Rep. Gaetz says he'll try to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post this week
GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz will seek to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his leadership post this week, he told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday.
His comments come after McCarthy relied on Democratic votes to pass a stopgap funding measure to avert a federal government shutdown Saturday night — a move that hardline conservatives had threatened could cost him his job.
“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 can be trustworthy,” Gaetz said on CNN’s "State of the Union."
“Look, the one thing everybody has in common is that nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy," the Florida lawmaker continued. "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."
Democrats' role in the leadership fight: Gaetz said he thinks Democrats would have to help McCarthy retain his speakership.
“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,” he said.
If Democrats do help McCarthy retain his speakership, “he will be their speaker, not mine,” Gaetz added.
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