Gaetz tries to push out McCarthy after deal averts shutdown

Democrats may well line up behind a resolution to remove Kevin McCarthy from the speakership as a group of House Republican insurgents launch such a bid in the coming days.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent member of the Democratic caucus, spoke on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday and told Margaret Brennan that there were “absolutely” reasons to question Mr McCarthy’s ability to lead the chamber after a majority of his caucus voted against an emergency measure to fund the government for 45 days on Saturday.

“Speaker McCarthy has been very weak. I think he has also been engaged in just absolutely terrible decision-making for the American people,” she said, reprimanding him for “basic fiscal irresponsibility and recklessness.”

But she declined to specifically endorse a motion to vacate set to be filed by Matt Gaetz, a membert of the Republican holdout contingent that vowed to vote against any continuing resolution to keep the goverment from a costly shutdown.

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Mr Gaetz faced further skepticism on Sunday from CNN’s Jake Tapper, who questioned what he had actually accomplished with his rebellion — at one point, he sarcastically quipped, “you ‘broke the fever’?”, quoting the congressman’s own words back to him.

In particular, the CNN host questioned why, in the final hours before a deadline to avert a shutdown, Mr Gaetz and others were offering legislation to cut the salaries of specific officials involved in the prosecution of Donald Trump at the Department of Justice.

“That to me is the language of somebody who is looking for clicks and likes and Fox hits,” Tapper accused.

Mr McCarthy dared Mr Gaetz to bring his motion to vacate, which had previously been discovered, drafted, by a reporter in a Capitol Hill bathroom, against him after GOP leadership gave up on negotiating with the far right.

“If somebody wants to make a motion against me, bring it,” he said. “There has to be an adult in the room.”

Whether Mr Gaetz will be successful in his motion to discharge the Speaker is unclear. Some other holdout Republicans, like Tim Burchett, have expressed serious criticism of Mr McCarthy’s leadership but none are openly vowing to support Mr Gaetz’s motion just yet.

Lauren Boebert, questioned about the issue on Saturday, declined to answer.

House Republicans seem eager to exact revenge against Matt Gaetz, the far-right lawmaker who served as the public face of a group of GOP holdouts who opposed their party’s attempts to avert a shutdown this past week.

News outlets including CNN and Fox reported on Sunday that Republicans in the lower chamber are looking towards the conclusion of a House Ethics Committee probe into the Republican congressman from Florida in the hopes that the probe’s findings could warrant (or excuse) his expulsion from the chamber.

Since 2021, the committee has been probing a range of allegations against Mr Gaetz, a top ally of Donald Trump. Those allegations including claims that he violated sex trafficking laws, accepted a bribe, and used campaign funds for personal use. The Florida Republican has consistently denied those claims, and a Justice Department investigation into the congressman’s sex trafficking allegations ended without charges in February.

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President Joe Biden argued for further Ukraine funding, which was not part of the funding passed on Saturday night to avert a shutdown.

Speaking from the White House on Sunday, he said: “An overwhelming majority of the Congress have steadfastly supported Ukraine to defend itself against the aggression and brutality of the Russian attack on women and children.”

“There’s no Ukraine funding this agreement. Despite that, I did not believe we could let millions of Americans go through the pain of a government shutdown. But let’s be clear – I hope my friends on the other side, keep their word about support for Ukraine,” he added. “They said they’re going to support Ukraine in a separate vote. We cannot under any circumstance allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted.”

“I fully expect the speaker to keep his commitment to secure the passage and support needed to help Ukraine as they defend themselves against aggression and brutality,” Mr Biden said. “There’s an overwhelming number of Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate who support Ukraine. Let’s vote on it.”

Rep Byron Donalds (R-FL) appeared on Fox News on Sunday morning on chose not to say if he’ll back the effort to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) by Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

Saying that he thinks the speaker is in “trouble,” he added: “I don’t know right now. I got to really think about that”.

“There are a lot of trust issues in my chamber right now,” he added.

He also blamed Mr McCarthy for why he didn’t end up voting on the funding resolution that passed the House and the Senate on Saturday, averting a shutdown.

Matt Gaetz told ABC that his efforts to bring a vote on ousting the speaker is an “exercise to show the American people who really govern you”.

“I actually think Democrats are going to bail out Kevin McCarthy,” he added.

Donald Trump has called for Rep Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) to be put in jail for pulling a fire alarm in the Capitol on Saturday.

The former president bizarrely claimed that Mr Bowman’s behaviour was worse than that of the rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“Will Congressman [Jamaal] Bowman be prosecuted and imprisoned for very dangerously pulling and setting off the main fire alarm system in order to stop a Congressional vote that was going on in D.C.,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

“His egregious act is covered on tape, a horrible display of nerve and criminality. It was a very dangerous ‘Obstruction of an Official Proceeding,’ the same as used against our J-6 prisoners. Actually, his act may have been worse. HE MUST SUFFER THEIR SAME FATE. WHEN WILL HIS TRIAL BEGIN???” he added.

Mr Bowman admitted on Saturday that he pulled a fire alarm during a House vote but denied he did so to delay it.

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