Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) isn’t worried about House Democrats teaming up with other members of his party to elect a moderate Republican speaker of the House.
“I’m on the floor,” he noted. “These 212 Democrats are going to vote for Hakeem Jeffries every single time. He is a historic candidate for them. They are not going to cleave off under any circumstance, I assure you. If Democrats join up to elect a moderate Republican, I will resign from the House of Representatives—that is how certain I am.”
A stalwart conservative member of the House Freedom Caucus, Gaetz is perceived by many to be the leader of the opposition to Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) bid for the speakership.
“I wouldn’t be betting on my vote for Kevin McCarthy under almost any circumstance,” Gaetz noted when asked what it would take for him to support the California Republican.
Asserting that McCarthy had “sold shares of himself” to activists and special interest groups, Gaetz said, “I resent the extent to which Kevin McCarthy utilizes the lobbyists and the special interests to be able to dictate how political decisions are made, how policy decisions are made, and how leadership decisions are made.”
And when asked why McCarthy is backed by former President Donald Trump—of whom Gaetz has been a staunch supporter—the Florida representative said that, at least on this matter, Trump has it wrong.
Nominating Trump
In apparent affirmation of his continued support for Trump, Gaetz broke with his anti-McCarthy comrades Thursday to nominate the former president for the role of speaker.“My friends, when Donald Trump was president, taxes were cut, regulations were slashed, energy was abundant, wages were rising, capital was returning from overseas to fund the dreams and ambitions of our fellow Americans, and the economy was roaring,” Gaetz noted on the House floor.
“What a contrast to what we have seen from this administration now,” he added. “And so I rise to nominate Donald Trump for the position of speaker of the House.”
While some Democrats heckled the notion of Trump as speaker, Gaetz noted that, under the Trump presidency, there were “great moments of bipartisanship.”
“And the Democrat running for speaker knows that well because he led valiantly on the efforts for criminal justice reform,” he added. “And I was honored to join him … and I’m glad that we were able to work with President Trump, with Republicans, and with Democrats to provide real outcomes for Americans to create greater prosperity and more opportunity.”
Trump, for his part, has remained consistent in his support for McCarthy as speaker while he directs his focus toward a 2024 presidential run.
Ending the Stalemate
After three days of negotiations between the McCarthy faithful and his 20 detractors, a deal has yet to materialize that could bring an end to the standoff.Nevertheless, when arriving at the Capitol Friday morning, McCarthy was optimistic that a resolution was on the horizon.
“We’re going to make progress,” he told reporters. “We’re going to shock you.”
Throughout the course of their discussions, McCarthy has reportedly made concessions to his opposition in the form of several rules changes, including a reduction in the threshold for how many members can trigger a vote to oust the speaker to just one.
McCarthy had previously agreed to a five-member threshold after Republicans won control of the House. Either option would mark a reduction from the requirement set under former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in the last Congress that a motion to vacate could only be sparked “by direction of a party caucus or conference.”
Other concessions McCarthy has reportedly made include keeping his political action committee out of Republican primaries and appointing more Freedom Caucus members to the House Rules Committee, as well as allowing floor votes on term limits for members and border policy legislation, and a separate approvals process for earmarks.
As of yet, however, those concessions have failed to bring any of the 20 holdouts over to McCarthy’s side. On the contrary, since the voting began, the Californian has lost support, going from 203 votes in the first round to 200 in the 11th.
And while Republicans on both sides of the battle seem prepared to continue negotiating indefinitely, their Democrat colleagues are becoming impatient.
“The wheels of government have been a ground to a halt because of an intraparty fight, and that doesn’t speak well for governing,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) told NTD News, sister outlet of The Epoch Times, on Thursday noting that without a speaker, the House remains unable to swear in members and begin conducting legislative business.
As for the proposed rule changes, DeLauro said: “Whether it’s rules or whether it has been the activity on the floor of these last couple of days, I think that they have seriously weakened the position of speaker, which is unfortunate.
“But they’re in charge and that was their decision to make. But we will be taking a very hard look at the rules, especially those that we believe affect the Appropriations Committee.”
Voting for the speaker of the House has resumed since noon on Friday.
