Tensions Boil As Rep. Mike Rogers Lunges At Gaetz During House Speaker Vote

Tensions boiled over after the 14th House Speaker vote failed late Friday night. 

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala) lunged at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla), forcing one of them to be restrained. 

Moments before the scuffle, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif) approached Gaetz to talk about the possibility of him backing McCarthy in the next vote. 

Although it is unclear what two were saying, the conservation appeared to get heated as Gaetz can be seen pointing his finger at McCarthy. 

Kevin McCarthy confronts Matt Gaetz during 14th House Speaker vote. #118thCongress pic.twitter.com/nMa9bm0KSN

— CSPAN (@cspan) January 7, 2023

As Gaetz appeared to move back to his seat, Rogers jumped at the Florida representative after he declared “present” during the next round of voting.

Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) intervened, holding Rogers back and stopping him from attacking Gaetz.

Rogers had to be held back by Hudson who put one hand over the Alabama representative’s mouth. 

However, that didn’t stop Rogers, who angrily pointed his finger at Gaetz. 

“I won’t forget this!” Rogers was heard yelling. F

Finally, in the 15th round of voting for House Speaker, Gaetz voted “present,” allowing McCarthy to now preside over the 118th Congress. 

In the last round, McCarthy recieved 216 votes with Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who originally opposed supporting him, voting for him. 

“That was easy enough,” McCarthy jokingly said after the fourth day of voting and the scuffle on the House floor. 

As the night continued on, former President Trump reportedly called holdouts who refused to vote in favor of McCarthy in the 14th round of voting. 

Trump called Gaetz and Biggs to attempt to sway their decision, which ultimately worked. 

A photo of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) shows her holding her cellphone with the name of "DT" up to Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont), who appeared to brush her off.