Gaetz says he will seek to oust McCarthy as speaker this week. 'Bring it on,' McCarthy says

THAT COULD BE CUT OFF ON THAT SITE. IT WAS A HECTIC DAY ON CAPITOL HILL AS LAWMAKERS TRIED TO HAMMER OUT A DEAL. WE ARE JOINED NOW BY CONGRESSMAN SETH MOULTON. CONGRESSMAN MOULTON, GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. GOOD MORNING. GOOD TO BE HERE. WELL, THE BIG NEWS THIS MORNING, FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN MATT GAETZ SAID THIS MORNING THAT THAT HE WILL MOVE TO OUST KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE THIS WEEK IF HE FILES A MOTION TO VACATE AS HE SAYS HE WILL. HOW WILL YOU VOTE AND HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT MCCARTHY IS OUT OF THAT JOB? WELL, LOOK, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT MCCARTHY IS WILLING TO DO THIS THIS WEEK. MCCARTHY FOR THE FIRST TIME, REALLY IN HIS ENTIRE TENURE AS SPEAKER, DEMONSTRATING, DEMONSTRATED A WILLINGNESS TO WORK ACROSS THE AISLE WITH DEMOCRATS TO COMPROMISE ON GETTING GOOD THINGS DONE FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. UP UNTIL THIS TIME, INCLUDING ALL OF THIS PAST WEEK LEADING UP TO LAST NIGHT, HE WAS JUST SUBSERVIENT TO THE MATT GAETZ EXTREMIST WING OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. IF HE’S ACTUALLY WILLING TO WORK WITH DEMOCRATS. AND I THINK YOU MIGHT FIND SOME DEMOCRATS MAYBE NOT WILLING TO VOTE FOR HIM FOR SPEAKER, BUT WILLING TO TABLE THE MOTION, THAT’S THAT’S WHAT THAT’S WHAT’S CALLED ESSENTIALLY POSTPONING THE VOTE TO KEEP HIM IN PLACE UNTIL SOME LATER DATE. FRANKLY, ONE OF THE CONCERN OF DEMOCRATS MYSELF INCLUDED, IS THAT WHOEVER GOES AFTER SPEAKER MCCARTHY, WHOEVER SUCCEEDS HIM FROM THE REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE COULD BE EVEN MORE CONSERVATIVE AND HARD LINE. SO WOULD YOU BE A NO VOTE? SO MY POINT IS THAT IT DEPENDS ON WHAT MCCARTHY’S WILLING TO DO. IF MCCARTHY IS REALLY WILLING TO COME TO THE TABLE AND OFFER A GENUINE A DEAL WITH DEMOCRATS TO WORK WITH US ON BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION, THEN AN I MIGHT JOIN SOME OTHER DEMOCRATS IN VOTING TO TABLE THE MOTION TO HAVE A SPEAKER VOTE AND SEND THE HOUSE INTO CHAOS IF HE’S NOT WILLING TO COME TO US AND MAKE A DEAL THOUGH, SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY BY, YOU KNOW, HAVE LEGISLATION IN A BIPARTISAN WAY, YOU KNOW, THEN IT’S THEN I’M CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO VOTE FOR SPEAKER MCCARTHY. I VOTED AGAINST HIM 15 TIMES ALREADY. OKAY. CONGRESS NOW HAS JUST A FEW WEEKS TO AGREE ON A MORE PERMANENT SPENDING DEAL. HOW DO WE AVOID ENDING UP IN THE VERY SAME SITUATION WE WERE IN COME NOVEMBER? WELL, IT’S ACTUALLY THE SAME ANSWER, WHICH IS THAT SPEAKER MCCARTHY HAS TO BE WILLING TO WORK WITH DEMOCRATS UP UNTIL YESTERDAY, HE WAS JUST LISTENING TO THE EXTREMISTS LIKE MATT GAETZ IN HIS CAUCUS. AND AS A RESULT, WE HAD EXTREME FUNDING BILLS THAT THAT PEOPLE WOULDN’T VOTE FOR. THERE WERE A LOT OF AMENDMENTS OVER THE PAST WEEK TO FUNDING BILLS THAT EVEN FELLOW REPUBLICANS VOTED DOWN. IT WASN’T UNTIL MCCARTHY WAS WILLING TO WORK ACROSS THE AISLE THAT DEMOCRAT REPUBLICANS COULD GET TOGETHER AND FUND THE GOVERNMENT. BUT LET’S NOT FORGET IN THAT BIPARTISAN VOTE TO FUND THE GOVERNMENT LAST NIGHT, THERE WERE STILL 9990 REPUBLIC DEVENS WHO VOTED TO SHUT THE GOVERNMENT DOWN. 90 REPUBLICANS VOTED TO SHUT THE GOVERNMENT DOWN IN UNDER SPEAKER MCCARTHY. SO HE’S REALLY GOING TO HAVE TO CHOOSE DOES HE WANT TO WORK WITH THOSE EXTREMISTS AND SEND US INTO ANOTHER SHUTDOWN OR DOES HE WANT TO ACTUALLY WORK WITH DEMOCRATS WHO STOOD UP TO WORK ACROSS THE AISLE TO GET GOVERNMENT FUNDED TO AVERT A SHUTDOWN? AND WHO WANT TO CONTINUE, CONTINUE COOPERATING TO GET GOVERNMENT FUNDED PROPERLY GOING FORWARD? THIS SPENDING PLAN THAT WE HAVE NOW LEAVES A LOT UP IN THE AIR, NOTABLY FUNDING FOR THE WAR IN UKRAINE, WHICH IS NOT INCLUDED IN IT. HOW DO DEMOCRATS GET THOSE AGENDA ITEMS BACK ON THE TABLE? WELL, I MEAN, THAT’S THAT ALSO COULD COME DOWN TO SPEAKER MCCARTHY’S FATE RIGHT? THAT’S SOMETHING THAT HE COULD LEGITIMATELY OFFER TO DEMOCRATS TO PRESERVE HIS SPEAKERSHIP IF HE WERE TO COME TO US AND SAY, HEY, I WILL GUARANTEE A VOTE ON UKRAINE IF YOU TABLE MATT GATES’S MOTION TO VACATE THE CHAIR. AND WE DON’T GO INTO CHAOS TRYING TO ELECT A NEW SPEAKER, I THINK THAT’S SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF DEMOCRATS WOULD BE RECEPTIVE TO. WE UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT THE FIGHT FOR UKRAINE IS TO OUR OWN NATIONAL SECURITY. I MEAN, WE DON’T WANT PUTIN TO GO INTO NATO NEXT AND HAVE AMERICAN TROOPS ON THE LINE. WE DON’T WANT XI JINPING IN CHINA TO SEE US BACKING DOWN FROM RUSSIA AND THINK THAT HE CAN JUST START A WAR IN THE PACIFIC. THAT COULD BE DEVASTATING TO THE ENTIRE WORLD. SO THERE’S A LOT ON THE LINE WITH UKRAINE FUNDING AND REPUBLICANS ARE PLAYING POLITICS WITH IT. DEMOCRATS UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL SECURITY, BUT THAT’S PART OF A DEAL THAT COULD BE MADE IN THE FUTURE TO AVERT ANOTHER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. THANK YOU, CONGRESSMAN SETH MOULTON WITH THE SIXTH DISTRICT HERE. THANK YO

Rep. Matt Gaetz said Sunday he will try to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Republican, from his leadership position this week after McCarthy relied on Democratic support to pass legislation that avoided a government shutdown. "Bring it on," McCarthy responded.Gaetz, a longtime McCarthy nemesis, said in broadcast interviews that McCarthy was in "brazen, material breach" of agreements he made with House Republicans in January when he ran for speaker. As a result, Gaetz said he would be filing a "motion to vacate the chair," as House rules permit.McCarthy's response: "So be it. Bring it on. Let's get over with it and let's start governing."No speaker has ever been removed from office through such a move. Procedural votes could be offered to halt the motion or it could trigger a House floor vote on whether McCarthy, R-Calif., should remain speaker.Video above: Mass. congressman discusses McCarthy's future after shutdown avoided"I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid," said Gaetz, R-Fla. "I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy."Republicans just ended a tumultuous week in which Congress flirted with a government closure and the majority party in the House could not even pass its own bill in an effort to avoid a shutdown. Many GOP lawmakers complained the House waited too long to take up annual spending bills, squandering an opportunity to force the Senate to negotiate on spending and policy priorities.McCarthy has consistently worked to placate the conservative wing of his conference during his nearly nine months on the job. Last month, he launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden without a House vote, though the speaker had in the past said the failure to have such a vote created a process devoid of legitimacy. McCarthy also has pushed spending levels for next year that are far below the caps he agreed to with Biden on a deal to extend the nation's debt ceiling so that the government could pay its bills.On Friday, he brought a short-term plan to fund the government that would enact steep spending cuts of nearly 30% for many agencies and strict border security provisions. But that was deemed insufficient by some Republicans, and 21 joined with every Democrat in voting against the package.McCarthy pivoted on Saturday to a bill that would draw Democratic support. It keeps agencies funded at current levels into mid-November and provides $16 billion in disaster relief for states and communities dealing with hurricanes and other natural disasters. Democrats jumped at the chance to keep the government open and both chambers passed the bill by overwhelming margins.Gaetz had threatened to file his ouster motion if McCarthy worked with Democrats and he said the spending package blew past spending guardrails that McCarthy had agreed to previously.McCarthy has the support of a large majority of House Republicans, but because the GOP holds such a slim 221-212 majority, he may need votes from some Democrats to keep his job. When asked how many Republicans he had on board, Gaetz said he had enough to ensure that if McCarthy retains the speakership he would "be serving at the pleasure of the Democrats.""The only way Kevin McCarthy is speaker of the House at the end of this coming week is if Democrats bail him out," Gaetz said.Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said she would vote to oust McCarthy as speaker if such a vote occurs, calling him a "weak speaker" who had "lost control of his caucus." But she also left open the opportunity for negotiations, saying that if there is Democratic support for McCarthy, it would come at a price."You don't just vote for a Republican speaker for nothing. That's not what we were elected here to do," Ocasio-Cortez said.Biden declined to weigh in when asked if Democrats should help McCarthy keep his job. ___Associated Press staff writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP) —

Gaetz, a longtime McCarthy nemesis, said in broadcast interviews that McCarthy was in "brazen, material breach" of agreements he made with House Republicans in January when he ran for speaker. As a result, Gaetz said he would be filing a "motion to vacate the chair," as House rules permit.

McCarthy's response: "So be it. Bring it on. Let's get over with it and let's start governing."

No speaker has ever been removed from office through such a move. Procedural votes could be offered to halt the motion or it could trigger a House floor vote on whether McCarthy, R-Calif., should remain speaker.

Video above: Mass. congressman discusses McCarthy's future after shutdown avoided

"I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid," said Gaetz, R-Fla. "I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy."

Republicans just ended a tumultuous week in which Congress flirted with a government closure and the majority party in the House could not even pass its own bill in an effort to avoid a shutdown. Many GOP lawmakers complained the House waited too long to take up annual spending bills, squandering an opportunity to force the Senate to negotiate on spending and policy priorities.

McCarthy has consistently worked to placate the conservative wing of his conference during his nearly nine months on the job. Last month, he launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden without a House vote, though the speaker had in the past said the failure to have such a vote created a process devoid of legitimacy. McCarthy also has pushed spending levels for next year that are far below the caps he agreed to with Biden on a deal to extend the nation's debt ceiling so that the government could pay its bills.

On Friday, he brought a short-term plan to fund the government that would enact steep spending cuts of nearly 30% for many agencies and strict border security provisions. But that was deemed insufficient by some Republicans, and 21 joined with every Democrat in voting against the package.

McCarthy pivoted on Saturday to a bill that would draw Democratic support. It keeps agencies funded at current levels into mid-November and provides $16 billion in disaster relief for states and communities dealing with hurricanes and other natural disasters. Democrats jumped at the chance to keep the government open and both chambers passed the bill by overwhelming margins.

Gaetz had threatened to file his ouster motion if McCarthy worked with Democrats and he said the spending package blew past spending guardrails that McCarthy had agreed to previously.

McCarthy has the support of a large majority of House Republicans, but because the GOP holds such a slim 221-212 majority, he may need votes from some Democrats to keep his job. When asked how many Republicans he had on board, Gaetz said he had enough to ensure that if McCarthy retains the speakership he would "be serving at the pleasure of the Democrats."

"The only way Kevin McCarthy is speaker of the House at the end of this coming week is if Democrats bail him out," Gaetz said.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said she would vote to oust McCarthy as speaker if such a vote occurs, calling him a "weak speaker" who had "lost control of his caucus." But she also left open the opportunity for negotiations, saying that if there is Democratic support for McCarthy, it would come at a price.

"You don't just vote for a Republican speaker for nothing. That's not what we were elected here to do," Ocasio-Cortez said.

Biden declined to weigh in when asked if Democrats should help McCarthy keep his job.

___

Associated Press staff writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

Gaetz says he will seek to oust McCarthy as speaker this week. 'Bring it on,' McCarthy says

GET OUR POLITICS NEWSLETTER

Top Picks