In a recent interview with CNN, former speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R) criticized Florida Representative Matt Gaetz (R) and his actions in the House GOP.
In October, a few days after having just avoided a government shutdown, Rep. Gaetz pushed to oust Rep. McCarthy from his position as speaker. Rep. Gaetz's sentiments were eventually echoed by several "Freedom Caucus" members, leading to Rep. McCarthy being ousted. Furthermore, the move caused a schism between McCarthy and Gaetz.
The position was declared vacant after Congress reached a 216-210 vote. Many House Republicans voted to keep Rep. McCarthy but the combination of the group of often-dissenting Republicans in the “Freedom Caucus” and House Democrats was too much to overcome for those in favor of McCarthy.
Several critics lambasted McCarthy’s tenure as speaker of the House. Texas Representative Vicente Gonzalez (D) took umbrage with McCarthy’s antics and style of governing.
“Time and time again, when we should have been working to better our constituents, we instead wasted time on political pageantry and theatrics all because Kevin McCarthy was unable to control his party. That is why I voted to oust him from the speakership.”
Senate candidate and current Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez (D) blamed the extremist attitudes for McCarthy being voted out.
“Our institutions are broken in Texas and now in Washington. Extremism has taken over. Republicans in the House and Senate have failed to effectively govern. Speaker McCarthy was ousted today."
The former speaker, who stated that the party would benefit "tremendously" from Gaetz's removal, questioned the true feelings and mindsets of those who voted with Gaetz. One of the targets of his criticisms was Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC).
"It just seemed out of nature," stated McCarthy in the CNN interview. McCarthy questioned the logic of Rep. Mace's move and stated she could lose her seat.
He continued, "If you've watched just her philosophy and the flip-flopping. I don't believe she wins reelection. I don't think she'll probably have earned the right to get reelected."
