How Kevin McCarthy is 'escalating his revenge campaign' against Matt Gaetz

Seven months have passed since former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was ousted as House speaker following a "motion to vacate" triggered by far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida).

Now, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) may be in danger of suffering the same fate if Rep. Marjorie Taylor's (R-Georgia) "motion to vacate" comes up for a full House vote. But with prominent Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) and Rep. Ro Khanna (R-California) voicing their opposition to ousting him as speaker, Johnson appears to have a good chance of keeping his position.

McCarthy left Congress altogether at the end of 2023. But according to Politico's Olivia Beavers, the California Republican still holds a major grudge against Gaetz — and is "escalating his revenge campaign" against him.

READ MORE:GOP rep sends email to constituents detailing efforts to oust 'uninspiring Mike Johnson'

That campaign, Beavers reports, includes going out of his way to help Aaron Dimmock — the Florida Republican challenging Gaetz in a GOP congressional primary.

If McCarthy has his way, Gaetz won't make it to the general election. But Beavers notes that taking on Gaetz in that primary is no easy task.

"Gaetz is the highest-profile political target among the eight hardliners whom McCarthy and his allies are targeting in a vengeance tour that was first reported by Politico," Beavers explains. "But he is also among the hardest of McCarthy's foes to unseat…. The McCarthy-Gaetz vitriol is spiking anew just as Speaker Mike Johnson appears closer than ever to neutralizing his own ouster threat from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), whose combative instincts McCarthy had worked to tame as he turned her into an ally."

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona), one of the Republicans who joined Gaetz in voting to oust McCarthy, doubts that Dimmock poses any real threat to Gaetz in that primary.

READ MORE: 'Uhhhhhh': Matt Gaetz mocked for saying he's never been accused of wrongdoing

Biggs told Politico, "Well, I hope (McCarthy) spends a lot of money there. Because Matt will still win, and it'll divert some of this money away from other people."

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Florida) is also skeptical about Dimmock's chances.

Donalds told Politico, "The Kevin-Matt thing is a Kevin-Matt thing, and it’s unfortunate. But these things are going to play out, and we're going to move on."

READ MORE: 'Antisemitism is wrong, but': Marjorie Taylor Greene pilloried for promoting antisemitic claim

Read Politico's full report at this link.