Rep. Matt Gaetz (Republican of Florida) says it would be worth getting kicked out of Congress for ousting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Gaetz tried not to entertain the possibility of losing his House seat during an appearance on “Meet The Press” on Sunday, where he called the idea of being expelled from the Legislature “crazy.”
Asked whether McCarthy’s firing was worth potentially losing his job, he told host Kristen Welker: “Absolutely.”
“Look, I’m here to fight for the voters and I’m here to make sure America isn’t on the path to financial ruin,” he said.
Gaetz then tried to steer the conversation back to the federal budget, calling McCarthy and others willing to fully fund the government “agents of chaos.”
Far-right Republicans intensified their revolt against McCarthy last week after months of disagreement over his willingness to negotiate with Democrats.
Citing a last-minute deal to prevent a government shutdown at the end of September as the final straw, hardliners voted in favor of McCarthy on October 3 with the support of the former speaker’s other political opponents – House Democrats to be removed from the office of speaker.
Gaetz demurred when Welker asked later in the interview whether the move to oust McCarthy had “undermined” the security of the United States, particularly given the heightened conflict between Israel and Palestine.
“I don’t think other countries think about the role of Kevin McCarthy as much as Kevin McCarthy did,” he said. “We will have a new speaker next week and will be ready to do our work.”