MAGA Congressman Byron Donalds Blames Matt Gaetz for House GOP Chaos: ‘Lord of the Flies on Capitol Hill’
(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) blamed his colleague Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for the chaos engulfing the House GOP caucus on Friday, arguing that his ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy for bringing Lord of the Flies to Capitol Hill.
According to The Daily Beast‘s Reese Gorman, Donalds remarked on Friday that “Matt’s vacating Kevin McCarthy has brought us to Lord of the Flies on Capitol Hill.”
“Not a good situation,” he added.
Byron Donalds says that Gaetz’s motion to vacate McCarthy backfired on the Republican Conference:
“Matt’s vacating Kevin McCarthy has brought us to Lord of the Flies on Capitol Hill. Not a good situation.”
— Reese Gorman (@reesejgorman) April 19, 2024
Donalds’s comments are notable given the fact that he is, like Gaetz, both a close ally and fervent supporter of Donald Trump as well as opposed to the foreign aid package that is threatening Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) hold on power.
“I think he’s [Johnson] getting bad advice,” mused Donalds during an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Thursday.
The Speaker is getting bad advice from people who aren’t assessing the TOTALITY of issues facing our nation.
This is about bare knuckles negotiation.
You must be able to look your opposition in the eye, demonstrate serious intent, & take a stand for your legislative priorities. pic.twitter.com/8NFsVb0M21
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) April 18, 2024
Gaetz boasted in October of last year that the deposing of McCarthy and ascension of “MAGA Mike Johnson” demonstrated “where the power in the Republican Party truly lies,” but he has since changed his tune, lamenting that Johnson “did not provide an improvement over Speaker McCarthy on spending and foreign policy.”
The two Florida congressmen were part of the minority of the GOP caucus that voted against the rule to bring the foreign aid bills to the floor on Friday, which 151 Republicans supported and just 55 opposed.
