Matt Gaetz’s push to oust McCarthy was revenge for ethics probe: private communications

26 January 2024

When 2024 arrived, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was gone from the U.S. House of Representatives. McCarthy was sworn into Congress in January 2007, but after being ousted as speaker in early October 2023, he was clearly fed up. And McCarthy resigned from Congress without serving out the remainder of his term.

Far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), more than anyone, was responsible for McCarthy's departure: It was Gaetz's "motion to vacate" that led to the conservative California Republican being removed as speaker.

Gaetz has publicly maintained that his push to oust McCarthy was policy-driven, not anything personal. But according to the Daily Beast reporters Roger Sollenberger and Reese Gorman, the hyper-MAGA congressman has privately acknowledged that he did, in fact, have a vendetta against McCarthy and wanted to get back at him because of a House Ethics Committee investigation.

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"According to private correspondence reviewed by The Daily Beast," Sollenberger and Gorman explain in an article published on January 25, "Gaetz indicated to a friend that his effort to undercut, isolate, and ultimately remove McCarthy was, indeed, payback for the ethics probe. The Daily Beast reviewed these communications, but is not allowed to quote from them for fear that Gaetz would be able to identify the recipient. In fact, the source who provided the communications was so nervous about retribution that The Daily Beast isn't allowed to say in what form the correspondence took place."

The reporters continue, "Suffice to say, however, it's clear from the communications that Gaetz's targeting of McCarthy wasn't borne out of his concern for reckless Washington spending. 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."

Gaetz, according to Sollenberger and Gorman, "relayed to a group of colleagues that his push to remove McCarthy was a direct response to the ethics investigation" and "specifically blamed McCarthy."

A Republican congressional staffer, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told the Beast, "I've heard him complain about Kevin because of it."

McCarthy, the Daily Beast reporters note, has no doubt that Gaetz's push to oust him as speaker was motivated by a thirst for revenge.

Sollenberger and Gorman point out that on December 14, McCarthy told reporters, "We all know it's the ethics complaint on Gaetz. He's doing everything to make sure it doesn't come out, and he doesn't care about anything else. People study that type of crazy mind, right? Mainly, the FBI."

Read the Daily Beast's full report at this link (subscription required).

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