House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Sunday brushed off Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) threats to oust him from the Speakership, calling it something “personal” with the Florida lawmaker.
“That’s nothing new, he’s tried to do that from the moment I ran for office,” McCarthy said in an interview on CBS News’s “Face The Nation.”
“I’ll survive, you know this is personal with Matt,” McCarthy said. “Matt voted against the most conservative bill to protect our border.”
McCarthy was responding to a threat from Gaetz made just an hour before his appearance on the CBS morning show.
Speaking on CNN, Gaetz said he has plans to file a motion to vacate McCarthy from his Speakership this week, one day after the House voted to avert a government shutdown.
The House voted on legislation brought to the floor by McCarthy that extends funding for 47 days. The bill was opposed by 90 Republicans and one Democrat.
McCarthy pivoted to that legislation after Gaetz and other GOP opponents voted Friday against a separate funding measure that would have imposed steeper spending cuts on the government. That bill had no chance of passing the Senate, but McCarthy argued it would have given the House more leverage in negotiations with the Senate and White House.
Gaetz has long threatened to oust McCarthy. He had opposed McCarthy during January’s Speakership vote, withholding support through 15 ballots.
The vote would only need a few Republicans if Democrats join the effort. The minority party would generally be expected to back such a motion, but it’s not clear what Democrats will do in this case. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Sunday said Democrats should not do anything for “free.”
McCarthy said Sunday that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has not given him any indication of what he would do.
“Gaetz was trying to work with Democrats, he’s reached out to [Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.)], [Ocasio-Cortez] and others, but if that’s the way we’re going to govern, I don’t think America is going to be successful,” McCarthy said, touting his work on the debt ceiling and border protections.