Rep. Nancy Mace blasted fellow Republican colleague Matt Gaetz over the weekend as a “fraud” for pitching to donors his opposition to Rep. Kevin McCarthy for House speaker.
Ms. Mace described Mr. Gaetz as someone who will be “very difficult” to work with in the GOP’s slim majority because he’s more focused on grandstanding for the TV cameras than democratic principles.
“Matt Gaetz is a fraud. Every time he voted against Kevin McCarthy last week, he sent out a fundraising email,” Ms. Mace, a moderate from South Carolina, said Sunday on CBS’ “Face The Nation.” “What you saw last week was a constitutional process diminished by those kinds of political actions.”
Mr. Gaetz, of Florida, was one of the most ardent anti-McCarthy Republicans and part of a group of 20 conservative holdouts who forced Mr. McCarthy to go 15 ballots over the course of five days to win the speaker’s gavel.
Mr. Gaetz was at the center of the contentious battle, at one point frustrating McCarthy allies to the point where Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama nearly got in a brawl with him on the House floor and had to be pulled away.
Several of the holdouts, including Mr. Gaetz, repeatedly sent fundraising emails to supporters throughout the days-long fight. Mr. Gaetz accused Mr. McCarthy of “squatting” in the U.S. Capitol for moving his items into the speaker’s office before being elected.
“I HAVE NO REGRETS ABOUT CASTING MY VOTE ON THE HOUSE FLOOR AGAINST KEVIN McCARTHY FOR SPEAKER!” one of Mr. Gaetz’s fundraising pitches reads.
He defended his actions, telling Fox News on Sunday that his opposition was about winning over more power for rank-and-file members by forcing Mr. McCarthy to make concessions on a rules package governing the chamber.
“For far too many years under both Republican and Democrat control, power has been centralized under a select few. That’s not good for the republic,” Mr. Gaetz said. “I’m someone who appears on your network and others more than any other member of Congress, so it’s an odd criticism to say I’m doing this for media hits.”
Mr. Gaetz was among a handful of McCarthy rebels who ultimately voted “present” in order to lower the required majority threshold for the California Republican to capture the speakership, but not before infuriating the more than 200 Republicans who had consistently supported Mr. McCarthy since the first ballot.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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