Representative Gaetz Suggests McCarthy’s Speaker Seat is in a Precarious Position

Rep. Matt Gaetz, while criticizing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s remarks on a stopgap bill to prevent a government shutdown, suggested that McCarthy’s leadership position is in jeopardy and asserted that “no one trusts” him. 

“I would say it’s on some tenuous ground,” the Florida Republican told reporters when asked if McCarthy’s leadership position is in danger, reports CNN. 

His comments came after McCarthy, R-Calif., stated that he was acting like the “adult in the room” by proposing a 45-day stopgap continuing resolution to prevent an impending government shutdown, which could occur at midnight if a resolution is not reached. 

“There’s nothing about delaying this process that is being the adult in the room,” Gaetz remarked. “We are at this point because Kevin McCarthy made multiple contradictory promises about the budget topline to different groups of people.”

He accused McCarthy of making “one promise to House conservatives” in January to secure the speaker’s seat and said he “made another promise to President [Joe] Biden, and he made a third promise altogether to House appropriators … The one thing everyone seems to have in common is that no one trusts Kevin McCarthy.”

Meanwhile, Gaetz said that conservative Republicans plan to continue garnering support for their single-subject spending bills. 

“This 45-day CR does not liberate us from our nation’s financial challenges,” Gaetz stated. 

He also informed reporters that it is “entirely within” McCarthy’s control whether the speaker will face a motion to vacate his seat and that McCarthy must fulfill his promise to House conservatives to concentrate on the single-subject bills. 

Earlier, McCarthy told CNN that he is not worried about retaining his position.

“Look, if someone wants to try to remove me because I stood for the American public, for the troops to make sure they got paid … to make sure the border agents got paid while we continue to do our work, I welcome that vote,” McCarthy remarked.

He also expressed his belief that it is acceptable to collaborate with Democrats to keep the government open.

“What is wrong with Americans working together?” he said. “What is wrong with a Republican and Democrat putting America first? I think that’s important.”