Is McCarthy a RINO? Should he be deposed?
Gaetz Says He Will Move to Oust McCarthy for Working With Democrats
Representative Matt Gaetz, the far-right Republican from Florida, said on Sunday that he would move this week to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his leadership post, promising to follow through on weeks of threats to try removing him for working with Democrats to keep the government funded.
Mr. Gaetz's announcement came the day after Mr. McCarthy, in a stunning reversal, steered around Republican opposition to a stopgap spending plan and turned to Democrats to help him push legislation through the House to avert a shutdown. Mr. McCarthy, a California Republican, said he knew he was putting his speakership at risk by doing so, and dared his detractors to make a move against him.
In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. McCarthy's main tormentor, said he would do just that. He said he would soon bring up a measure called a "motion to vacate," which prompts a snap vote on whether to keep the speaker in his post.
"I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid," Mr. Gaetz said. "I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy."
Though most House Republicans still support keeping Mr. McCarthy on as speaker, Mr. Gaetz's plans pose an existential threat to his tenure because of the slim majority the G.O.P. holds in the chamber. If Democrats were to vote against Mr. McCarthy as is almost always the case when a speaker of the opposing party is being elected Mr. Gaetz would need only a handful of Republicans to join the opposition to remove him from the post, which requires a simple majority vote.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/01/us/politics/mccarthy-speaker-gaetz.html
Gaetz Says He Will Move to Oust McCarthy for Working With Democrats
Representative Matt Gaetz, the far-right Republican from Florida, said on Sunday that he would move this week to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his leadership post, promising to follow through on weeks of threats to try removing him for working with Democrats to keep the government funded.
Mr. Gaetz's announcement came the day after Mr. McCarthy, in a stunning reversal, steered around Republican opposition to a stopgap spending plan and turned to Democrats to help him push legislation through the House to avert a shutdown. Mr. McCarthy, a California Republican, said he knew he was putting his speakership at risk by doing so, and dared his detractors to make a move against him.
In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. McCarthy's main tormentor, said he would do just that. He said he would soon bring up a measure called a "motion to vacate," which prompts a snap vote on whether to keep the speaker in his post.
"I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid," Mr. Gaetz said. "I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy."
Though most House Republicans still support keeping Mr. McCarthy on as speaker, Mr. Gaetz's plans pose an existential threat to his tenure because of the slim majority the G.O.P. holds in the chamber. If Democrats were to vote against Mr. McCarthy as is almost always the case when a speaker of the opposing party is being elected Mr. Gaetz would need only a handful of Republicans to join the opposition to remove him from the post, which requires a simple majority vote.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/01/us/politics/mccarthy-speaker-gaetz.html