EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Matt Gaetz said Thursday he is "open-minded" on a House rules change that would abolish the tool he used to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, while telling Fox News Digital that he would support either Rep. Jim Jordan or Rep. Steve Scalise as his replacement.
McCarthy, R-Calif., was removed as speaker of the House after Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a measure against him known as a motion to vacate, accusing him of breaking promises he made to win the speaker's gavel in January.
Lawmakers voted to oust McCarthy Tuesday from the speakership for the first time in the history of the House of Representatives.
Rep. Matt Gaetz arrives for a closed-door meeting with House Republicans on the morning after he filed a motion to strip Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy from his leadership role, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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During an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday, Gaetz said he leans towards keeping the motion to vacate as an option, but didn't rule out supporting an effort to abolish it altogether.
"I’m leaning against changing our exiting rules for any particular purpose," Gaetz told Fox News Digital during an interview Thursday. "Though, I am open-minded and would be willing to hear anyone’s presentation if they were offering a rules change."
Representative Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Since McCarthy’s ouster, both House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., announced bids to run for speaker of the House.
"Both of these men would represent a monumental step forward for the Republican conference," Gaetz told Fox News Digital. "I don’t believe there is a single conservative in the country who would not believe we are in a better position with either of them."
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. (Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Gaetz told Fox News Digital he would be "honored to vote for either of these men on the floor."
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"In conference, I’ll make a decision based on spending," Gaetz said, referring to the House GOP conference meeting next week. "And whether they’re willing to liberate us on these continuing resolutions."
U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise speaks to reporters at a press conference following a House Republican Conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building on July 18, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, as Jordan gains support for speaker of the House within the GOP conference, questions are swirling on who could take his post as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee — which is jointly leading the impeachment inquiry against President Biden, alongside the House Oversight and Ways & Means Committees — if he is elected.
Capitol Hill sources said Gaetz may have ambitions, himself, for the post, but when asked, the congressman offered his support to a colleague instead.
"The best person to take the Judiciary Committee if Jordan became speaker would be Mike Johnson," Gaetz told Fox News Digital. "Because he’s a better lawyer than I am."