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Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a motion to vacate House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Monday, following arguments over a “side deal” the House Speaker made with Democrats in order to prevent a government shutdown.
“House Democrats and President Biden have said that as Speaker McCarthy was asking Republicans to vote for a continuing resolution…the Speaker of the House was actually cutting a side deal to bring Ukraine legislation to this floor with President Biden and House Democrats,” stated Gaetz on the House floor Monday afternoon before officially filing the motion.
Last week, the government narrowly avoided a government shutdown by passing a stopgap spending bill, giving the government 45 more days to finish thorough funding legislation.
However, the agreement only came after McCarthy took out additional spending for Ukraine, which was preventing votes needed by Republicans.
While the 45-day deal does not include funding for Ukraine, unbeknownst to Republicans, Gaetz stated that the House Speaker had made a “secret deal” with Democrats and President Biden to get the bill through.
“The Speaker of the House has responded to these reports of a secret side deal on money for Ukraine. Opaquely stating that he still wants to fund Ukraine and our border,” Gaetz stated on the floor.
It is not confirmed what deal was made between McCarthy and Biden to get the president to sign the b. However, Biden called the deal “good news” after meeting with the Speaker on Sunday night, according to AP News.
“It is becoming increasingly clear who the Speaker of the House already works for, and it’s not the Republican conference,” Gaetz stated on the floor.
It is unclear if Gaetz will have enough votes to vacate McCarthy, but the House will have only two full legislative days to vote on the motion, or they may decide to delay it.
McCarthy responded to Gaetz’s motion on social media Monday night, stating, “Bring it on.”
