Matt Gaetz has denied he moved to oust Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker for failing to stop a sexual misconduct ethics probe into him.
Florida congressman Matt Gaetz led the charge against Mr McCarthy, who was ousted as speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday in a historical first. But now Mr Gaetz is facing allegations that his move to oust Mr McCarthy from his position came after the former House speaker failed to protect him from a wide-ranging inquiry into his conduct.
Mr Gaetz, 41, is facing a House Ethics Committee inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct, use of illegal drugs, and misuse of funds.
The far-right congressman has denied the allegations, and claimed the inquiry is the work of Mr McCarthy and his allies, who he argues are bent on smearing him.
The former House speaker has insisted he cannot block the investigation, but Mr Gaetz has claimed this is an “urban legend.”
On Tuesday, Mr McCarthy claimed he was ousted as speaker due to Gaetz’s personal dislike of him, a claim the Florida congressman later denied.
“That’s totally false,” Gaetz told Fox News. “I’m the most investigated man in the entire United States Congress.”
Mr Gaetz has insisted he moved to oust Mr McCarthy after he broke his word to conservatives on spending deals and how he would run the House.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., arrives for a closed-door meeting with House Republicans— (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
But at a press conference on Tuesday following the ouster, Mr McCarthy tore into Mr Gaetz. “It was personal,” he said. “It had nothing to do about spending.”
He pointed out that Mr Gaetz was fundraising off of his move, calling the decision “not governing” and “not becoming of a member of Congress”.
“Just because Gaetz said something don’t believe it’s true. I haven’t heard him say one true thing yet,” Mr McCarthy noted.
U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) answers questions at the Capitol after being ousted as House speaker— (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Image)
“Wait for my book,” he added.
Rep McCarthy has confirmed he will not make another bid for Speaker of the House after he was ousted from the job in a historic vote on Tuesday.
“I will not run for speaker again,” Mr McCarthy said in a nearly hour-long press conference.
There is no obvious replacement for Mr McCarthy, with The Washington Post reporting before the vote that many Republicans have said they will renominate Mr McCarthy for speaker and not allow the House to adjourn until he’s re-elected.
Mr Gaetz said he “absolutely does not” want the top job.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters hours after he was ousted as Speaker of the House— (AP)
Meanwhile, a growing number of far-right Republican lawmakers including Marjorie Taylor Greene are calling for Donald Trump to become the next House speaker.
Mr McCarthy was stripped of his office as the highest-ranking member of the GOP in the US government after eight of his own party joined with 208 Democrats in a parliamentary manoeuvre that hadn’t been tried in over a century, known as a motion to vacate the chair.
The eight insurgents, led by Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, claimed that Mr McCarthy was untrustworthy because he allowed the House to avert a government shutdown on Saturday by approving legislation to keep the government running for the next 45 days.
The former speaker said he does not regret allowing the stopgap funding bill which passed the House on Saturday to do so with Democratic votes.
“Doing the right thing isn’t always easy, but it is necessary ... I don’t regret standing up for choosing governance over grievance ... I do not regret negotiating for government is designed to find compromise, I don’t regret my efforts to build coalitions and find solutions. I was raised to solve problems, not create them,” he said.
“So I may have lost the vote today, but as I walk out of this chamber, I feel fortunate to have served the American people”.
Rep Patrick McHenry was appointed as acting speaker and will be in the role until a formal vote can take place.
