Firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz on Sunday insisted his efforts to sack former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy were worth it – even if his fellow Republicans expel him from Congress as retaliation.
Gaetz (R-Fla.) led a faction of eight Republicans in backing a motion to vacate the chair — or oust McCarthy (R-Calif.) — in a 216 to 210 vote, with a unified bloc of Democrats, last week, sparking condemnation from others in the GOP.
“Absolutely,” Gaetz replied when asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if the move was worth it even if it leads to repercussions for himself.
“Look, I’m here to fight for my constituents,” he added. “And I’m here to ensure that America is not on a path to financial ruin.”
Gaetz – who is rumored to be eyeing a run for Florida governor – was livid at McCarthy’s decision to bring up a continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown on Sept. 30.
Instead, he wanted Congress to take up the necessary 12 appropriation bills one by one, something McCarthy agreed to do, albeit after passing the stopgap measure.
A cacophony of House Republicans have lashed out at Gaetz in response, even reportedly contemplating expelling him from the House GOP caucus.
“That’s crazy,” Gaetz quipped about the threat against him.
Still, Gaetz pledged to back whichever of the top two contenders to replace McCarthy garners the majority of the House GOP conference — Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Oh.) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.)
“Yes. If either of those men get the most support of the conference, I’m eager to vote for him on the floor,” Gaetz said.
He declined to back one over the other for now, saying that he plans to wait for the Republican candidate forum on Tuesday.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who joined Gaetz’s bid to depose McCarthy, endorsed Jordan on Sunday.
“I am going to be supporting Jim Jordan for speaker,” Mace told CBS’s “Face the Nation,” citing Jordan’s “values, his work ethic, his ability to just run circles around everyone with regard to policy.”
One of Mace’s grievances with McCarthy was his lack of action on her legislation to address women’s issues during his nine month stint with the gavel.
McCarthy disputed her suggestions that he had broken a promise to her on that.
Moderator Margaret Brennan grilled Mace on allegations that Jordan turned a blind eye to sexual assault accusations against a wrestling team doctor while coaching at Ohio State University decades ago.
“I’m not familiar or aware with that [sic],” Mace replied.
McCarthy’s dethroning marked the first time in history that a speaker of the house was given the boot during an internal mutiny.
The last time a motion to vacate received a vote was in 1910 against then-Speaker Joseph Cannon (R-Ill.). Only three such motions have ever been filed.
Republicans are planning to vote on the next speaker on Wednesday.
In the meantime, the House of Representatives is being led by Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC), whose powers are limited and not fully understood.
Given that there’s never been an acting speaker before, there has been a debate over McHenry’s ability to put certain bills up for a vote eon the House floor or complete other duties of a traditional speaker.
Meanwhile war has engulfed Israel, Ukraine aid is running low, and the nation is barreling toward the Nov. 17 deadline for another government shutdown.
Nationally, many top Republicans have decried the chaos unfolding in the lower chamber in Washington, DC.
“What I’ve seen up there in Washington for both parties is a lot of theater. There’s a lot of things that are done, it’s performative, but it’s not ultimately leading to anything,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told “Fox News Sunday.”
“[Americans] don’t really care who the speaker of the House is, they just want to see the job get done,” the 2024 Republican presidential hopeful said.