Kevin McCarthy On Matt Gaetz: Congress Would Benefit ‘Tremendously’ If He’s Expelled

Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was asked today if he thought Congress would be better off if Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is expelled from the body and made it clear that he still blames the Florida Republican for his ouster from the top post in the House.

Manu Raju was interviewing McCarthy and asked him directly, “How much would the Republican Party benefit if he were no longer a member of the House, in your opinion?” 

McCarthy replied:

“Oh, tremendously. I mean, people have to earn the right to be here. And I just think from, I mean, he’ll admit to you personally, he doesn’t have a conservative bent in his philosophy and just the nature of what he focuses on.”

So does that mean Gaetz needs to be removed? Raju inquired.

McCarthy: “That’s up to the conference. But I mean, I don’t believe the conference will ever heal if there’s no consequences for the action.”

You may recall that it was Gaetz who led the effort that resulted in McCarthy becoming the first House speaker in U.S. history to be removed from the post, as CNN reported in October.

Gaetz said Monday that he has “enough Republicans” to either push McCarthy from the speakership or make him cut a deal with Democrats to remain in power.

“I have enough Republicans where at this point next week, one of two things will happen. Kevin McCarthy won’t be the speaker of the House, or he’ll be the speaker of the House working at the pleasure of the Democrats. And I’m at peace with either result, because the American people deserve to know who governs them,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju.

Reportedly, the main reason Gaetz wanted McCarthy ousted is because the former speaker refused to put an end to an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation of Gaetz for alleged drug use and sex with underage girls, both of which could indeed cost him his House seat.

Sounds like McCarthy is now ready for some major payback.