Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said on Tuesday that he has no regrets for leading the charge to topple Kevin McCarthy from his post as speaker of the House.
In an interview with conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the Fort Walton Beach Republican noted that his only regret was that the temporary speaker, GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry, declared a week’s recess as a cooling-off period following the controversial vote.
“I don’t think we should be cooling off. I think we should be heating up,” said Gaetz.
In the news: POLL: Strong Majority Of Americans From Both Sides Agree With Rep. Gaetz Of Florida On McCarthy
The House, he added, should have continued to do its work, especially on the budget, and put pressure on the Senate to act on spending bills.
Gaetz also defended his maneuvering, commenting on a recent poll that showed a solid majority of Americans supported forcing McCarthy out.
As the Tampa Free Press reported on Tuesday, that CBS News poll found that 53% of Republicans 54% of self-described conservatives backed the change in leadership. Among others, McCarthy’s ouster was supported by 67% of Democrats and 70% of liberals, as well as 61% of independents and 58% of moderates concurred.
“My resolution vacating Kevin McCarthy may be the most popular thing that the House of Representatives has passed that has actually gotten enacted,” Gaetz told Kirk. “It’s certainly more popular than the debt limit deal and the continuing resolution.”
Gaetz also addressed the talking point, by liberals and even some conservatives, that the country is now in chaos because McCarthy got the boot.
In the news: Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Slams Gaetz, GOP Reps Who Voted To Oust McCarthy
The congressman argued that House Republicans could pick a new speaker as early as Wednesday, when GOP lawmakers will hold a closed-door meeting to debate whether to give the reins to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise or Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan.
“We’ve had a pretty large sample size of the Kevin McCarthy experience,” said Gaetz.
“Kevin McCarthy had nine months to lead the House of Representatives and he didn’t really deliver on anything substantive for the American people. All we did was advance [President] Joe Biden’s spending and [Democratic Rep.] Nancy Pelosi’s policy priorities.”
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