Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz walked into House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s office Monday night with a list of demands. Among them: Chairing the House’s Critical Armed Services Subcommittee.
McCarthy declined the offer. The decision triggered a series of events that left Gaetz and McCarthy locked in an open confrontation on the House floor late Friday night. McCarthy’s most staunch opponent, Gaetz, rejected the California Republican’s final vote at He wanted to be the speaker. Then, Gaetz and the final holder abruptly changed course, allowing McCarthy to win the speaker’s hammer. on his 15th attempt..
before the final vote Chaos erupted on the palace floor after Gaetz waited until the end of the 14th ballot to vote “Presented” when McCarthy demanded another “yes” vote. McCarthy then suffered the most embarrassing defeat. His allies surround Gaetz in an attempt to find a way forward. McCarthy soon hooks up to talk and begins to engage with Gaetz too.
After McCarthy walks away from Gaetz in a dejected manner, House Armed Services chairman Mike Rogers heads straight for the conversation and lunges at Gaetz, being imprisoned by Republican Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina. A Republican in Alabama, who earlier this week warned GOP dissidents that they would lose committee assignments, told Gaetz he would “finish” the speaker’s vote going forward.
Nearby, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia is trying to convince Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana, another McCarthy member, to pick up her cell phone and talk to former President Donald Trump, who is on the call.
Finally, the clerk of the house announced for the 14th time that no one had the right to speak. Republicans moved to postpone the chamber until Monday. while the voting time is counting down 218 Republicans voted yes. That was the majority that would send McCarthy home over the weekend, leaving the house paralyzed at the hands of Gatz and his allies.
But with less than a minute left to vote, Gaetz walked to the front of the room. Grabbing a red index card to change the vote as postponed, Gaetz walked over to McCarthy and the two had a brief conversation. McCarthy then raised his hand and shouted, “Another one!” as he triumphantly walked to the front of the room to change the vote as well. The GOP leader’s final talks turned emotionally agitated over four days as he was held hostage by a narrow group at his convention. Dozens of Republicans followed McCarthy and Gatz to defeat the postponement measure. And finally, McCarthy’s victory is within reach.
Read the full timeline of this crazy week here: