Newt Gingrich calls on the GOP to REMOVE Matt Gaetz for being an ‘anti-Republican’ and slams his ‘childish behavior’
- Newt Gingrich, a Republican from Georgia, served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999
- After Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker on Tuesday — becoming the first speaker in history to be kicked out — Gingrich wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post
- Gingrich said Matt Gaetz, who orchestrated McCarthy’s downfall, should be expelled from the party because he had turned against McCarthy and tarnished their group.
Newt Gingrich has called for Matt Gaetz to be expelled from the Republican Party for ousting Chairman Kevin McCarthy. He describes Gaetz as selfish, “incompetent,” childish, vain and an embarrassment to their side.
Gingrich, 80, was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1995 until his retirement in 1999.
Gingrich, a staunch defender of Donald Trump, said Tuesday that he believed Gaetz, another MAGA Republican, had done the party a disservice.
Gaetz introduced the motion to remove McCarthy on Monday, which passed Tuesday afternoon. McCarthy, who was elected in January in a highly controversial vote, became the first speaker in history to be impeached.
‘Representative. Matt Gaetz is an anti-Republican who has become actively destructive to the conservative movement,” Gingrich wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post.
‘Drama has been filling the halls of Congress for 234 years. Bringing together a group of 435 strong-willed personalities guarantees conflict, and it has always been a tumultuous affair.
“But some behavior crosses the line – and when that happens, there must be consequences.”
Newt Gingrich is seen as Speaker of the House of Representatives, a role he held from 1995 to 1999
Gingrich, now 80, recently appeared on Fox News. Gingrich remains influential in Republican circles
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz led the move Tuesday to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, joined by a small group of hardline Republicans who viewed McCarthy as a weak conservative.
Kevin McCarthy is seen leaving the House after the vote to remove him as Speaker
Gingrich described Gaetz as indulging in “childish behavior” and using his personal dislike of McCarthy as a weapon.
Gingrich dismissed the 41-year-old Floridian as vain and self-promoting, arguing that he was not interested in actually setting policy.
“If Gaetz was just a vocal junior member who attacked McCarthy every day, that would be fine too,” Gingrich wrote.
“He would just be isolated with a small group of lawmakers who don’t know how to get things done. They huddled together seeking warmth and reassurance from their fellow incompetents.
‘But Gaetz has gone beyond regular drama. He is destroying the Republican Party’s ability to govern and stands in stark contrast to the policy disasters of the Biden administration.”
Former President Donald Trump and Rep. Matt Gaetz are close — the two are seen above at a November 2019 campaign rally in Florida
“I would say my conversations with the former president give me great confidence that I’m doing the right thing,” Gaetz said of his conversations with Donald Trump
Gingrich pointed to Gaetz’s continued presence on cable news, saying he had no real power and was instead “breaking the rules in pursuit of personal attention and fundraising.”
‘Gaetz’s motion to impeach McCarthy should have been quickly defeated, but it wasn’t; he should still be expelled from the House Republican Conference,” Gingrich concluded.
“The Republicans in the House of Representatives have much more important things to do than entertain the ego of one member.”