With the Republican caucus at a standstill in electing a new speaker for the GOP-led House of Representatives, former President Donald Trump weighed in on the stalemate Wednesday morning by voicing support for GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who has yet to reach the 218 votes needed.
A move that left one of the more vocal GOP holdouts, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., highly disappointed.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump advised Republicans to “take the victory,” adding that they “deserve” to celebrate the end of U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s second stint as speaker.
“Some really good conversations took place last night, and it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY, & WATCH CRAZY NANCY PELOSI FLY BACK HOME TO A VERY BROKEN CALIFORNIA,THE ONLY SPEAKER IN U.S. HISTORY TO HAVE LOST THE “HOUSE” TWICE! REPUBLICANS, DO NOT TURN A GREAT TRIUMPH INTO A GIANT & EMBARRASSING DEFEAT. IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE, YOU DESERVE IT. Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!
Trump would follow his endorsement of McCarthy with a slam of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, whom he often calls the “Old Crow.”
“If Republicans are going to fight, we ought to be fighting Mitch McConnell and his domineering, China loving BOSS, I mean wife, Coco Chow. The harm they have done to the Republican Party is incalculable,” he posted.
Gaetz said in a statement to Fox News that Trump’s remarks have not changed his view and will not impact his vote.
“Sad!” the lawmaker said. “This changes neither my view of McCarthy nor Trump nor my vote.”
In a response to a tweet from Fox News pushing the story, he added: “Supporting McCarthy is the worst Human Resources decision President Trump has ever made. Sad!”
Supporting McCarthy is the worst Human Resources decision President Trump has ever made.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 4, 2023
The House convened Tuesday after three votes, with McCarthy getting nowhere near 218 — there are 20 GOP lawmakers opposing him. The voting is expected to continue Wednesday. In 1923, it took 113 ballots to finally elect a speaker with voting going on for two months.
Gaetz has been adamant that he will not back McCarthy, citing the GOP leader’s dishonesty, the funding of Ukraine and McCarthy’s opposition to legislation that would break up companies like Amazon and Apple, among other things.
“Every single Republican in Congress knows that Kevin does not actually believe anything. He has no ideology,” he wrote last month in a scathing op-ed. “Some conservatives are using this fact to convince themselves that he is the right leader for the moment, as McCarthy is so weak he’ll promise anything to anyone. As his mentor recently confessed, ‘He lies. He’ll change the lie if necessary.’”
Early signs seen on Wednesday suggest another long day for McCarthy:
NEW — Rep @mattgaetz tells me he has the votes to stop Kevin McCarthy from becoming speaker today
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) January 4, 2023
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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