A new report claims that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has privately admitted to his colleagues that he instigated the removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over a previously undisclosed reason. He allegedly took the action because he believed McCarthy was unable or unwilling to end a House ethics probe.
A complaint has been filed with the House Ethics Committee alleging Gaetz had sexual relations with a minor.
CNN reported Wednesday that the committee requested materials from the Justice Department from its investigation of the congressman.
The House inquiry began in 2021 under Nancy Pelosi's leadership and continued under McCarthy, who Gaetz supposedly asked to close the investigation. Gaetz denies this.
The Florida congressman maintains that McCarthy violated an agreement with him from January 2023, which led to Gaetz withdrawing his opposition to McCarthy's nomination after 15 rounds of voting.
Gaetz submitted a resolution to vacate the chair last October, which prompted a House vote on whether to remove McCarthy. Seven Republicans, including Gaetz, joined the Democrats to end McCarthy's speakership.
However, the Daily Beast claims Gaetz retaliated against McCarthy as soon as politically expedient, with correspondence allegedly from the congressman provided by GOP sources.
The Beast reviewed the documents but says it cannot quote them, fearing that Gaetz would recognize the recipient:
In the communications, Gaetz singled out McCarthy individually for reviving an Ethics Committee probe against him, and he indicated that his animus toward McCarthy was over that investigation.
The beleaguered Florida congressman's anger over the revived probe was so strong that he rode his resentment all the way to a history-making vote to remove McCarthy, steamrolling the majority of his GOP colleagues concerned that his vanity project would cause serious, long-term damage—and he did so with his signature Gaetz grin.
Other Republican congressional sources told The Daily Beast that Gaetz also acknowledged his revenge motive behind closed doors.
In one instance over the summer, Gaetz relayed to a group of colleagues that his push to remove McCarthy was a direct response to the ethics investigation. He specifically blamed McCarthy for the return of the probe, according to two sources familiar with the conversation.
A senior GOP staffer, who spoke to the outlet on the condition of anonymity, said they heard Gaetz tie the investigation to McCarthy's removal.
“I've heard him complain about Kevin because of it,” they kept going.
McCarthy insisted he had no control over the committee, which Gaetz didn't believe.
Gaetz still maintains that McCarthy's removal was based on principle. However, his opponents say that he pressured his closest allies to join his rebellion by going on a media offensive, praising the virtues of integrity and accountability in the Republican majority and accusing McCarthy of lacking both.
In response to the allegations, Gaetz accused The Daily Beast of lying about him and that “it's due for a round of layoffs.”
Requests for comment were made to McCarthy, but he did not respond.
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