Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz (R) escalated his feud with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday.
The Republican firebrand took to X (formerly Twitter) earlier in the day, announcing that he had “taken the liberty of drafting a subpoena to Hunter Biden.”
Gaetz's post ended with a thinly veiled taunt for McCarthy: “It simply requires your date and signature. Millions of Americans are wondering if you're serious.”
Recent developments have caused tensions within the Republican caucus to spill into the open. On Tuesday, House GOP leadership had to postpone a vote on a short-term measure to extend government funding, known as a continuing resolution (CR).
If successful, the funding measure will keep the government open past Sept. 30.
Gaetz's needling of McCarthy lies at the heart of the drama. He has also criticized allies who helped broker the GOP proposal to fund the government. (RELATED: Report: Motion To Remove House Speaker Discovered In Capitol Bathroom)
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) quickly responded, chastizing Gaetz for what Donalds considers indulging in political theater without acknowledging reality. The fellow Florida Republican fired back at Gaetz's criticism of the plan on social media: “Matt, tell the people the truth. … What's your plan to get the votes to defund Jack Smith? You'll need more than tweets and hot takes!!”
Texas Rep. Chip Roy, another conservative, criticized the opposition on a talk radio show this week: “I don't know whether we'll have the votes or not because I've got a lot of conservative friends who like to beat their chests and thump around going, ‘Oh, this isn't pure enough.'”
Roy had more to say during a press conference today.
However, without support from Democrats, McCarthy can only afford to lose four GOP votes.
Speaking to Steve Bannon today, Gaetz denied any culpability in the event of a government shutdown.
“Why am I to blame for the chaos of the fact that these appropriations bills weren't here already?” an exasperated Gaetz responded. “Right? Like, how come we didn't do defense appropriations right alongside the National Defense Authorizing Bill.”
“You see, this is not a bug of the system,” he persisted. “It is a feature. They hold everything to the very end so that everyone feels rushed and under the pressure to avoid a shutdown. And that's how the administrative state continues.” (RELATED: Diving Into The Election Issue Everyone's Neglecting)
Unfortunately for McCarthy, Gaetz isn't the only frustrated House Republican.
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Kevin…either dump or get off the pot!!!
I am afraid McCarthy is turning out to be exactly what we thought he would be.
The problem is not McCarthy – he’s following established procedure – the problem is this high-school punk that needs attention and is making a spectacle of the entire party during an election year – yeah there are state elections being held and he’s doing nothing to encourage voters to vote GOP !
This kid does Not realize THIS IS NOT ABOUT HIM – he’s acting like a high school punk that needs attention. The party and America does not need his disruptions at this time. He needs others to have a talk with him !
Thank God that there are a few people like Gaetz who are willing to stand against the establishment.
Te Republicans have had several chances to rid us of Gaetz, up to and including this past summer. They blew off their opportunities and now the party and the country are paying the price.