Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says he is pleased so far with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) performance.
Gaetz was one of six Republicans who refused to vote for McCarthy in the speaker election. He voted for other candidates or as "present" in every round, but now he says the House speaker deserves an "A" grade, according to a conversation with Just the News.
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"I would give Speaker McCarthy an 'A' for his work so far at the beginning of the 118th Congress, and we are in possession of far more tools that will help us get to those policy outcomes that we want," Gaetz told the outlet Monday.
"Look, I want strong borders. I want budgets that balance. And I want bureaucrats held in check. And now, as a result of what we went through in early January, we have the tools to evaluate spending legislation — not all together at once in some 4,000-page bill, but in individual appropriations bills," he said.
Gaetz was also complimentary of McCarthy's handling of debt ceiling negotiations and applauded McCarthy's pressure on President Joe Biden.
"Undeniably, the debt limit is the next big challenge that the Congress faces, and I think Speaker McCarthy has done a great job insisting that the president negotiate these matters, that we talk about agreed-upon areas for spending cuts, and if we're able to achieve that, it will be a win-win for the country, for the House and for President Biden even," Gaetz said.
Gaetz strongly opposed McCarthy becoming speaker. He called him a "squatter" for setting up shop in the speaker's office during the House speaker vote and said his bid for the speakership was an "exercise in vanity."
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The Florida congressman later changed his vote to "present," clearing the way for McCarthy's election. The House speaker expressed his gratitude to Gaetz in the immediate aftermath of his election.
“It became a tie and … Matt really wanted to get everybody there. Through all of this, people’s emotions go up and down. At the end of the night, Matt got everybody there to the point that nobody voted against it. It actually helped unite,” McCarthy said last month.