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Gaetz: Kevin McCarthy made a side deal with Dems on Ukraine before stop-gap spending bill passed

October 1, 2023 | | Print Article

Following the passage of a 45-day continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government from shutting down, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) accused House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) of “more deceit.”

The last-minute stopgap resolution did not include funding for Ukraine — a point for which a handful of “America First”-focused Republicans valiantly fought.

But, according to a joint statement from House Democratic leadership, “When the House returns, we expect Speaker McCarthy to advance a bill to the House Floor for an up-or-down vote that supports Ukraine, consistent with his commitment to making sure that Vladimir Putin, Russia and authoritarianism are defeated.”

“We must stand with the Ukrainian people until victory is won,” the Democrats insisted.

“Wow,” Gaetz stated on X. “[McCarthy] made a side Ukraine deal with Democrats and didn’t tell House Republicans until after his Continuing Resolution passed.”

“More deceit,” he added.

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To be fair, Democrats can “expect” all they want, but it doesn’t necessarily mean McCarthy will comply.

His control of the gavel may be riding on this issue.

Gaetz has repeatedly threatened the speaker with a “motion to vacate.”


When the clock was still ticking on a government shutdown, Gaetz had previously said that a clean CR would automatically result in a move to oust McCarthy.

Earlier this month, the Florida lawmaker told reporters, “If Kevin McCarthy puts a [clean] continuing resolution on the floor, it’s going to be shot, chaser. Continuing resolution, motion to vacate,” according to the Washington Examiner.

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When the CR was headed for a vote, Gaetz appeared to soften his stance, claiming McCarthy’s speakership is “on some tenuous ground.”

“Right now, our plan is to continue to build support for our single-subject spending bills. This 45-day [continuing resolution] does not liberate us from our nation’s financial challenges. We remain $33 trillion in debt. We’re facing $2.2 trillion annual deficits,” he told reporters ahead of the Saturday vote. “You know, right now, literally, our government is trying to figure out how much more we want to deficit spend so that we can send money to Ukraine, and that’s crazy to me.”

Ultimately, Gaetz, along with 90 of his House Republican colleagues, voted down the CR, but it still sailed through with an overwhelming 335-91 vote. The bill, sans Ukraine funding, also received the Senate’s approval with an 88-9 vote.

In a statement released late on Saturday, President Biden made his expectations of McCarthy crystal clear.

“While the speaker and the overwhelming majority of Congress have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine, there is no new funding in this agreement to continue that support,” he said. “We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted. I fully expect the speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.”

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In a rare joint statement, Senate leadership — including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Chair Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Subcommittee Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — also expressed their expectations for Ukraine.

“[T]his agreement leaves a number of urgent priorities outstanding,” they said. “In the coming weeks, we expect the Senate will work to ensure the U.S. government continues to provide critical and sustained security and economic support for Ukraine.”

“We support Ukraine’s efforts to defend its sovereignty against Putin’s brazen aggression, and we join a strong bipartisan majority of our colleagues in this essential work,” the senators stressed. “With the eyes of our partners, allies, and adversaries upon us, we keenly understand the importance of American leadership and are committed to strengthening it from Europe to the Indo-Pacific.”

But not all of the senators believe McCarthy will bring Ukraine funding to the House floor.

“I think Speaker McCarthy recognizes that his membership, the majority of the House Republicans said that we don’t want Ukraine funding as part of additional government funding,” Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) told reporters Saturday night, according to the Washington Examiner. “So I don’t think that there is enough interest over there to actually make this happen from the House Republican side. Of course, as you guys know, there are various big vehicles that Democrats can use to sort of migrate something over to the House, but it’s not going to be something that’s driven by the House.”

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Melissa Fine
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