Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) indicated his belief this week that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) may not remain in his current position much longer. Gaetz’s comments come after the contentious battle to pass a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, which included a fire alarm being pulled.
Gaetz made the comments after both the House and Senate passed a 45-day continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown.
He said that McCarthy’s time as Speaker was on “tenuous grounds.” His comments follow a number of recent criticisms, including speculation that Gaetz would move to vacate, which could lead to toppling McCarthy.
Gaetz had stated that such a motion would come about if McCarthy tried to pass such a ‘clean’ bill without cuts or budget security. On Saturday, the House did just that.
The Florida Republican previously said that should such a resolution be introduced, then “it’s going to be shot, chaser. Continuing resolution, motion to vacate.”
Following the vote, Gaetz said that his allies’ plan was to “continue to build support for our single-subject spending bills.”
He said that the current spending extension “does not liberate us from our nation’s financial challenges.”
He cited the nation’s $33 trillion debt and projections of deficits of more than $2 trillion.
Instead of siding with his own party today, Kevin McCarthy sided with 209 Democrats to push through a continuing resolution that maintains the Biden-Pelosi-Schumer spending levels and policies.
He allowed the DC Uniparty to win again.
Should he remain Speaker of the House?
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) September 30, 2023
McCarthy said, “if somebody wants to remove because I want to be the adult in the room. Go ahead and try. But I think this country is too important. And I will stand with our military. I’ll stand with our border agents.”
During the deliberations on the House bill, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) pulled a fire alarm, prompting concern and fire alarms going off throughout the building.
Bowman said that he believed that the fire alarm, which looks like a regular fire alarm, was a release to open the nearby door.
Ultimately, McCarthy was able to pass a ‘clean’ spending resolution through the House with the support of most Republicans and almost all Democrats. The bill did not include any of the spending cuts originally proposed, although it did not include any further aid for Ukraine.
