Newt Gingrich urges GOP to 'swiftly' oust 'anti-Republican' Matt Gaetz
In a Tuesday, October 3 op-ed published by The Washington Post, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R- GA) calls on Republicans to immediately remove United States Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) following his motion to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Gingrich, who served as House Speaker from 1995-1999, writes "Gaetz should be swiftly defeated, and then he should be expelled from the House Republican Conference. House Republicans have far more important things to do than entertain one member’s ego."
The former Georgia congressman points out that during his four years as House Speaker, he occasionally "fought against the GOP establishment," including leading "the fight against President George H.W. Bush's 1990 tax increase after he had broken his word about 'no new taxes,'" but "unlike Gaetz," he writes, "when I rebelled, I represented the majority view of the caucus at the time."
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Gingrich also acknowledges that "drama has filled the halls of Congress for 234 years. Bringing together a group of 435 strong-willed personalities guarantees conflict, and it has always been a tumultuous body," but Gaetz "behavior crosses the line" and should suffer "consequences.
However, calling the Florida congressman "an anti-Republican who has become actively destructive to the conservative movement," Gingrich adds, "Gaetz has gone beyond regular drama. He is destroying the House GOP's ability to govern and draw a sharp contrast with the policy disasters of the Biden administration."
The former speaker notes:
Furthermore, Gaetz is violating the House Republican Conference rule that states the motion to vacate 'should only be available with the agreement of the Republican Conference so as to not allow Democrats to choose the Speaker.' The agreement made when McCarthy became speaker doesn't supersede the conference rules. Gaetz still needs a majority of the conference.
Gaetz knows he can’t possibly get a majority of the House GOP conference to his side. He is simply violating the rules in the pursuit of personal attention and fundraising — just like Pelosi said.
Gingrich writes, "Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), a liberal Democrat with whom I disagree on almost everything, perfectly captured Gaetz's childish behavior in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday. Gaetz 'has no sway' or influence in Congress, Pelosi said, 'except to get on TV and to raise money on the internet.' Pelosi told Tapper he was 'wasting [his] time on that guy.'"
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Newt Gingrich's full op-ed is available at this link (subscription required).
