On Thursday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who is one of the most vocal opponents of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) becoming House speaker, said he will resign if Democrats come to help McCarthy.
Gaetz is one of 20 Republicans who have opposed McCarthy being elected as House speaker.
“I wouldn’t be betting on my vote for Kevin McCarthy under almost any circumstance,” Gaetz told Fox News host Laura Ingraham, adding that in the unlikely event that a few Democrats helped McCarthy be elected, he would resign.
“Kevin McCarthy has been in the leadership for 14 years and he has sold shares of himself to special interests, to political action committees, and so that’s why I don’t think he is an appropriate choice,” Gaetz continued. “He also has no ideology.”
Gaetz then took a shot at former President Donald Trump, despite voting for Trump to be speaker during two of the votes on Thursday.
“I defended him a great deal in Congress, but HR wasn’t always his strong suit,” Gaetz said of Trump. “You know, President Trump got us folks like Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr and Jim Mattis and Mark Esper. People who didn’t always advance America First policy.”
Fox News host Laura ingraham presses Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) over the drama surrounding the race for House Speaker.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) January 6, 2023