Republicans spent the week plotting potential retribution and attempting to further tarnish the reputation of Rep. Matt Gaetz after his successful rebellion against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Though the majority of the GOP backed McCarthy, Gaetz's motion to vacate was successful in two votes Tuesday, angering Republicans in the House and elsewhere. Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican who represents the swing district around Omaha, fumed to reporters after the vote that "I'd love to have [Gaetz] out of the [House Republican Conference]," adding, "He shouldn't be in the GOP."
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who became the first Republican in four decades to hold the position when chosen in 1995, also called on Gaetz to be expelled, writing in the Washington Post that "he is destroying the House GOP's ability to govern" and reluctantly agreeing with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi that Gaetz “is simply violating the rules in the pursuit of personal attention and fundraising."
