Rep. Matt Gaetz said on Wednesday that GOP conservatives in Congress must show Speaker Kevin McCarthy how angry they are with this deal to push through a hike in the federal debt ceiling.
But although McCarthy’s bargain with President Joe Biden breached the agreement that elevated him to the top spot in the House, Gaetz added that he’s not ready to oust the GOP leader.
“I don’t wanna vacate, and I don’t wanna placate. I see no reason to turn Speaker McCarthy into a martyr for the establishment,” the Fort Walton Beach Republican told podcaster Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.
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But, added Gaetz, “That agreement has been violated. We can’t just have a violation of that agreement and proceed as if nothing happened.”
Conservatives expressed their discontent with McCarthy by voting with Democrats on Tuesday to block legislation McCarthy and his leadership team wanted to push through for a final floor vote.
These are normally party-line votes, even if some disagree with the legislation at issue, Axios reported. But the Freedom Caucus sabotaged the effort by voting against McCarthy’s package, the first time such a revolt had occurred in 21 years.
Gaetz told Kirk that House conservatives are upset that McCarthy green-lit a $4 trillion boost in the debt ceiling without getting any commitment from Biden or the Democrats to pare spending back to at least last year’s levels.
“In addition to that being a sellout of the American people, it is one of the dumbest tactical political moves one could imagine, because we’re winning on the issue of spending,” Gaetz said.
“We must now correct that misassessment.”
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The congressman told Kirk that McCarthy must pick a side in trying to get the House’s business done.
“Our message to Kevin McCarthy is that he has to be monogamous with one coalition or the other,” said Gaetz, adding that McCarthy must decide how he will make amends to the Freedom Caucus and other House conservatives.
“He can’t put House conservatives on his arm and parade us around for five months, and then go jump in the backseat with [Democratic Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries when he wants to do a $4 trillion debt limit deal, expecting that he’ll be welcomed back home by House conservatives.”
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