Matt Gaetz issues strongest threat yet to oust McCarthy as speaker

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) issued his strongest threat to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy‘s (R-CA) leadership yet, hinting that he would file a motion to vacate in the coming days just ahead of a possible government shutdown.

“For the last eight months, this House has been poorly led, and we own that. We have to do something about it,” Gaetz said on the House floor on Tuesday. “And you know what? My Democrat colleagues will have an opportunity to do something about that too, and we will see if they bail out our failed speaker.”

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Gaetz has repeatedly threatened to strip McCarthy of his speakership, which only requires one member to call for a motion due to the agreement that secured McCarthy the leadership position at the beginning of this Congress.

His latest threat comes two weeks after Gaetz accused McCarthy of being “out of compliance” with the agreement that was brokered between House Republicans in exchange for their support during the speakership elections in January, threatening to strip the GOP leader of his leadership position if McCarthy doesn’t honor the concessions he says were initially made earlier this year.

AP

One of those top concessions included an agreement to pass 12 single-subject appropriations bills rather than advancing the annual budget through an omnibus spending bill, which has become a frequent eleventh-hour move by Congress in recent years. House leaders have been working for months to advance those 12 appropriations bills, but that progress has been stalled over the last month after a handful of hard-line conservatives vowed to oppose all spending legislation unless McCarthy agreed not to advance a stopgap spending measure to avert a government shutdown.

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Congress has until Saturday to pass the budget for the next fiscal year, after which the government will run out of money and shut down until a deal is made. By then, lawmakers must advance 12 individual appropriations bills in each chamber before sending their final product to the president’s desk for approval, setting the stage for an arduous process as House Republicans and Senate Democrats disagree on overall spending numbers.

It’s unlikely the House or the Senate will be able to advance all 12 appropriations bills and negotiate a compromise before the shutdown deadline, prompting some lawmakers to consider a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded at the same levels until a final agreement is reached.