Staff Reports
In a bold move, Rep. Matt Gaetz confirmed on Monday that he has been in contact with former President Donald Trump regarding his efforts to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. When asked by reporters about seeking advice from Mr. Trump, Gaetz playfully quipped, “I think I’m going to keep that between the two of us.”
Gaetz says he’s in contact with Trump amid effort to oust McCarthy from speakershiphttps://t.co/SwCXdQPRrI pic.twitter.com/8L4r136Gsu
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) October 2, 2023
Gaetz, a Florida Republican, did not disclose the specifics of his conversations with the former president. However, he did confirm that these discussions took place after he publicly criticized McCarthy on the chamber floor and threatened to bring a motion to vacate the chair to remove him from his position.
Interestingly, when reporters questioned Mr. Trump over Gaetz’s efforts, the former president responded with his usual diplomatic flair, saying, “I don’t know anything about those efforts. I like them both very much.” Ah, politics!
Gaetz accused McCarthy of cutting a secret deal with the Democrats by promising to eventually take up the Senate’s Ukraine funding measure, in exchange for their support of Saturday’s temporary spending measure. Gaetz expressed his disbelief, saying, “So let me get this straight — to extend Joe Biden’s spending and policy priorities, the Speaker of the House gave away the money for Ukraine that Joe Biden wanted. Incredible!”
Clearly frustrated with McCarthy’s actions, Gaetz humorously commented, “It is going to be difficult for my Republican friends to keep calling President Biden feeble, while he continues to take Speaker McCarthy’s lunch money in every negotiation.” Ouch!
Gaetz has been threatening to use the motion to vacate against McCarthy for months, and he vowed to follow through on Sunday, calling for new leadership that can be trustworthy. He pointed to McCarthy’s reliance on Democrats to pass the 45-day stopgap spending bill, which nearly half of House Republicans voted against.
In Gaetz’s eyes, this bill fails to address the nation’s financial challenges, as the country remains a whopping $33 trillion in debt with $2.2 trillion annual deficits. Gaetz’s determination to remove McCarthy from his leadership post has gained attention, as he only needs a handful of Republicans to turn against him in order to be successful. Let the political games begin!
