Conservative Republican Slams Matt Gaetz, Urges Him to Put Aside ‘Selfish Views’ And End Crusade Against McCarthy

Conservative California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock took aim at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Monday over his ongoing threats to move to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from his position.

“Yet now we are faced with the threat that a Republican will move to vacate the Republican Speaker of the House,” McClintock said in a floor speech, following one from Gaetz.

“It will only require four other Republican members to join the Democrats to achieve this result. The immediate effect will be to paralyze the House indefinitely because no other business can be taken up until a replacement is elected. Just when we are on the verge of completing the appropriations process, that in turn will finally initiate discussions with the Senate that are vital to change the dangerous path that our country is on. I cannot conceive of a more counterproductive and self-destructive course than that,” he continued, adding:

The supreme irony is that this is being initiated by self-described conservatives. Do they honestly believe that when the Democrats side with them to remove a Republican speaker, they will then side with them to name a more conservative replacement? Of course not. The Democrats will certainly recruit the most liberal Republicans to establish a left-of-center coalition to run the House. This is exactly what happened in California in 1994. A coalition speaker will move the administration of the House sharply to the left and effectively end the Republican House majority that the people elected in 2022. I implore my Republican colleagues to look past their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests and their selfish views, and to make a wise decision when it’s needed most at this critical moment in the life of our country. I yield back.

Gaetz did not move to vacate the speaker during his floor speech on Monday but did say to “Stay tuned.”

CNN’s Manu Raju caught up with Gaetz after his speech and asked the Florida Republican, “Speaker McCarthy said he will survive this. Should he be that confident?”

“For some people, policy failures are recast as personal because their own failures are personally embarrassing to them. This isn’t personal. I can cite to you the specific elements of House rules that have been violated,” Gaetz replied before repeating some of the rhetorical jabs he’s been throwing at McCarthy for weeks.

Watch the full clip above via C-SPAN.