House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R, Calif.) responded to Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R, Fla.) motion
by writing “Bring It On” just minutes after it was filed. Gaetz replied to McCarthy’s on social media with “Just did.” Gaetz, who had long promised to do so, filed a motion on Monday night to remove McCarthy as Speaker. Gaetz had told CNN the day before that he would file the motion in the coming week. This comes after McCarthy supported a measure over the weekend to prevent a shutdown of the government, which was widely bipartisan.
McCarthy appeared confident that he could defeat Gaetz’s effort, telling reporters on Monday morning that the support he has within the House GOP Conference is “very strong.” McCarthy said to CBS News on Sunday that he would “survive” and called it a personal matter with Florida’s lawmaker. A motion to vacate will need to be made within two legislative days. However, it is likely that the House will vote first on a way to delay or kill the motion before voting on the actual resolution. a post on XThe Gaetz motion will only require a few Republicans to vote if Democrats also join the effort. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday that Democrats should not do anything for “free.” Gaetz, a Florida Republican, said that he would not support any deal with Democrats in order to keep McCarthy Speaker. He told CNN’s Jake Tapper: “If Democrats are going to bail out Kevin McCarthy, then I won’t be able to stop them. But then, he will be their Speaker and not mine.”
Gaetz, a Florida Republican, has been threatening to remove McCarthy for years. He had opposed McCarthy during January’s Speakership vote, withholding support through 15 ballots.
After exhausting options to pass a GOP-only stopgap plan, McCarthy rushed Saturday to roll out a bipartisan continuing resolution (CR), provoking the ire of hard-line House Republicans, including Gaetz. The CR funds the government through November 17 at current levels of spending. The funding is an increase of $16 billion in federal disaster assistance to meet Biden’s request. However, it does not include funding for Ukraine which was a priority of the White House and was opposed by many GOP members. The CR does not include any spending cuts or changes to border policy, which is a major blow to conservatives who were opposed to any CR that did not make these changes. The measure passed the House on Saturday in a largely partisan vote of 335-91, with 90 Republicans and one Democrat voting against it. The bill then overwhelmingly passed in the Senate in an 88-9 vote, with nine Republicans opposing the bill.
President Biden signed the bill Saturday to fund the government through Nov. 17, emphasizing Congress now has “plenty of time” to
.