'Needs a refresher course in math': Gaetz schooled on why he can't do anything without the Democrats

House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) somehow managed to cobble together enough votes to avert a government shutdown, but now he faces a leadership challenge from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and other unfriendly Republicans.

Gaetz spent the weekend on a personal publicity tour, wrote USA Today columnist Ingrid Jacques who said he was cementing his reputation as "the most obnoxious member of Congress." But she added that the Florida Republican doesn't seem to realize he's likely to lose his challenge.

"Perhaps Gaetz needs a refresher course in math, because he doesn’t appear to understand that unless Republicans work together given their small majority, their ability to do anything in a divided government is nil," Jacques wrote.

Other Republicans, such as Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), are growing sick of Gaetz's antics and are blaming him for GOP dysfunction in the house, and McCarthy's continued leadership may fall to Democrats to decide.

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"If Gaetz is able to get a vote to fire McCarthy to the House floor, it will be telling how Democrats handle it.," Jacques wrote. "It takes only a simple majority to oust a speaker, and it would take Democratic votes to do so, since McCarthy has wide support among Republicans."

Democrats may wish to punish McCarthy for approving an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, but they may decide he's the best option in a fractured and increasingly extreme GOP caucus.

"But do they want to risk what may happen if McCarthy is fired?" Jacques wrote. "Who else may they have to work with? Gaetz? [Marjorie Taylor Greene]?"