Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida is reportedly making calls to other members of Congress encouraging them to oppose Kevin McCarthy taking over as Speaker of the House, the Washington Examiner reported.
McCarthy has been dreaming of being Speaker for decades. For over a year he's been telling Republicans, "I want you to watch Nancy Pelosi hand me that gavel."
He has done whatever is necessary to appease Donald Trump as well as his members, some of whom were chased from the House chamber on Jan. 6.
Instead of McCarthy, Gaetz wants a more reliable MAGA member to take over the help like Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). The last cycle, Jordan fought McCarthy's leadership, but McCarthy managed to eke out a win. With a stronger MAGA caucus, however, someone more reliably extreme could be the one chosen by the Republican elected officials. At a rally on Monday night, Donald Trump called Jordan up on stage to celebrate him as one of his strongest allies.
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McCarthy is generally a source of ridicule for Trump. One infamous story was that McCarthy figured out Trump only liked a few Starburst flavors, so he picked those out to make a huge bowl for Trump. While president, Trump would also frequently call him "my Kevin."
"Just as I have done after every election, you can count on me having conversations with my colleagues on matters of policy, politics, and leadership,” Gaetz said when asked about the calls.
McCarthy is thought to be a shoo-in, but it depends on if the loudest members like Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Gaetz, Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) could all join forces to press the members they know to come for McCarthy's position and install someone more reflective of the values of the contemporary Republican Party.
