'No love lost': Kevin McCarthy slams 'real sociopath' Matt Gaetz as 'nasty feud' rages on

NBC News' website is wrapping up 2024 with an article looking back on the chaos that the U.S. House of Representatives has been experiencing.

Some of that chaos, Scott Wong and Frank Thorp V report in an article published on December 31, involves ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) and the bitterness between him and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California).

In October 2023, Gaetz triggered a "motion to vacate" that led to McCarthy being ousted as speaker. And in 2024, McCarthy continued to hold a grudge against Gaetz.

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Wong and Thorp describe McCarthy's "running feud with Gaetz" as "one of the nastiest on Capitol Hill in recent memory." And the former House speaker, discussing Gaetz, told NBC News, "He's a real sociopath."

McCarthy, Wong and Thorp observe, has been "giving speeches in places like Tokyo and Abu Dhabi and advising wealthy business leaders." But according to the NBC News reporters, he has expressed no interest in being part of the incoming Trump Administration in 2025.

"Once floated as a potential White House chief of staff or Cabinet member in (President-elect Donald) Trump's second term," Wong and Thorp explain, "McCarthy said he told the president-elect early on, 'I don't want anything.'"

Trump did, however, offer a position to Gaetz: U.S. attorney general. But Gaetz, who was investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the House Ethics Committee for sexual misconduct allegations, withdrew from consideration. And Trump has nominated former Florida Attorney General for the position.

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Gaetz is also quoted in the Wong/Thorp article, telling NBC News, "I knew how to play the hand I was dealt. If Kevin McCarthy knew that, he'd probably still be speaker."

In a tweet posted on December 31, NBC News' Sarah Mimms noted McCarthy and Gaetz's statements in the article and commented, "There's... no love lost."

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Read the full NBC News article at this link.