McCarthy rails against ‘psychotic’ Gaetz on last day in Congress

News

By Victor Nava

Kevin McCarthy lashed out against his congressional nemesis, Matt Gaetz, Thursday, accusing the Florida Republican of being “psychotic” as he led the effort to remove him from the speaker’s chair. 

Gaetz infamously introduced the resolution to oust McCarthy from the House speakership in October, a move which the California Republican blamed on Gaetz’s personal animus toward him rather than significant policy or governing differences. 

“He was psychotic,” McCarthy, who’s officially retiring at the end of the month, told reporters on his last day in Congress. 

“People study that type of crazy mind, right?” he added. “Mainly the FBI.”

McCarthy may have been alluding to the years-long sex-trafficking probe into Gaetz by the Justice Department that ended in February with no charges filed against the Sunshine State lawmaker. 

The investigation, which started in 2020, was based on Gaetz’s alleged relationship with a then-17-year-old girl and whether he paid for her to travel across state lines for sex several years earlier. Gaetz had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The House Ethics Committee, however, still has an investigation open into whether Gaez “engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift.”

McCarthy has claimed that his refusal to intervene in the ethics probe was the impetus behind Gaetz’s motion to vacate. Gaetz has denied that claim.

The Florida Republican also dismissed McCarthy’s most recent criticism, telling Mediaite: “Thoughts and prayers for the former congressman.” 

“We had a process. He was removed. He then chose to take his ball and go home, reducing our majority,” Gaetz added. “Kevin’s premature departure shows it was only ever about personal power to him.”

McCarthy, 58, announced his decision to retire in a Wall Street Journal op-ed earlier this month, in which he vowed to “continue to recruit our country’s best and brightest to run for elected office.” 

His departure will bring House Republicans’ majority down to two votes, following the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) on Dec. 1. 

House lawmakers went on recess until the new year on Thursday. 

McCarthy, who made history with the third-shortest speakership in US history, indicated that he had no regrets about the policies he pursued in the speaker’s chair during his exit speech Thursday. 

“I knew the day we decided to make sure to choose to pay our troops when war was breaking out, instead of shutting down, was the right decision,” he reflected from the House floor. “I would do it all again.”

McCarthy agreed to lower the threshold of members needed to introduce a motion to strip him of his gavel back in January as a concession to conservatives opposed to his speakership.   

Gaetz taunted McCarthy for weeks in the lead-up to his motion to vacate the chair, and on Oct. 3, eight Republicans joined all Democrats in approving the resolution, which kicked off a tumultuous 21-day period with no permanent House speaker in place.