News/Commentary

‘Asking for a friend…’ Matt Gaetz reaches out to Dems in WILD warning shot at McCarthy

September 12, 2023 | | Print Article

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has turned up the heat on Speaker Kevin McCarthy who could soon be facing a revolt from conservative lawmakers if he dithers over an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, suggesting that he is open to help from Democrats to oust the House leader.

A fierce critic of McCarthy, the Florida Republican reached out to the opposition party after Fox News host Brian Kilmeade said that Gaetz was just “speaking into the wind” with his threats to lead a mutiny against McCarthy if he drags his feet on impeachment.

The congressman reacted to the remark by Kilmeade on “Fox & Friends” last week on X, formerly known as Twitter, and was trolled by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) who posted that he’s never seen a congressional colleague “make more empty threats” which drew a response from Gaetz who extended a hand across the aisle in a gesture of bipartisanship.

“Hi, Eric. If I make a motion to remove Kevin, how may democrat votes can I count on? Asking for a friend…,” Gaetz wrote.

Gaetz also reacted to a post from another X user who wrote, “If Democrats are willing to remove Kevin McCarthy, we can easily pluck out 8-10 GOP reps minimum who’ll join. That’d be great,” by inviting Swalwell to whip opposition party votes against the Speaker.

“Quite easily, actually. Are all Democrats so willing, @ericswalwell?” Gaetz wrote.

“Will my NorCal twitter troll have the courage and efficacy to become my dem whip?? If I’ll work with @aoc to ban congressional stock trading I’ll absolutely work with @ericswalwell to rid the House of ineffective leadership. How many votes can you deliver against a Motion to Table a Motion to Vacate, eric? Asking for (many) friends!” he added.

Last week, during a radio interview with conservative host Todd Starnes, Gaetz said that the time may be nearing a point where he’s willing to pull the trigger on a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair if McCarthy doesn’t energetically pursue Biden’s impeachment, a key concession made during the California Republican’s humiliating confirmation process when the GOP majority took over.

“I worked very hard in January to develop a toolkit for House Republicans to use in a productive and positive way. I don’t believe we’ve used those tools as effectively as we should have,” Gaetz said, referring to lowering the threshold to force a vote for vacating to one member instead of the previous five.

“That means forcing votes on impeachment. And if Speaker McCarthy stands in our way, he may not have the job long,” Gaetz added, saying that it is time for House Republicans to “seize the initiative.”

“He should just go ahead and do it,” a defiant McCarthy said, according to Axios. “Look, Matt’s Matt.”

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Chris Donaldson
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