Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) stands behind his decision to prompt the ousting of former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) despite the unrest in the Middle East, with Israel participating in a war with Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Gaetz spearheaded the effort to remove McCarthy from the House Speaker position after months of threatening to do so following McCarthy’s deal with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.
In an interview with CNN, Gaetz said he doesn’t regret removing McCarthy, “absolutely not.”
He said he stands behind the ousting, even as the House is at a standstill, unable to bring forward legislation that could support Israel in its war. Gaetz said that Israel is “essentially on auto pay” with the United States and that the U.S. has been able to meet all of Israel’s needs.
“We have Israel essentially on auto pay as a consequence of legislation that was passed by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida,” Gaetz said Saturday. “The administration has pre-authorized to meet any need that Israel could possibly express in this particular phase of the crisis.”
Gaetz said Republicans are set to elect House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as a permanent speaker next week and are ready to “move forward with resolutions and support.”
Members elected Jordan as their nominee in a secret ballot Friday before recessing for the weekend. The vote came one day after Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) — who originally secured the nomination — dropped out after not receiving enough support from fellow Republicans.
Jordan has 152 votes, beating out Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) who entered a last-minute bid on Friday. But the Ohio representative still falls short of the 217 votes needed to clinch the gavel.
Gaetz said he expects the remaining Republicans who are on the edge about Jordan to vote for him when it comes down to it on the House floor.
He said the speakership vote “probably could have” happened Friday night, but McCarthy asked for the vote to be delayed, saying Jordan’s family should be in town for the vote.
“I guess one thing Kevin McCarthy and I agree on, Jim Jordan is gonna be the next Speaker of the House,” Gaetz said.