Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz announced that he will present a motion to vacate against the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. This comes after the House passed a bill which prevented the government from shutting down last Saturday. The legislator, who had been threatening the conservative leader in the House since the middle of last month, warned: "I am relentless and will continue to pursue this goal," although he believes that, "the Democrats will bail him out." After the announcement, McCarthy said, "I will Survive. So be it. Bring it on, let's get over with it."
I will file a motion to vacate against @SpeakerMcCarthy this week. pic.twitter.com/kFA7X7P2OG
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) October 1, 2023
Gaetz says no one trusts McCarthy
Gaetz's posts on social media on Saturday indicated that he was serious about taking action. On Sunday morning, the Florida congressman visited the sets of CNN and ABC where he announced that he would try to overthrow McCarthy.
During an interview with Jack Tupper in State of the Union on CNN, Gaetz announced that will file the motion because McCarthy is untrustworthy and is not fulfilling the commitments made in January. One of the reasons that allowed the conservative leader to obtain the position of speaker was that he agreed to reduce the number of representatives needed, from five to one, to start the process of ousting him. For the Florida representative, the latest pact with the Democrats to continue financing the government for 47 more days was the last straw. "This agreement that he made with Democrats to really blow past a lot of the spending guardrails we set up is a last straw," he said.
I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week. I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that will be trustworthy. Look, the one thing everybody has in common is that nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy. He lied to Biden, he lied to House conservatives. He had appropriators marking to a different number altogether. And the reason we were backed up against the shutdown politics is not a bug of the system. It’s a feature.
Gaetz believes McCarthy will be supported by Democrats
Gaetz, however, believes the motion may fail because McCarthy is protected by Democrats. "The only way Kevin McCarthy is speaker of the House at the end of this coming week is if Democrats bail him out. Now, they probably will. I actually think that when you believe in nothing as Kevin McCarthy does, everything's negotiable and I think he'll cut a deal with the Democrats," said the congressman. In addition, the representative stated, "I think Democrats should vote for free against McCarthy," adding that, if not, "he will be their Speaker, not mine."
JUST IN: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) tells @jaketapper that he will move to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy this week. @CNNSotu #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/5gpuum4eGy
— CNN (@CNN) October 1, 2023
Shortly after, Gaetz said the same thing on the set of This Week on ABC. The congressman acknowledged that he does not believe he has enough support at the moment, because he believes that the Democratic representatives will vote in favor of the speaker. However, he added, sarcastically, that he could obtain the votes "before 15 sessions," which is the number of votes that McCarthy needed to obtain the reward.
GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz tells @JonKarl that his plan to bring forward a House vote on Kevin McCarthy’s speakership is an “exercise to show the American people who really governs you.”
“I actually think Democrats are going to bail out Kevin McCarthy.” https://t.co/KInxWHwCkT pic.twitter.com/VLSSJZK3jH
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 1, 2023
McCarthy: "This is personal"
McCarthy was not concerned and asked Gaetz to present the motion as soon as possible to settle the matter. In an interview on CBS's Face The Nation, the speaker accused his fellow member of being "trying to work with Democrats" to bring him down and has "reached out" to Democratic lawmakers such as Eric Swalwell, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, "and others."
This is personal with Matt. Matt voted against the most conservative ability to protect our border, secure our border. He’s more interested in securing TV interviews than doing something. So be it — bring it on. Let’s get over with it and let’s start governing.
"I'll survive," House @SpeakerMcCarthy says after Rep. Matt Gaetz said Sunday that he will introduce a motion to vacate McCarthy from his seat this week.
"Bring it on. Let's get over with it." pic.twitter.com/SnCVIHTN4f
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 1, 2023
AOC wants to remove McCarthy: "Kevin McCarthy is a very weak speaker"
Several members of the Democratic Party were cautious about what they would do if the speaker's future was left in their hands. Nancy Pelosi told CNN that she recommends her colleagues "follow the leader" and do what the minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, decides. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortéz wants McCarthy to be immediately removed:
I think Kevin McCarthy is a very weak speaker. He clearly has lost control of his caucus. He has brought the United States and millions of Americans to the brink, waiting until the final hour to keep the government open, and even then only issuing a 45-day extension.
AOC: Kevin MCcCarthy is a very weak speaker. He has clearly lost control of his caucus. He has brought the United States and millions of Americans to the brink waiting for the final hour to keep the government open, and even then only issuing a 45-day extension. pic.twitter.com/geQdaHzvGu
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 1, 2023
