Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Monday filed a long-awaited motion to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that if successful would strip the California Republican of his position as Speaker.
“Pursuant to clause two A1 of Rule nine, I rise to give notice of my intention to raise the question of House privilege,” Gaetz said on the House floor.
When asked to state the form of his resolution, Gaetz replied, “Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant, resolves that the Office of Speaker of the House of Representatives is hereby declared vacant.”
“Bring it on,” McCarthy tweeted, shortly after Gaetz filed his motion, echoing language he used over the weekend when asked about the possibility of his gavel being taken away.
House leadership has two days to bring Gaetz’s motion to a vote, which would require a simple majority to pass.
Gaetz’s motion is likely to be voted on by the full House in two days.REUTERS
Gaetz filed the motion shortly after the lower house’s final vote of the day, and Democratic lawmakers “burst into laughter as Gaetz left the floor,” according to Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News.
Gaetz has mocked McCarthy by introducing a motion to vacate, which only needs one vote to initiate.
McCarthy agreed to lower the threshold of members needed to introduce the motion in January, as a concession to conservatives opposed to his speakership.
The Florida Republican argued that McCarthy was not serious in advocating spending cuts, and claimed that the speaker had negotiated a secret deal with President Biden on aid for Ukraine while advocating a freeze on government funding that did not include aid to war-torn countries.
McCarthy has accused Gaetz of harboring a personal animosity toward him over his refusal to intervene in a House Ethics Committee investigation weighing on the Sunshine State lawmaker — a charge Gaetz denies.
“For some people, policy failures are reframed as personal because their own failures personally embarrass them,” Gaetz told reporters on Monday. “This is not personal, I can cite specific elements of the House Rules that have been breached.
“Kevin McCarthy agreed with the rule that we will have 72 hours to read the law. He passed that. Kevin McCarthy agreed with the rule that we will not put anything more than $100 million on the suspension agenda so that it cannot be amended. He passed that. Kevin McCarthy agreed with the Hastert Rule, which is that you will never use a Democrat to launch a majority majority, on the last Ukrainian addition 101 Republicans voted for it. 117 Republicans voted against it. So, does this sound personal to you?” he continued.
“He’s just trying to pass off a real and significant breach of our agreement as some sort of personal dispute but that says more about him than it does about what we’re trying to do,” he added.
The last time the House voted on a motion to impeach a speaker was in 1910, when an attempt was made to oust former Speaker Joe Cannon (R-Ill.)
“Be it. Bring it. Let’s get it over with and let’s start governing,” McCarthy told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
“I will survive,” he added. “You know this is personal with Matt. Matt voted against the most conservative ability to protect our borders. He’s more interested in getting a TV interview than doing something.”
Gaetz acknowledged Monday that his motion is “likely” to fail and said he would be “calm” with whatever the outcome is, which he sees as one of two possibilities.
“Well, I’ve got enough Republicans where, at this point next week, one of two things is going to happen. Kevin McCarthy will not be the speaker of the House or he will be the speaker of the House working at the will of the Democrats. And I am at peace with any decision because the American people deserve to know who is governing them,” he told reporters.
McCarthy has accused Gaetz of having a personal grudge against him.AFP via Getty Images
However, Gaetz vowed to refile his motion if it fails.
“I am not so pessimistic to immediately accept that it will fail. I think that’s a possible outcome. But you know, this is not the only time. That’s probably all I’ll say about it,” he said.
Most Republican lawmakers did not engage with Gaetz’s efforts to oust McCarthy.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) called the effort “premature” and “a very bad idea” on Monday.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also stated that she would not support booting the House speaker.
“I do not support the motion to vacate. We have less than 45 days to complete our allocation. We have eight more bills to pass,” he told reporters.
Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said that privately some Democrats have indicated to him that they would vote to keep McCarthy in office.
“I’m sure Mr. Gaetz will have some allies who will go with him. But I don’t see enough,” McCaul said.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said Monday that he was “ready” to vote for McCarthy.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) stated that “his conscience told me to vote him out.”
“We have $33 trillion in debt. We don’t deal with it. We didn’t do it,” he added while blaming the Speaker of the House.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) called the status quo “unacceptable,” arguing that “things have to change.”
“We got nothing,” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) said of the continuing resolution the House passed over the weekend, indicating that it is one of the reasons he will vote to remove McCarthy.
Gaetz said he would bear no ill will toward any Republican who does not support the motion to vacate, adding that “probably the last thing I want to do is find out that Kevin McCarthy has made a secret deal with President Biden on Ukraine while we’re in the middle of a funding battle this government.”
“A secret side deal in Ukraine is not what the American people want to see from Republicans,” he added.
McCarthy has denied that he made any side deals with Democrats for their support of CR.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
