On Friday evening, minutes after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) had again denied House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA) the votes he needed in order to be elected Speaker of the House, another GOP congressman confronted Gaetz and had to be physically restrained, according to Mediaite.
With one vote to decide McCarthy’s fate, Gaetz could not bring himself to vote for the GOP leader after having spent all of two months campaigning for someone else to lead the 118th Congress.
Gaetz left the room when his name was called the first time around, and when he had a chance to vote for McCarthy when his name was called again, he shouted, “Present!”
The vote denied the California Republican the gavel and the GOP side of the House floor devolved into chaos. McCarthy charged up an aisle where he confronted Gaetz. The two exchanged words for several moments before McCarthy walked away.
McCarthy was finally elected Speaker on the 15th ballot, which suggests he will be the weakest House leader since the Civil War.
After video of Rogers confronting Gaetz hit social media, comments proliferated regarding what had just transpired.
