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Members of the House Freedom Caucus drove a hard bargain before allowing new Speaker Kevin McCarthy to gain the gavel early Saturday morning — cutting a deal that gave the California Republican a slender victory and drastically increased the power of the conservative faction.
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who led the anti-McCarthy forces, said he felt triumphant about the four-day, 15-vote brawl that could hamstring the new Speaker on the federal budget, committee assignments, and more.
“I feel like the American people won. I feel that the House of Representatives will be a healthier institution,” Gaetz crowed to The Post in a Saturday morning interview from Washington, DC. “Many of these things had been resisted by Kevin McCarthy as early as Monday and now we have an exquisite rules package.”
Freedom Caucus members will be granted several seats on the crucial House Rules Committee and House Appropriations Committee — a “very important” concession, Gaetz said. He declined to say who he was pushing for those roles.
The low-profile Rules Committee determines how new bills can be introduced into the House. Its members — often some of the body’s most senior lawmakers — can effectively stall bills of their choosing, making them some of the most powerful in the chamber.
