Gaetz, far-right GOP back Naples Byron Donalds for House Speaker as stalemate continues

A relatively unknown, one-term Florida House Republican on Wednesday stepped into the center of a historic, dramatic congressional stalemate over the election of a new speaker of the House.

A far-right, breakaway GOP faction nominated Byron Donalds, first elected to Congress in 2020 from Naples, in an unexpected and longshot bid to serve as the chamber's leader and the third-most powerful post in the U.S. government.

However, Donalds' candidacy to become the first African-American speaker of the House failed to move the needle. In Wednesday's voting, including the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, he received just 20 votes, as the prospective favorite, U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, continued to draw overwhelming support.

"He's a man who understands what tough times look like," Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert said of Donalds ahead of the fifth round of voting. "And has come out of those tough times even stronger."

The move to nominate Donalds followed his switching of his vote from McCarthy on Tuesday, and it upped the stakes by the ultra-conservative Republican splinter group, partly led by Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, opposing the California Republican for the powerful post.

McCarthy lost another GOP vote Wednesday when Indiana Republican Victoria Spartz, who had supported McCarthy, changed her vote to "present," leaving him with 201 votes, 17 shy of the needed 218. Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, continued to enjoy unanimous support from his party with 212 votes.

The House then adjourned until 8 p.m. Wednesday evening.

Who is Naples Republican Byron Donalds?

Donalds, 44, has only served one term in the U.S. House. He is a graduate of Florida State University and worked in finance before entering politics as a tea-party movement participant. Donalds has described himself as a "Trump-supporting, liberty-loving, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment Black man."

Donalds focused on water quality issues in his single term on Capitol Hill. In early 2022, he unsuccessfully sought to replace ousted House Republican leader Liz Cheney by challenging New York's Elisa Stefanik for the conference chair position, the House GOP's No. 3 post.

In 2020, during his run for the Naples congressional district, Donalds was the target of a Florida Ethics Commission complaint.

The action alleged that Donalds had falsely filled out an application to serve on the board of a Southwest Florida college by not disclosing prior arrests alleging the distribution of marijuana and allegedly receiving bribes. The Florida ethics panel dismissed the complaint.

Despite his relative inexperience, the anti-McCarthy group united behind him.

"There's an important reason for nominating Byron. And that is this country needs a change," said Chip Roy, the Texas Republican who first put Donalds' name in play and who voted for him in the first round of balloting on Tuesday. "This country needs leadership that does not reflect this city, this town, that is badly broken."

Trump derided for urging unity behind Kevin McCarthy

The surprise move to put forth Donalds' name came as House Republicans supporting McCarthy again pleaded with their recalcitrant colleagues to unite behind the Californian.

"I understand a lack of trust among our colleagues, I really do," said U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack of Gainesville, who nominated McCarthy ahead of the sixth round of voting. "But what I am asking is that we all trust the American people who sent our colleagues here. … This chamber is an instrument of the peoples' will. And the people have overwhelmingly voted for Kevin McCarthy."

That call was echoed Wednesday morning by another influential voice from Florida, former President Donald Trump, who urged his party brethren to back the California Republican.

On Wednesday, Trump posted a call on his Truth Social site for "all our GREAT Republican House Members to vote for McCarthy," writing in capitalized letters that they should "close the deal, take the victory."

But Trump's renewed support didn't sway any of McCarthy's stalwart opponents, and in fact elicited ridicule.

Gaetz, a steadfast Trump supporter, derided the former president's backing of McCarthy writing on Twitter: “Supporting McCarthy is the worst Human Resources decision President Trump has ever made. Sad!”

Boebert, a past supporter of QAnon conspiracy theories, later lectured Trump from the House floor.

"Let's stop with the campaign smears and tactics to get people to turn against us," she said, noting that she received a call from Trump telling her to "knock this off" and support McCarthy.

"I actually think it needs to be reversed," Boebert said. "The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, 'Sir, you do not have the votes and it's time to withdraw.' "

In addition, on Tuesday evening, Gaetz sent a letter to U.S. Capitol officials demanding that McCarthy not be allowed access to the House Speaker's Office in the Capitol after the California Republican failed to secure enough votes for election as the chamber's leader.

“After three undeciding votes, no member can lay claim to this office," Gaetz wrote in the letter, adding a touch of ridicule. "How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?"

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The letter was sent to the office of Architect of the Capitol, the federal agency that supervises the hallowed building's maintenance and operations, as McCarthy sought to keep his GOP bloc in line while persuading almost two dozen recalcitrant members of his caucus to cast their votes for him.

The letter signaled that Gaetz, one of the House Republicans' most vocal far-right voices, would not back off his opposition despite pressure to do so.

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Gaetz served in the Florida Legislature before being elected to Congress in 2016. The Jan. 6 committee that investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol two years ago cited him as one of a group of Republican House members who played a key role in one of the planks in the coup attempt that led to the violence.

On Tuesday, Gaetz was among 19 House Republicans, including newly elected Anna Paulina Luna of St. Petersburg, to vote against McCarthy. Then Gaetz rose to nominate an alternative candidate, Jim Jordan of Ohio, ahead of the second round of balloting.

"Maybe the right person for the Speaker of the House isn't someone who has sold shares of himself for more than a decade to get it," Gaetz said. "Maybe Jim Jordan is the right person for Speaker of the House because he is not beholden to the lobbyists and special interest that have corrupted this place and corrupted this nation under the leadership of both Republicans and Democrats."

Gaetz's speech did not initially broaden the "no" votes on McCarthy, but all 19 rebel Republicans at the time voted for Jordan. However, it created an awkward scene given that Jordan had vocally endorsed McCarthy on the House floor only minutes before Gaetz spoke.

Ahead of the third round on Tuesday, one more Florida Republican, Donalds, joined the anti-McCarthy faction by switching his vote to Jordan, joining Gaetz and Luna, who won the seat vacated by Charlie Crist when the Democrat chose to run for governor against incumbent Ron DeSantis.

Gaetz also sparked other speculation when he was seen chatting with progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York in between ballots. The two later said, according to media reports, that Ocasio-Cortez told Gaetz that Democrats in the chamber had no plans to cut a deal with McCarthy supporters to ensure his victory.

McCarthy's supporters within the ranks of House Republicans blasted the opposition on Tuesday. Trump, who publicly backed McCarthy after it was clear there would be a GOP House majority, ripped Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell and RINOs for the "unnecessary turmoil" in the party.

Democrats united, watch "chaos" unfold

All the while, House Democrats have watched the "chaos" with a mix of bemusement and frustration, noting none of the House members can be sworn into office or get to work until the speaker position is filled.

"They don't seem to be making any kind of progress," said Democratic Congresswoman Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach. "The Republicans are in chaos. I can't interpret it for you."

Frankel added that the stalemate among House Republicans gave her a "much bigger appreciation" for outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"I say that because she went through a lot of 'disunity' but she managed to get everyone together," Frankel said, adding that the Democratic caucus was unanimously behind Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. "There was no real opposition at all. That feels good for a change."

Frankel added that the deadlock is "embarrassing" for Republicans, and said it does not bode well for the 118th Congress.

"They ran for election criticizing Democrats and they are in chaos," she said. "It's sad to say, but I do not think there is going to be a lot of productivity in the House. It's going to be a very, very difficult atmosphere here. … The people who are voting against McCarthy, these are people who like to vote no on everything. So it's going to be a very difficult process to find things we can all agree on."

The additional rounds of voting are historic. It had been a century since the last time a House Speaker candidate had not won the election on the first ballot. And it's only the 15th time a House Speaker election went beyond one round of voting.

That the drama in Capitol Hill is playing out with Florida protagonists has a tinge of irony. Republicans gained a four-seat majority in the U.S. House courtesy of gerrymandering, population gains and a red wave in Florida in the November elections.

Thanks to the way DeSantis and GOP lawmakers redrew congressional districts following the 2020 Census, Republicans in the Sunshine State augmented their majority in the state delegation to 12 seats, 20 GOP seats to eight for Democrats, from 16 Republicans to 11 Democrats after the 2020 election.

Reporting from the Naples Daily News and Fort Myers News-Press was used in this story.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Matt Gaetz calls Kevin McCarthy squatter ahead of new balloting