McCarthy’s Avoidance of Shutdown Puts His Position at Risk
Republican Congressman Plans to Remove House Speaker McCarthy
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) announced his intention to file a motion this week to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), accusing him of breaking agreements with conservatives and collaborating with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Gaetz emphasized the need for new leadership that can be trusted, stating, “We need to rip off the Bandaid. We need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy.”
McCarthy’s recent push for a funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, with the support of Democrats, has sparked controversy. Some Republican hardliners argued that this bill, which Democrats favored, would maintain current government funding for 45 days and allocate $16 billion for federal disaster assistance, as requested by the White House.
The funding bill passed the House with a 335–91 vote, receiving more support from Democrats than Republicans. Only one Democrat, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), voted against it, while 209 Democrats and 126 Republicans supported the measure.
The Senate approved the bill with an 88–9 vote, and President Joe Biden signed it into law just hours before the midnight deadline.
Gaetz criticized McCarthy for repeatedly breaching an agreement made with House conservatives in January, stating, “This agreement that he made with Democrats to really blow past a lot of the spending guardrails we set up is a last straw.”
The compromise bill did not include any new aid for Ukraine, but Gaetz accused McCarthy of lying about a secret deal with Democrats to secure funding for the country. Gaetz said, “So, as he was baiting Republicans to vote for a continuing resolution without Ukraine money, saying that we were going to jam the Senate on Ukraine, he then turns around and makes a secret deal.”
When asked about the level of support he expects for his motion to remove the speaker, Gaetz expressed confidence in having “enough” backing from his Republican colleagues. He warned that if McCarthy remains the Speaker of the House, he will essentially be serving the Democrats, stating, “The only way Kevin McCarthy is Speaker of the House at the end of this coming week is if Democrats bail him out.”
Unlike the continuing resolution, which requires a two-thirds supermajority to pass, a motion to vacate the speaker only needs a simple majority. For Gaetz’s motion to succeed, he will likely need support from Democrats.
Gaetz made it clear that he will not make any deals or concessions with Democrats, stating, “I actually think Democrats should vote against Speaker McCarthy for free. The one thing everybody has in common is that nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy.”
Gaetz was among the Republicans who initially opposed McCarthy’s bid for the speaker’s position. He had been threatening to take action against McCarthy for weeks, accusing him of lying to Biden and House conservatives. Gaetz argued that the shutdown politics were not a flaw in the system but a deliberate strategy.
In response to the call for his removal, McCarthy dismissed the threat, asserting that he will survive. He remarked, “That’s nothing new. He’s tried to do that from the moment I ran for office. This is personal with Matt.”
What are the accusations made against McCarthy by Gaetz?
Republican Congressman Plans to Remove House Speaker McCarthy
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has announced his intention to file a motion this week to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), accusing him of breaking agreements with conservatives and collaborating with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Gaetz emphasized the need for new leadership that can be trusted, stating, “We need to rip off the Band-Aid. We need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy.”
McCarthy’s recent push for a funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, with the support of Democrats, has sparked controversy. Some Republican hardliners argued that this bill, which Democrats favored, would maintain current government funding for 45 days and allocate $16 billion for federal disaster assistance, as requested by the White House.
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The funding bill passed the House with a 335–91 vote, receiving more support from Democrats than Republicans. Only one Democrat, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), voted against it, while 209 Democrats and 126 Republicans supported the measure.
The Senate approved the bill with an 88–9 vote, and President Joe Biden signed it into law just hours before the midnight deadline.
Gaetz criticized McCarthy for repeatedly breaching an agreement made with House conservatives in January, stating, “This agreement that he made with Democrats to really blow past a lot of the spending guardrails we set up is a last straw.”
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