Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said that Kevin McCarthy is losing and threatening to fight an endless war against his fellow House Republicans.
Gaetz tweeted:
McCarthy is losing it.
He texted one of my colleagues who didn’t vote for him:
“I am ready to fund an endless war”
I’m assuming this is in *addition* to Ukraine.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 4, 2023
As I wrote on Tuesday, the strategy of threatening the opposition whose votes he needs to become speaker is not smart. McCarthy is not going to get the votes that he needs with threats.
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If McCarthy declares full-scale war on those who oppose his speakership, and somehow emerges victorious, how is he going to be able to govern?
The answer is that he will not be able to govern, and the anti-McCarthy Republicans will still be in the House and looking to sabotage him at every turn.
Kevin McCarthy is now fighting for more than to be Speaker of the House. He is fighting for his political career. McCarthy’s supporters will eventually fatigue and tire of the endless votes and look elsewhere to end the drama.
Nothing has shifted since the first three votes. Kevin McCarthy is fighting a war against math. It is a battle that he can’t win, and there is a growing sense that the country is going to let Kevin McCarthy hold the House hostage.
Eventually, if McCarthy can’t get the votes, the House will move on to someone else.
In the meantime, Kevin McCarthy appears to be coming unglued.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association