Florida Rep. Gaetz Teases Motion to Vacate McCarthy: ‘Stay Tuned’

A move to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif, as leader of the chamber remains a threat, with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., asking the speaker to explain details of a "secret side deal" he with Democrats over Ukraine aid.

Gaetz told reporters after his missive on the House floor that he had talked with Donald Trump about getting rid of McCarthy, but declined to give further details. "I think I'm going to keep that between the two of us," Gaetz said

"It is going to be difficult for my Republican friends to keep calling President Biden feeble while he continues to take Speaker McCarthy's lunch money in every negotiation," Gaetz said during his floor speech. "Just tell us: What was in the secret Ukraine side deal?"

But Gaetz told reporters as he left the chamber that he would take the procedural step to vacate McCarthy from the speakership sometime "this week." He declined to name who he'd like to see as the next speaker, offering that "there's probably 100 Republicans in Congress that I would vote for for speaker. And maybe 100 Republicans throughout the country that I would vote for."

Any Republican "throughout the country" could include Trump, since anyone besides a member of the House of Representatives could become speaker if elected by a majority of House lawmakers. Such a move would be extremely unlikely in the narrowly divided House.

Gaetz, McCarthy's most outspoken opponent, demanded on Monday that the speaker tell Republicans whether he cut a deal with Democrats to consider additional aid to Ukraine as part of a compromise to keep the government open.

Gaetz's threat comes after the speaker over the weekend partnered with over 200 Democrats to pass a stopgap funding measure to keep the government open — a move that incensed House conservatives, who argued it was a continuation of the type of government spending they are fighting against. Additional aid for Ukraine has become highly controversial amongst House Republicans, with a chunk of the conference wanting to cut off the flow of money to the country.

Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., told The Messenger after the government funding vote on Saturday that it was her understanding there was an agreement between Democrats and the speaker to consider Ukraine aid in the coming weeks.

Gaetz can't officially bring the motion to oust McCarthy until later in the afternoon on Monday.

McCarthy entered the Capitol on Monday in a defiant mood, saying he was "not worried" about any challenge to his speakership.

"I'm just gonna focus on doing the work I'm supposed to do," McCarthy told reporters as he entered the Capitol on Monday. "But I'm not worried."

Asked if he plans to talk to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries about possibly getting Democratic support to survive a motion to boot him from the speakership, McCarthy said: "To me this is about the institution. This isn't about politics. If we're going to allow one person, be it personal, be it Ethics complaint or something to rise up ... we're never going to be able to govern."

"If people want to play politics with it, let them play politics with it. But I'm just going to do what I think is best for the American public."

McCarthy also responded to the criticism from conservatives who panned the speaker for working with Democrats to keep the government open with an 11th hour deal.

"They elected me to be speaker, so I made a decision," McCarthy said. "I thought it was best to keep the government open ... it was a gamble to do it. There was no guarantee that the Democrats would vote for it ... but at times in places like this, I need to make decisions."

The motion to vacate the speakership only requires one lawmaker to trigger it, as part of a concession that McCarthy made to conservative holdouts to secure the gavel earlier this year.

Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report.