Gaetz slams McCarthy for lying on TV
On September 17, Florida's most outspoken and opinionated Republican - Congressman Matt Gaetz - shared his reaction to an interview in which Republican Speaker of the House - Kevin McCarthy - gave his opinion on why Gaetz is so keen to get him ousted from the speaker's chair.
According to Gaetz, the reasons that McCarthy gave to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo are nothing more than lies. As Gaetz put it on Twitter:
"It’s disappointing that @SpeakerMcCarthy is spending one of his final Sundays as Speaker lying about me on Fox."
McCarthy has repeatedly alleged that that he has been hounded by Gaetz, who wants him to influence an investigation by the House Ethics Committee who are investigating complaints against the Florida Republican. Speaker McCarthy has also suggested that there may be evidence of collusion between Gaetz and certain House Democrats, and indicated that this too was part of a conspiracy to have him removed from the Speaker's chair.
Gaetz, meanwhile, has been unrelenting in his criticism of McCarthy, and on September 13 he appeared on MSNBC and told host Ari Melber that in his opinion, McCarthy is:
"...a sad and pathetic man who lies to hold on to power."
Gaetz maintains that his purpose in pursuing McCarthy is to prevent further delays in getting a new funding bill approved, in getting video footage of the January 6 insurrection released, and generally to try and make progress in the House of Representatives where Gaetz feels that McCarthy has been ineffective as Speaker.
Gaetz continues attacks on McCarthy
For much of the month of September, Florida's Gaetz has focused much of his attention and energy on bringing to light what he sees as McCarthy's failings as Speaker of the House.
On September 3, he vented his frustrations at the lack of progress made by House Republicans since Kevin McCarthy was elected to the position of Speaker of the House, earlier this year. As Gaetz put it simply, on Twitter:
"We can and must be better."
While McCarthy has since relented, and has formally kicked-off the impeachment enquiry that he had promised, it would seem like Gaetz isn't content to leave matters alone. As well as reaching across the political aisle to ask for support from House Democrats, he has doubled-down on his calls for McCarthy to be ousted.
Their issues go way back
While there may have been unreported exchanges and confrontations between Gaetz and McCarthy, the entire world has witnessed some of their most angry confrontations, thanks to the TV coverage of action in Congress.
Back in January it was clear that Gaetz wasn't happy about McCarthy being nominated to the post of Speaker of the House. After repeatedly voting against the election of McCarthy, there were angry scenes on the floor of the House.
At the time, Gaetz reacted to dismiss the moments of drama, and in the aftermath even used it as a point of reference as he introduced a bill to permanently retain the TV cameras in the House Chamber that had captured the moments of discord. Whether that truly reflects how he feels about having been confronted openly by McCarthy and his allies, is unclear.
Meanwhile, whether it's Matt Gaetz or Kevin McCarthy who is telling the truth, it looks as though the coming week could be tense for the Speaker of the House.
Do you think that Florida's Matt Gaetz should be spending less time and energy on pursuing Kevin McCarthy? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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