Gaetz backs Johnson as House scrambles to clean up chaos following McCarthy firing
October 25, 2023 01:27 PM
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is supportive of the House Republican Conference selecting Rep. Mike Johnson (R-WI) as its fourth speaker-designate as the lower chamber seeks to recover from the chaos following Rep. Kevin McCarthy‘s (R-CA) removal as speaker.
Gaetz led the motion to vacate McCarthy in early October and, with the help of seven fellow GOP members, successfully ousted the California Republican on Oct. 3. As the House entered 22 days without a speaker on Wednesday, Gaetz once again supported McCarthy’s newest possible replacement, praising Johnson for having an agenda the Florida Republican thinks McCarthy spurred.
“He talks about single-subject spending bills being the organizing principle in the House of Representatives. That is what I’ve been fighting for since January,” Gaetz said of Johnson on Tuesday. “It is the reason Kevin McCarthy was vacated, and despite the swamp’s best efforts, we got a good, godly man who’s going to advance Republicans.”
Gaetz made the motion to vacate after accusing McCarthy of making a “back deal” with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution over the weekend to fund the government temporarily, which he said is in direct violation of the speakership agreement brokered in January.
Johnson released a “Dear Friends” letter on Tuesday that detailed his plan as speaker to discharge appropriations bills and, if necessary, pass another stopgap measure that would fund the government until January or April.
The speaker-designate said he was “honored” to have the support of his colleagues and exhibit “servant leadership” in Congress.
“We’re going to serve the people of this country. We’re going to restore their faith in this Congress, in this institution of government,” Johnson said.
Johnson is the fourth speaker-designate nominated by the House GOP after the motion to vacate McCarthy brought the House to a standstill. Gaetz has backed all three. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) all dropped out of the race when it was clear they would not secure the 217 votes needed to become speaker.
Gaetz stirred even more tension with McCarthy allies on Tuesday, telling reporters that McCarthy “scuttled” the first three nominees but failed to prevent Johnson’s nomination.
“McCarthy scuttled Scalise, he ultimately scuttled Jordan, he ultimately scuttled Emmer, and at the end of the day, the universal appeal of Mike Johnson was too strong for him to oppose,” Gaetz said.
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Gaetz claimed that McCarthy objected to a unanimous consent request for Johnson because “he hadn’t figured out a way to sabotage Mike Johnson.”
“Mike is the right guy. He’s an inspirational leader. I’m so excited to go elect him speaker of the House,” Gaetz said.