I were in his shoes that’s what I would be focused on, trying to get enough votes. But I don't think that intimidates anyone," Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the top negotiator on the omnibus, told Axios.