McCarthy Spills Why He Thinks Matt Gaetz Ousted Him as House Speaker

Matt Vespa / Townhall Tipsheet

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has lost his job as House speaker. He’s still a member of Congress but won’t fight to get his leadership job back. He will let the gavel go to someone else after a motion to vacate passed 216-210 in the House on Tuesday. Eight Republicans colluded with Democrats to boot the California Republican out of the speaker’s office. The House GOP must find someone who can get 218 votes by next week. 

McCarthy addressed the media Tuesday evening after a meeting with the caucus where he declared he would be stepping back. He also spilled why he felt Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who filed the motion, would execute this ploy to remove him. To McCarthy, this had nothing to do with the stopgap measure passed on September 30, which averted a government shutdown. It was the ethics investigation into Mr. Gaetz (via NY Post):

"The longstanding feud between Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) goes back much farther than Tuesday’s historic vote to unseat McCarthy as House speaker.

Gaetz has long been McCarthy’s loudest opponent — dramatically voting “present” rather than backing the California Republican’s bid....Read more, see Xs and videos here.

'It's Disgusting!': GOP Rep Blasts This Text Message That Went Out Amid Effort to Oust McCarthy

Leah Barkoukis / Townhall Tipsheet

 

GOP Rep. Garret Graves of Florida called out Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for fundraising off his efforts to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership.

Even though Republicans only have a slim majority in the lower chamber, Graves highlighted what conservatives have accomplished this year, which led him to wonder “what is going on.”

“What’s going on in this body? We have Freedom Works, Heritage, Chip Roy, and Jim Jordan say something is conservative,” but the few lawmakers who supported Gaetz’s effort now argue the opposite and are seen as being correct. 

“And all of a sudden, my phone keeps sending text messages,” Graves continued. “Text messages saying, ‘Hey, give me money.’ Oh, look at that. ‘Give me money, I filed a motion to vacate.’ Using official actions, official actions to raise money. It’s disgusting. It’s what’s disgusting about Washington.”

The Florida Republican wasn’t the only one to speak out about Gaetz’s fundraising. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was on Fox News when voting was underway, said the fundraising stunt “makes me uncomfortable.” Read more, see Xs and videos here.

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS... Podcast

If you missed last night's show where RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discussed 'It's All About Timing'; 'Diverting Attention From Joe’s Woes'; and the ousting of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy....you can listen to it (and previous shows) at your convenience at: https://rspradio1.com to go directly to our podcasts.