Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Oct. 25 declared the election of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) as House speaker a sign of the strength of the “MAGA movement” in the GOP and the waning power of the “swamp.”
After a three-week leadership void in the House, the GOP conference chose Mr. Johnson as their speaker nominee; he went on to win 220 votes in the first floor ballot on Oct. 25.
Mr. Gaetz, who led the motion to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the former speaker, touted Mr. Johnson’s victory as exemplary of the growing power of the “MAGA movement” on Capitol Hill.
“The swamp is on the run. MAGA is ascendant. If you don’t think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the Republican Party truly lies, then you’re not paying attention,” Mr. Gaetz said during an interview on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast.
The Floridian congressman shed light on the internal party deliberations that led to Mr. Johnson’s election following the short-lived candidacy of Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who withdrew his name hours after receiving the GOP nomination on Oct. 24.
Mr. Johnson’s nomination followed that of Mr. Emmer, who was the third speaker nominee after Reps. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) failed to garner the needed support.
Mr. Gaetz said that following Mr. Emmer’s withdrawal, Mr. McCarthy was the sole GOP member to object to a request by Rep. Marcus Molinaro (R-N.Y.), a freshman congressman, for unanimous consent to waive the rules and take a nonbinding poll on whether Mr. Johnson could be the nominee.
Mr. McCarthy’s objection, in Mr. Gaetz’s view, was evidence that the former speaker “was worried that there was going to be this great, unifying moment” of rallying behind Mr. Johnson that would hurt Mr. McCarthy’s chances of being reelected, so “he scuttled the unifying moment.”
Mr. McCarthy hadn’t put his name in the ring to run again for the speakership.
The Epoch Times contacted Mr. McCarthy’s office for comment but received none by press time.
Gaetz Says He ‘Wasn’t the Force for Chaos’
Mr. Gaetz said Mr. McCarthy sought write-in votes but received relatively few, according to Mr. Gaetz.“So, they flame out terribly,” Mr. Gaetz said. “Mike Johnson’s gaining momentum. Ultimately, McCarthy gets 43 to vote for him on a secret ballot. But Mike Johnson gets a majority.”
Mr. Johnson then requested a roll-call vote, according to Mr. Gaetz.
“So that those 43 would have to announce themselves as being for a candidate who wasn’t even running, instead of a unifying force like Mike Johnson,” he said.
“And when we called for the roll call, do you know how many people voted for Kevin McCarthy? Zero.”
Mr. Gaetz accused the former speaker of attempting to sabotage the chances of the last four speaker nominees while maneuvering in the shadows to be reelected himself.
“Everyone in the room knew at that moment that I wasn’t the force for chaos; I wasn’t causing disunity; that for the last three weeks, the reason the House of Representatives has been paralyzed is because, for his own selfish gain, Kevin McCarthy was sabotaging the candidacy of anyone else because he was plotting a return,” he said.
Mr. Johnson received a prolonged standing ovation from fellow Republicans upon his nomination by Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
Mr. Gaetz hailed Mr. Johnson’s election to the speakership as a victory over “the swamp,” a term used often by former President Donald Trump, who started the MAGA movement with his 2016 campaign, the slogan of which was “Make America great again.”
“They are crying, they are hand-wringing, they are bed-wetting over on K Street because we have an honorable, righteous man who is about to take this position. He’s going to do great things for the country,” Mr. Gaetz said.
Mr. Gaetz, who has been on the House Judiciary Committee with Mr. Johnson for several years, praised the newly minted speaker.
“He is sharp. He will be as respected in the homes of our most meaningful, righteous, and patriotic donors as he will [be] at the rallies with our most enthusiastic and meaningful activists,” Mr. Gaetz said.
Mr. Johnson’s election was praised by former speaker nominees Mr. Emmer and Mr. Scalise.
“I know Mike will keep our majority united as we continue to deliver on the commitments we’ve made to our constituents,” Mr. Emmer said.
Mr. Scalise praised Mr. Johnson’s commitment “to things bigger than himself.”
Mr. Johnson, 51, is an attorney and former radio host. He carried a Bible when he accepted the gavel on Oct. 25.
In his first speech as speaker, he said the House is “ready to get to work again” to solve the problems at home and abroad affecting Americans.
“Our mission here is to serve you well, to restore the people’s faith in this House, in this great and essential institution,” Mr. Johnson said.
