Now GOP moves to expel Rep. Matt Gaetz after he signaled plans to boot House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for averting government shutdown
Now GOP Rep. Expelling Matt Gaetz after signaling plans to boot House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for preventing government shutdown
- The tide appears to have turned and GOP colleagues are seeking to oust Gaetz as the House Ethics Committee investigating him finds misconduct
- Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only fifteen members
The Republican Party has moved to expel Rep. Matt Gaetz after he announced plans to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for averting the government shutdown.
The tide appears to have turned and Republican Party colleagues are seeking to oust Gaetz when the House Ethics Committee investigating him finds misconduct. A two-thirds majority would be needed for the motion to pass.
‘Nobody can stand him right now. A smart guy with no morals,” an anonymous lawmaker told Fox News.
The Ethics Committee has been investigating him since 2021 for alleged sexual misconduct, illegal drug use, sharing inappropriate images on the House floor and misusing campaign funds.
Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only fifteen members.
The Republican Party has moved to expel Representative Matt Gaetz after he announced plans to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for preventing the government shutdown.
Gaetz announced Sunday that his motion to leave the speakership is imminent.
“I plan to introduce a motion this week to remove Chairman McCarthy,” Gaetz said on CNN Sunday morning. “I think we need to rip the band-aid off. I think we need to move forward with new leadership that can be reliable.”
To remove him from office, Gaetz would have to collect 218 votes. Most Republicans would likely vote no on the measure, meaning many of those votes would have to come from Democrats.
This comes after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy challenged Rep. Matt Gaetz to “stir it up” after the Florida Republican said he would make a motion to impeach him.
“I will survive,” McCarthy said of the news on ABC on Sunday morning. ‘Bring it on. Let’s stop it.’
The Florida Republican has long said that if McCarthy introduced a “clean” continuing resolution, or CR, in the House of Representatives, he would make the motion.
During the frenzied 15-vote vote, McCarthy agreed to a one-member motion to leave, meaning one member of Congress can force a vote in the House of Representatives to remove him as speaker.
McCarthy has accused Gaetz of pursuing a personal vendetta against him as the Florida Republican is under investigation by the Ethics Commission.
“This is personal for Matt,” McCarthy said Sunday. “(Gaetz) is more interested in getting TV interviews than doing anything. He wanted to push us into a shutdown.”
To remove him from office, Gaetz would have to collect 218 votes. Most Republicans would likely vote no on the measure, meaning many of those votes would have to come from Democrats.
“I’m done owning Kevin McCarthy,” Gaetz said. The speaker met with Gaetz in recent weeks to try to find a path forward on spending that could support the right flank.
This comes after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy challenged Rep. Matt Gaetz to “get it going” after the Florida Republican said he would make the motion to impeach him.
“I don’t own him anymore because he’s not telling the truth,” Gaetz said.
He predicted his own motion would fail because some Democrats would vote to keep McCarthy in the speaker’s seat.
“The only way Kevin McCarthy can be Speaker of the House of Representatives at the end of this week is if the Democrats bail him out. Now they probably will.”
Nancy Pelosi also said Gaetz was a “fraud” for claiming that the reason he brought the motion to the table was because McCarthy had brokered a bipartisan deal to fund the government in the House of Representatives.
‘It is such a fraud when they say that the basis of this is about expenditure. These are people who gave a tax cut to the richest people in America,” she said.
Pelosi has reportedly warned Jeffries to be careful about rescuing McCarthy because he fears he cannot be trusted.
But Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has already decided she will vote with Gaetz against the speaker.
“Absolutely,” she said when asked the question. ‘I think Kevin McCarthy is a very weak speaker. He has clearly lost control of his party.’