Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) says being kicked out of congress for ousting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) would be well worth the trouble.
Gaetz tried not to entertain the possibility of losing his house seat during an appearance on “Meet The Press” on Sunday, where he called the idea of being expelled from the legislature “crazy.”
Asked if McCarthy’s removal was worth potentially losing his job over, however, he told host Kristen Welker, “Absolutely.”
“Look, I am here to fight for constituents, and I’m here to ensure that America is not on a path to financial ruin,” he said.
Gaetz then tried to bring the conversation back to the federal budget, calling McCarthy and others willing to fund the government in full “agents of chaos.”
Hard-right Republicans ratcheted up their revolt against McCarthy last week, after months of disagreements over his willingness to bargain with Democrats.
Citing a last-minute deal to prevent a government shutdown in late September as the final straw, the hardliners voted to remove McCarthy from the speakership on Oct. 3 with the backing of the ex-speaker’s other political adversaries ― the House Democrats.
Gaetz demurred when Welker asked if the move to oust McCarthy “undermined” the security of the United States later in the interview, especially amid intensified conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“I don’t think other countries think about Kevin McCarthy’s speakership quite as much as Kevin McCarthy does,” he said. “We’ll have a new speaker next week and we’ll be prepared to do our work.”