Matt Gaetz reportedly spills beans about true reason for bouncing Kevin McCarthy

A GOP lawmaker feud has reportedly been explained.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is the Republican lawmaker who brought up the motion to remove then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). He has given a series of vague and unclear reasons why he did it, mainly arguing that McCarthy in some way broke promises he made to the far-right House Freedom Caucus about budget issues. But according to The Daily Beast, Gaetz privately told his colleagues the real reason: it was payback for the House opening up an ethics investigation against him.

"According to private correspondence reviewed by The Daily Beast, Gaetz indicated to a friend that his effort to undercut, isolate, and ultimately remove McCarthy was, indeed, payback for the ethics probe," reported Roger Sollenberger and Reese Gorman. "The Daily Beast reviewed these communications, but is not allowed to quote from them for fear that Gaetz would be able to identify the recipient. In fact, the source who provided the communications was so nervous about retribution that The Daily Beast isn’t allowed to say in what form the correspondence took place."

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"In the communications, Gaetz singled out McCarthy individually for reviving an Ethics Committee probe against him, and he indicated that his animus toward McCarthy was over that investigation," said the report. "The beleaguered Florida congressman’s anger over the revived probe was so strong that he rode his resentment all the way to a history-making vote to remove McCarthy, steamrolling the majority of his GOP colleagues concerned that his vanity project would cause serious, long-term damage — and he did so with his signature Gaetz grin."

According to the report, "other Republican congressional sources" also say that Gaetz "acknowledged his revenge motive behind closed doors."

The Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz stems from allegations that he accepted a bribe, took recreational drugs, laundered campaign funds for personal use, and transported an underage girl across state lines for sex acts. The FBI investigated the last allegation extensively, and his associate Joel Greenberg pleaded guilty to several charges, but no charges against Gaetz himself were ever filed. Recently, the investigation has ramped up.