Rep. Matt Gaetz files resolution to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House

Conservative firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a resolution Monday to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, setting into motion a floor vote this week that will decide the speaker’s fate and the direction of the House Republican Conference.

Mr. McCarthy, on social media, responded to Mr. Gaetz’s motion to oust him, which was filed as the chamber was convening for evening business: “Bring it on.”

Mr. Gaetz made the move to oust the California Republican after the speaker turned to House Democrats on Saturday to pass a stopgap spending bill that avoided a partial government shutdown.

Under the House rules, lawmakers must vote on Mr. Gaetz’s resolution within two legislative days.

At least two Republicans already said they would back Mr. Gaetz’s motion: Reps. Andy Biggs and Eli Crane, both Arizona Republicans. Rep. Matt Rosendale, Montana Republican, said he would consider it.

At least four Republicans and all Democrats will have to vote for the motion for Mr. Gaetz to succeed in his quest to push out Mr. McCarthy.

Mr. Biggs, appearing on “Just the News” podcast, said he expects the effort will fail.

Mr. Gaetz on Monday also broke his silence about who he thought could replace Mr. McCarthy.

When asked about it by The Washington Times he said that he thought “very highly” of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican who is battling cancer.

“I would vote for Steve Scalise. I would probably vote for at least 100 Republicans in our caucus and maybe 100 other Americans out there who wouldn’t necessarily need to be a member of the body to be considered for the speakership,” he said. “But I am not going to pass over Steve Scalise, just because he has blood cancer and is going through treatment.”

Mr. Gaetz, a Florida Republican who has been at odds with Mr. McCarthy since the Californian became speaker in January, said the stopgap bill was the last straw and that Mr. McCarthy had to go because he had failed to fight for conservative principles.

In a House floor speech Monday, Mr. Gaetz accused Mr. McCarthy of making a secret side deal with Mr. Biden on Ukraine funding, which divides the Republican conference.

Mr. Gaetz and Mr. McCarthy had been trading jabs all day through news media. Both said the other was teaming up with Democrats.

“It is going to be difficult for my Republican friends to keep calling President Biden feeble while he continues to take Speaker McCarthy’s lunch money in every negotiation,” Mr. Gaetz said in a floor speech.

Mr. Gaetz also said he had been consulting former President Donald Trump about his anti-McCarthy plans, adding a new layer of intrigue.

Mr. Trump on Sunday criticized the Republicans for agreeing to a stopgap spending bill without any cuts or border security, but he is not publicly taking sides in the Gaetz-McCarthy battle.

Mr. McCarthy accused Mr. Gaetz of trying to win over Democrats to his cause by offering them a power-sharing arrangement that would give them the ability to issue their own subpoenas.

“Matt has been going to Democrats and offering them subpoena power, which will just destroy any Biden impeachment inquiry,” Mr. McCarthy said on Fox News. “And I just don’t think that’s good for the House. I don’t think it’s good for the country. And what my point is, bring it on, let’s get it over with, let’s get this over.”

Earlier in the day, Mr. Gaetz took to the House floor to accuse the speaker of trying to cut a side deal with Democrats to vote on legislation to fund U.S. support for Ukraine’s war with Russia in exchange for Democrats supporting a stopgap bill that kept the government from shutting down Sunday.

Mr. McCarthy denied the allegation, saying that he did talk about Ukraine funding in the stopgap bill but struck no deals about future funding.

The speaker has been on shaky ground since the start of this Congress, when Republicans took control of the House with a slim majority. Mr. McCarthy had to make it through 15 ballots to win the speakership. One concession was to allow a single lawmaker to move to vacate the chair, a parliamentary motion that kicks off a vote on the fate of the speaker.

If a majority of members vote for it, Mr. McCarthy would be ousted and the House would then have to elect a new speaker.

It’s not clear how much support Mr. Gaetz has, though some noteworthy Republicans signaled they would not back him.

Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and prominent Republican rebel, called it a “bad idea” that would leave conservatives with less power as Congress works on a yearlong spending deal.

“Creating a Republican vacancy in the Republican-controlled House, while [Senate Majority Leader Charles E.] Schumer & [Senate Minority Leader Mitch] McConnell lead the Senate, seems like a recipe for an Omnibus,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

An omnibus is a massive spending bill, with all government funding piled together. Avoiding an omnibus spending bill has been one of Mr. Gaetz’s main issues as he challenges Mr. McCarthy.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, also weighed in against ejecting Mr. McCarthy, saying it would “give the upper hand to the Democrats.”

She also objected to moves to expel Mr. Gaetz if an Ethics Committee report came back with derogatory findings against him.

“Republicans need to get off the power trips, stop the absurd drama, remember who the enemy is, stop fighting with each other, and get serious about solving the problems that produce annual systemic failure,” she wrote on X.

Mr. Gaetz said he decided to push the issue after Mr. McCarthy moved to avert a government shutdown with the stopgap spending bill. It continued all current funding for 45 days and lacked any of the new restrictions that Republicans wanted to include.

The bill passed on a strong vote, with Democrats united behind it while Republicans were split.

Mr. McCarthy has said he’s confident he will survive the fracas.

“With Matt, it’s personal,” Mr. McCarthy said. “Matt voted against that conservative stopgap that put us in the problem. And then when I had to keep the government open, he now wants to make a motion to vacate.”

Mr. Gaetz, who has been fundraising off his anti-McCarthy crusade, told reporters on Monday that he had spoken with Mr. Trump about the effort. The former president remains by far the most influential figure in the Republican Party and holds significant sway with a large number of House Republicans.

Mr. Trump told reporters he was unaware of Mr. Gaetz’s plans to try to push out Mr. McCarthy.

 “I don’t know anything about those efforts. I like them both very much,” Mr. Trump said.

Democrats face a decision on how to approach the upcoming vote. They could help topple him, further deepening the rift among House Republicans, but they could also use the moment to extract concessions from Mr. McCarthy.

The 100-plus member House Progressive Caucus won’t help Mr. McCarthy keep his job, said caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, Washington Democrat, unless he makes power-sharing concessions, which is unlikely.