Reportedly, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is actively collaborating with Democratic members of Congress to oust House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
According to Politico, Gaetz has been privately approaching House Democrats to rally support for his efforts to remove McCarthy from the position of Speaker of the House.
Gaetz’s actions come as he threatens to initiate a vote to oust McCarthy if the latter collaborates with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown.
Among the Democrats Gaetz has reached out to is the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). Jayapal confirmed her conversation with Gaetz, stating that the Progressive Caucus has no intentions of saving McCarthy.
“He’s been talking to everybody about it,” Jayapal said to Politico. “I told him in our caucus, in the Progressive Caucus, we’re not planning to save McCarthy — for a whole host of reasons. And so, we really need to get through the shutdown first.”
Gaetz refuted claims of discussing the matter with Democrats, asserting to Politico that it’s “false” to suggest he sought their support for a potential vote to remove McCarthy from the speaker position. He emphasized his primary concern is “killing” the upcoming short-term spending bill that McCarthy plans to present for voting this Friday.
Allegedly, several Republicans are very unhappy about this move. Some are even hoping for movement from the House Ethics Committee to get Gaetz removed.
Last Tuesday, Gaetz took to Twitter to publicly challenge McCarthy, venting his frustration over what he perceived as inaction regarding the investigation into Hunter Biden. The move by Gaetz was a clear indication of the growing impatience within certain factions of the GOP.
Gaetz has also accused McCarthy of not fulfilling the agreement he made to become speaker in January. At one point, McCarthy told him to stop threatening and just do it.
Representative Gaetz wants McCarthy to shut the government down. That never works out for Republicans.
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