Could Matt Gaetz Soon Resign?

lev radin / shutterstock.com
lev radin / shutterstock.com

If you haven’t heard, the battle for Speaker of the House of Representatives is finally over. It might have taken a whopping 25 votes, but former House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has finally achieved his goal of taking Nancy Pelosi’s oh-so-coveted position.

The question now is what those that so vehemently opposed his ascension will do. One man, in particular, had even threatened to resign if such a “moderate Republican” took the seat.

Enter Florida conservative and Representative Matt Gaetz.

If you weren’t already aware, Gaetz was one of about 20 who did not want McCarthy or apparently any moderate Republican to win the Speakership.

According to him and those who joined him in opposition to McCarthy, the now officially elected Speaker is too much ingrained in the establishment of both the Republican Party and Congress in general. It is their opinion that McCarthy’s lifelong career in politics and what he has done to maintain that career make in an “inappropriate choice” for the Speakership.

Gaetz said these things when recently speaking to Fox News host Laura Ingraham about the ongoing voting process. The two spoke on Friday, bringing up a number of issues surrounding the possible new House leader.

First and foremost was Gaetz’s certainty that McCarthy wouldn’t make it.

He told Ingraham, “If Democrats join up to elect a moderate Republican, I will resign.”

Of course, not all those who opposed McCarthy’s ascension were quite as determined as Gaetz. Some had indicated that, should McCarthy agree to certain terms and possible restrictions to his now-assumed power, then they might be willing to cast a vote in his direction.

From the Freedom Caucus, of which Gaetz is a member, term limits, earmarks, border security, and more accountability for the Speaker were the main issues. And even Gaetz had noted that these would all make for a better speaker.

But even if McCarthy agreed to all that, he still said that no one should be “betting on” his vote for the now-Speaker.

Call it “personal,” as Ingraham did, or whatever, but Gaetz said he just couldn’t ignore a lifetime of collaborating with the establishment over a few supposed promises just to let Congress move forward.

He, like many Americans, is sick and tired of the swamp that Washington, DC, has become. They are sick of politicians who say one thing and do the other. And they are sick of congressional members like McCarthy, who have quite literally sold themselves to gain more power and influence.

He told Ingraham, “Kevin McCarthy has been in leadership for 14 years. He has sold shares of himself to special interests, to political action committees, and so that’s why I don’t think he is an appropriate choice.”

He added that McCarthy is the “masthead of the lobby core.” And for Gaetz, that’s simply intolerable for any Republican.

If we really want to eradicate the major issues our nation, you know, things like Big Tech censorship, massively ridiculous spending bills, amnesty across the board for immigrants, etc., then we can’t have congressional members and especially congressional leaders who continually vote for those things despite knowing that’s not what their constituents want.

And according to those like Gaetz, McCarthy is just such a leader.

Furthermore, if such a person were put in the Speaker position, those like Gaetz would want him to essentially operate in a “straitjacket” to ensure accountability and such. As the Florida Lawmaker told Ingraham, “If it was a Jim Jordan, we certainly wouldn’t need that.”

Why? Well, because, as he explained, the Freedom Caucus and those who think more like Gaetz has actual trust in Jim Jordan. They know that he wants the same or at least very similar things. They know he is fighting for the people.

And with McCarthy, that’s just not there. Instead, the now-speaker has far too often relied on what money and power can get him rather than sticking to his word.

But seeing as how McCarthy did, in fact, pull off a win and a new title, there’s little Gaetz can do about it besides resigning or being one to ensure he is held accountable at every step.