After teasing about a plan to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) went through with his plan on Monday night to relieve McCarthy of his gavel. While we managed to avoid a government shutdown, McCarthy did so with a "clean" short-term bill, with votes from Democrats, that will fund the government for 45-days, prompting Gaetz to follow through with such a plan to vacate the chair. Gaetz posted a clip of him doing so from his official account.
Today I’m filing a motion to vacate against @SpeakerMcCarthy. pic.twitter.com/voGdX1Ky67
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) October 2, 2023
B) Gaetz: Declaring the office Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant. Resolved that the office of Speaker of the House Representatives is hereby declared to be vacant
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 2, 2023
Gaetz now making his motion to declare the chair vacant and call for a new Speaker’s vote. The chair does not rule whether Gaetz’s resolution meets the standard of a “question of privilges of the House. House must deal with this in 2 days
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 2, 2023
"A vote on the motion to vacate the chair will have to be brought up within two legislative days. But it is likely that the House, rather than voting on the resolution itself, would first vote on some mechanism to kill or delay it, such as voting to table the resolution," a report from The Hill noted.
Both McCarthy and Gaetz had been on the Sunday shows during which they were each asked about the feud over funding the government. Gaetz previewed on CNN's "State of the Union" it would take place "this week."
Meanwhile, on CBS News' "Face the Nation," McCarthy, who was asked about it as his first question, was confident he'd survive the vote. "Yes, I'll survive. You know this is personal with Matt. Matt voted against the most conservative ability to protect our border, secure our border. He's more interested in securing TV interviews than doing something, he wanted to push us into a shutdown, even threatening his own district with all the military people there who would not be paid only because he wants to take this motion," he told host Margaret Brennan. "So be it, bring it on. Let's get over with it and let's start governing. If he's upset because he tried to push us in a shutdown and I made sure government didn't shut down, then let's have that fight."
Even Gaetz conceded that McCarthy can "probably" survive the motion, as he did earlier on Monday.
Gaetz, from both his official and political accounts, has continuously posted about the feud with McCarthy, including as a pinned post.
They want to expel me from Congress for holding @SpeakerMcCarthy to his own word.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) October 2, 2023
They want me gone so they can spend your money and destroy our country without a battle.
Help me fight back. Every little bit counts. Join my team. Fight with me. https://t.co/19GtPSbVKl https://t.co/3qSexuvGMe
For some people, like @SpeakerMcCarthy, policy failures are recast as personal because their own failures are personally embarrassing to them. pic.twitter.com/TzuCWxF3co
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) October 2, 2023
That feud between the two members memorably played a role in why it took so long--15 rounds and after several days--for McCarthy to earn the gavel in the early morning hours of January 7, 2023.
Fox News' Chad Pergram, as Matt highlighted on Sunday, has posted in great detail about the process. He posted again on Monday night, reminding that there hasn't been such drama with a motion to vacate the chair since 1910.
This is the first time since 1910 with Spkr Joe Cannon that the House has really had to grapple with a motion to throw the Speaker out. Fmr GOP NC Rep Mark Meadows crafted one to bounce Boehner in 2015, but never took it this far
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 2, 2023
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