'Chaos doesn’t scare me': Matt Gaetz doubles down after upending House leadership

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) helped catalyze the current Republican House meltdown, by leading the charge to call a vote to dismiss House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-FL), upending most business in Congress and paralyzing the House as Republicans fight over who to elect in his place.

But Gaetz is completely unapologetic about his actions, as he made clear in a post to X on Thursday afternoon.

"Ever seen a SWAMP actually drained? This Florida Man has. It’s not orderly," he wrote. "Turns out, the alligators & snakes get unruly when the comfort of their habitat is disrupted. Chaos doesn’t scare me. American decline does. Our fight continues."

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"Thank you for having my back!" Gaetz added.

The path forward for Republicans is unclear. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) was previously nominated for speaker, but dropped out just a day later as far-right members declared their opposition to his candidacy as well. Then Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), a Freedom Caucus firebrand and the chair of the Judiciary Committee, was nominated in his place, but he has failed two rounds of voting.

One other possibility would be giving temporary powers to Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) while Republicans work out their leadership issues in the background. Some Republicans have backed this proposal; however, Gaetz and several others have opposed it, and Jordan, after briefly endorsing the idea, reversed course after backlash from his supporters and is planning another speakership voting round.