(ConservativeJournal.org) – We live in a time of firsts. Former President Donald Trump is the first Commander-in-Chief to face a barrage of criminal indictments and one of his lesser Republican counterparts is now the first Speaker of the House in the history of our nation to be successfully dethroned by his colleagues. Rep. Kevin McCarthy is out.
Before his ousting was finalized, the Rep. from California told Greta Van Susteren on October 2 that Rep. Matt Gaetz’ decision to pursue him was “personal.” He reminded her that his Florida rival had been opposed to his speakership from the very beginning. Instead of voting for or against McCarthy’s ascension to the most powerful position in the U.S. House, Gaetz famously cast an ambiguous vote of “present.”
Both McCarthy and Gaetz have accused each other of not being legitimate conservatives in the past. McCarthy appeared to play on that war or words again during his appearance on Susteren’s show and reminded her that Gaetz had declined to support his “conservative continuing resolution.”
The former speaker told the host that had the resolution passed, the “border” with Mexico “would have” been “secured” and the budget “would have” been cut. According to McCarthy, Gaetz was adamant about addressing both items. He seemed to imply that Gaetz’ apparent unwillingness to tackle the issues on the Republican leader’s terms was an indication of his lack of conservative values.
McCarthy further suggested that the Florida Republican may have been upset with how he handled the Democrat-led ethics investigation against Gaetz. Though none have been proven, allegations of inappropriate conduct involving a minor and drugs have been following Gaetz around Capitol Hill for many months. Some have suggested that Gaetz is furious with the fact that McCarthy failed to stifle it.
Following McCarthy’s interview, Gaetz told Fox News that his reasons for seeking McCarthy’s removal were not at all personal and that he felt “no personal animus” towards him.
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