Gaetz Says Ousting McCarthy ‘Absolutely’ Worth It Even If He Loses His Seat in Congress

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) delivers remarks in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said it would be “absolutely” worth it if he were to lose his congressional seat over his efforts to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his leadership position.

“If you lose your job, will it be worth it?” NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker asked Mr. Gaetz in an interview on Sunday. “Absolutely,” Mr. Gaetz replied. “Look, I am here to fight for my constituents. And I’m here to ensure that America is not on a path to financial ruin.”

Mr. Gaetz called some Republican lawmakers’ suggestions that he should be removed from Congress “crazy.”

“The voters of Florida’s First Congressional District sent me here with about 70 percent of the vote, so I think that anyone trying to kick me out of Congress because they didn’t like me would have a bone to pick with them,” Mr. Gaetz.

Mr. McCarthy was removed from his position as House speaker on Oct. 3 in a 216–210 vote, with eight Republicans joining all present Democrats to remove him from the post. Four Democrats and three Republicans were not present for the vote, which was initiated by Mr. Gaetz, a member of the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus.

After being voted out, Mr. McCarthy said he would not seek reelection as speaker. Currently, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) have officially entered the race to succeed Mr. McCarthy.

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Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, put speculation that he would run to rest with an announcement on Saturday that he will not run for the top job. Mr. Hern explained that a potential three-man race for speaker would “create even more division and make it harder to elect a Speaker.”

Mr. Gaetz dismissed a suggestion that there was no clear replacement for Mr. McCarthy.

“Not only do we have a clear replacement, we have two. We have two men who are incredibly respected,” Mr. Gaetz said.

The Florida lawmaker declined to voice his support for either Mr. Jordan or Mr. Scalise for now. “I want to hear both of their specific plans on spending and on single-subject appropriations bills,” he said.

House Republicans plan to hold a speaker candidate forum on Oct. 10 and then nominate a speaker the following day.

Mr. Gaetz said that of the two, whoever becomes speaker would be an upgrade over Mr. McCarthy.

“If we have a Speaker Jim Jordan, or a Speaker Steve Scalise, at the end of the coming week, there won’t be a single Republican—sans maybe Kevin McCarthy—who doesn’t believe that we have upgraded the position,” Mr. Gaetz said. “This is about ensuring long-term stability financially for our country from a leadership standpoint, and with either Steve Scalise or Jim Jordan, we will undeniably have an upgrade, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Mr. Gaetz also dismissed a suggestion that his action to oust Mr. McCarthy had undermined U.S. national security.

“I don’t think that other countries think about Kevin McCarthy’s speakership quite as much as Kevin McCarthy does,” Mr. Gaetz said. “We’ll have a new speaker next week and we’ll be prepared to do our work.”