Matt Gaetz’s McCarthy-Bashing Speech Gets Interrupted By Screaming Republicans as Others Leave House Floor in Protest

There was a bit of chaos Friday as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) nominated Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) for Speaker of the House in the twelfth vote held this week. Gaetz, yet again, tore in GOP Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who he previously called a “squatter” who needed to be removed from the speaker’s office.

Gaetz’s speech was interrupted by a heckler as multiple House members walked out during his speech.

CNN’s Annie Grayer reported that “McCarthy staff is advising members to walk off the floor while Matt Gaetz is nominating Jim Jordan. A number of members walked out.”

“Thank you, Madam Speaker. My colleague from California, Mr. Garcia, knows the incredibly high regard I hold him in. He is a patriot. I deeply, deeply admire him. But I must take some exception with some of the comments he made in his nomination of Mr. McCarthy,” Gaetz began.

“First, he said that Mr. McCarthy has earned the position. You only earned the position of speaker of the House if you can get the votes. Mr. McCarthy doesn’t have the votes today. He will not have the votes tomorrow and he will not have the votes next week, next month, next year. And so one must wonder, Madam Clerk, is this an exercise in vanity for someone who has done the math, taking the counts and is putting this institution through something that absolutely is avoidable is avoidable?” he continued, as the Republicans behind him began to grumble.

Gaetz added of his GOP colleagues, “They believe that Mr. McCarthy has earned the position of Speaker of the House because he raised half a billion dollars to get Republicans elected.”

Gaetz was then interrupted by loud heckling from Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) and the House was brought back into order with the House clerk saying members are reminded “not to engage in personalities against other members of the House.”

“Several believe that one earns the position of Speaker by raising enormous sums of money, and there is no doubt that the individual that was nominated by Mr. Garcia is the LeBron James of special interest fundraising in this town. There is nobody better, but I would suggest that there are qualifications for Speaker that are far more important,” Gaetz raged.

“And there is insufficient trust in Kevin McCarthy. There are some who have been objecting to Mr. McCarthy who are working on perhaps changes to the rules, changes to circumstance that would convert the speakership from the great, awesome, powerful position it is now to more of a ceremonial position, almost akin to the speaker in the British House of Commons,” Gaetz added toward the end of his speech.

“I referred to it previously as a straitjacket that some of us were trying to construct with better rules and better personnel because we do not trust Mr. McCarthy with power because we know who he will use it for, and we are concerned it will not be for the American people. We trust Jim Jordan. I nominate him and I’m going to vote for him,” Gaetz concluded.

Watch the full clip above via Fox News.