House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is receiving criticism from Rep. Matt Gaetz. Gaetz states that McCarthy may remain the Speaker of the House, but should not be considered Republican.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., finds himself between a rock and a hard place: Between Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and the United States Senate.
“You cannot be the Republican Speaker of the House while you’re using Democratic votes to pass Joe Biden’s spending priorities,” said Gaetz. “Now maybe you can stay the Speaker of the House. But you won’t be the Republican Speaker anymore.”
Gaetz noted that if McCarthy leans on a coalition of Republicans and Democrats to avert a shutdown, “he will face a motion to vacate.”
Gaetz added that McCarthy “would be a Speaker serving at the pleasure of Democrats.”
That’s unclear. Republicans only have a four seat majority. House Democrats are coy about what they would do if Gaetz called for McCarthy no-confidence vote. If just five Republicans vote in favor of ousting McCarthy and all Democrats join, the House could face the first mid-Congress vote for Speaker since the early 20th Century.
Gaetz could well drop the hammer on McCarthy if he courts Democrats to avert a government shutdown. Fox learned that Gaetz even spoke to some Democrats about trying to secure their support to bounce McCarthy from the Speakership.
That prompted a rebuke from some Republicans.
“There’s only one person to blame for any potential government shutdown and that’s Matt Gaetz. He’s not a conservative Republican. He’s a charlatan,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who holds one of the most endangered GOP seats on the map. “When you’re working with Democrats to try to vacate the Speaker, you’re a joke.”
House Republicans conducted a tempestuous meeting Thursday morning where the Speaker and Gaetz traded barbs.
It was long ago said that Congress is like high school. And the egging on by Gaetz appears to have devolved into that.
Gaetz sent around a document he bills as “Kevin’s Report Card.” It lists whether the Speaker complied with certain conservative demands for votes on various legislative initiatives. The “report card” comes complete with what appears to be a high school yearbook picture of McCarthy, and “teacher’s notes” reading “While Speaker McCarthy has been irritable and unhinged at times, we remain hopeful in his ability to improve.”
McCarthy began chatting with Democratic senators in an effort to attach a border security package to the Senate’s interim spending bill.
“I’m talking to Senate Democrats because even this morning, they want to do something on the border. I’ve got Democrats who came up to me on the floor last night saying ‘we want to do something on the border,’” said McCarthy.
