- Rep. Matt Gaetz says the Democratic Party can adopt House Speaker Kevin McCarthy if they so wish.
- "If the Democrats want to own Kevin McCarthy, they can have him," Gaetz told the media on Monday.
Rep. Matt Gaetz says the Democratic Party is welcome to adopt Kevin McCarthy if they want to.
"If the Democrats want to own Kevin McCarthy, they can have him," Gaetz told journalists on Monday night after filing his motion to remove McCarthy.
"Because one thing I'm at peace with is when we stand here a week from now, I won't own Kevin McCarthy anymore. He won't belong to me," Gaetz added. "So if the Democrats wanna adopt him, they can adopt him."
Gaetz's motion to vacate came after the Florida Republican repeatedly threatened to oust McCarthy from the speakership and accused him of backtracking on conservative reforms.
The feud between the pair goes back to January, before McCarthy even secured the speakership. At the time, Gaetz and other GOP holdouts vehemently opposed McCarthy's nomination. This led to a protracted battle in the House, where McCarthy had to sit through 15 rounds of voting before finally getting the votes.
This victory did come at a price: McCarthy made several concessions to the GOP holdouts. It included a change in House rules where any member could call a snap vote to remove McCarthy, which Gaetz is making full use of now.
According to the challenge's rules, McCarthy has two days to address the House. And for his part, McCarthy has remained defiant in the face of Gaetz's motion to vacate.
"Bring it on," McCarthy wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday night.
"Just did," Gaetz replied.
Representatives for Gaetz and McCarthy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.