Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican, has proposed joining forces with Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House.
After responding to Swalwell’s article in which he criticized Gaetz and McCarthy and Gaetz’s failure to get McCarthy removed, Gaetz teased the notion in a post on social networking site X.
Swalwell said on X that he’s never seen a guy (Gaetz) make so many “empty threats.” He said Gaetz caved and allowed McCarthy to be elected speaker, and he will never make a motion to remove him.
Gaetz responded directly, asking, “How many Democrat votes can I count on if I bring a motion to remove Kevin?”
In a subsequent message to X, he elaborated on the possibility of working with Swalwell to get McCarthy fired.
McCarthy has been under fire for some time, and this discussion happened during tense legislative negotiations.
McCarthy has been criticized for many things, including an agreement with Democrats to prevent a default on the national debt, his position on help for Ukraine during the 18-month conflict with Russia, and his refusal to release surveillance footage of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
One of McCarthy’s most vocal detractors, Gaetz notoriously did not support McCarthy for speaker in January. In a response to a post on X this month, he also vowed to “be better” in holding McCarthy responsible.
Gaetz said about removing McCarthy that he is using the resources at his disposal, and he has spent the past eight months offering his best attempt at this. He admitted the results haven’t been good enough, and he hasn’t been good enough. It’s something he’s given a lot of thought to, and he promised to do better in the future.
