'Rip Off the Band-Aid': Matt Gaetz Reveals Bold Plan To Remove Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker
The US government shutdown may have been temporarily averted but the feud between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and ultra-conservative Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz continues as the Florida man is now pushing to oust the embattled California congressman from the speakership.
According to USA TODAY, Gaetz vowed to file a motion to vacate against McCarthy this week. This will remove the California representative from the House leadership position.
"I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid," said the Florida Republican representative during an interview. "I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy."
McCarthy is under fire from the more hardline conservatives who do not want to make any concessions to Democrats despite only having a razor-thin majority in the House and the Democrats having both the Senate and the White House. The Speaker has since made concessions to the far-right Republicans, led by Gaetz, but those were not enough to placate them.
The move to oust McCarthy is considered an intense escalation of the feud between the more moderate Republicans in the House and the more radical ones that embrace former President Donald Trump much more. The feud was shown when McCarthy was forced to turn to Democrats to avert the government shutdown rather than his fellow Republican colleagues.
The Republican hardliner from Florida threatened to file a motion to vacate against McCarthy should the House Speaker reach across the aisle to keep the government afloat. He wanted to pass 12 appropriation bills necessary to fund the government long term. However, these bills would not have passed the Democrat-controlled Senate and would have made the government shutdown even more possible.
READ MORE: US Government Shutdown Prevented as Joe Biden Signs Funding Bill; Americans React
Kevin McCarthy Pushes Back Vs. Matt Gaetz's Effort To Oust Him as House Speaker
Kevin McCarthy hit back against Matt Gaetz, saying that the Florida man is a showman who is "more interested in securing TV interviews" than keeping the government functioning, according to The Guardian.
"I'll survive," McCarthy said in an interview before pointing out that Gaetz endangered his own constituents with the shutdown he was causing. "You know, this is personal with Matt. He wanted to push us into a shutdown, even threatening his own district with all the military people there who would not be paid."
The California Republican was standing defiant against Gaetz, adding, "So be it. Bring it on. Let's get it over with it, and let's start governing. If he's upset because he tried to push us into shutdown and I made sure the government didn't shut down, then let's have that fight."
Democrats May Side With Kevin McCarthy Regarding Motion To Vacate
To save his job, Kevin McCarthy may have to rely on House Democrats to save him this time, as they are likelier to side with him rather than ally with the Pro-Trump hardliners.
According to Axios, some Democrats might not be on board with saving McCarthy from his own Republican colleagues.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has so far declined to weigh in on a motion to vacate, though some of the more moderate Democrats may be inclined to help save McCarthy. Meanwhile, other Democrats have adopted the "wait and see" approach on whether to help the embattled House Speaker keep his job.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Crockett blasts Gaetz' vote to oust McCarthy: 'We are on an absolute roller coaster' - MSNBC
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