This Is the Week, Gaetz Says of Ousting McCarthy

Rep. Matt Gaetz had said that if Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, he'd file a motion to remove the fellow Republican from his House leadership post. On Saturday, McCarthy steered such a measure through the House and sent it to the Senate, which passed it and sent it to President Biden for his signature. On Sunday, Gaetz said he'll follow through with his threat this week. "I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy," Gaetz said on CNN's State of the Union, per USA Today.

McCarthy expressed a lack of concern over the threat. "That's nothing new. He's tried to do that from the moment I ran for office," the speaker said. "I'll survive." Gaetz has said McCarthy broke promises made to secure the votes of the Florida lawmaker's House faction in his run for speaker, per the New York Times, that included major spending reductions. He said Sunday that McCarthy cut a "secret deal" with Democrats on aid to Ukraine, which Gaetz and his GOP group oppose and was left out of the measure approved this weekend. "Nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy," Gaetz said.

If Democrats support removing McCarthy, the measure would need only take a few Republican votes to be successful. McCarthy said Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has not tipped his hand. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested Democrats should not offer any help for "free," per the Hill. Gaetz promised to not give up easily, calling himself relentless. McCarthy said, "This is personal with Matt," and a GOP colleague agreed, accusing Gaetz of spewing a "diatribe of delusional thinking." New York Rep. Mike Lawler, added, "We have to work together as a team." (More House Republicans stories.)