Matt Gaetz Calls It a ‘Constitutional Desecration’ Not to Elect New Speaker After Ejecting the Last One

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) called the House of Representatives’ failure to elect a new speaker of the House a “constitutional desecration” on Thursday, after GOP leadership announced their intention to seek to temporarily grant Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-SC) many of the powers granted to a duly elected speaker.

Asked about the resolution in the hallways of the Capitol complex, Gaetz replied, “I think that, I’m against speaker-lite, I’m against Bud Light.”

He continued:

I believe it is a constitutional desecration to not elect a Speaker of the House. We need to stay here until we elect a speaker. And if someone can’t get the votes, we need to go on to the next person. But twisting and torturing the Constitution to empower a temporary speaker is having a speaker-lite. That is not constitutionally contemplated, it is deeply infirm, and I will do everything possible to stop it.

Two weeks ago, Gaetz and a handful of fellow GOP rebels voted with the entirety of the Democratic caucus to take the gavel away from Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Since then, the GOP conference has nominated two candidates to take his place.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) initially prevailed over Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in an intra-conference vote, but he stepped out of the race when it became clear that holdouts would vote against him on the House Floor.

Jordan then took up the mantle, only to have 20 Republicans defect away from him during the first vote on his candidacy on Tuesday and to lost two more members of the GOP conference during a subsequent vote on Wednesday.

Advocates of empowering McHenry have argued that it is necessary to continue the appropriations process, as well as to ensure that the United States is able to respond to the developing crisis in the Middle East.

Watch above via C-SPAN.