Rep. Matt Gaetz, while slamming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's comments on a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown, hinted that the speaker's gavel is in danger and insisted that "no one trusts" him.
"I would say it's on some tenuous ground," the Florida Republican told reporters when asked if McCarthy's leadership position is in danger, reports CNN.
His comments came after McCarthy, R-Calif., said he was being the "adult in the room" by forwarding a 45-day stopgap continuing resolution to avert a looming government shutdown, which could start at midnight if an agreement isn't reached.
"There's nothing about delaying this process that is being the adult in the room," Gaetz commented. "We are at this point because Kevin McCarthy made multiple contradictory promises about the budget topline to different groups of people."
He accused McCarthy of having made "one promise to House conservatives" in January to secure the speaker's seat and said he "made another promise to President [Joe] Biden, and he made a third promise altogether to House appropriators ... The one thing everyone seems to have in common is that no one trusts Kevin McCarthy."
Meanwhile, Gaetz said the conservative Republicans' plan is to continue building support for their single-subject spending bills.
"This 45-day CR does not liberate us from our nation's financial challenges," said Gaetz.
He also told reporters that it is "entirely within" McCarthy's control about whether the speaker will face a motion to vacate his seat and that McCarthy must uphold his promise to House conservatives to focus on the single-subject bills.
McCarthy earlier told CNN he is not concerned about keeping his job.
"Look, if someone wants to try to remove me because I stood for the American public, for the troops to make sure they got paid ... to make sure the border agents got paid while we continue to do our work, I welcome that vote," McCarthy said.
He also said he believes it is acceptable to work with Democrats to keep the government open.
"What is wrong with Americans working together?" he said. "What is wrong with a Republican and Democrat putting America first? I think that's important."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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