Matt Gaetz threatens to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker over government shutdown talks

WASHINGTON − Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz on Tuesday threatened to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from his position as Speaker of the House.

"I rise today to serve notice − Mr. Speaker you are out of compliance with the agreement that allowed you to assume this role," Gaetz said on the House floor.

Gaetz cited several reasons for his threats, including McCarthy not holding votes on issues like term limits for lawmakers or balanced budgets. He also criticized McCarthy for not releasing the full security tapes from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Gaetz on Tuesday denounced McCarthy for what the Florida lawmaker called insufficient accountability for President Joe Biden's family and the lack of subpoenas filed against Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

Threats from individual lawmakers to remove a House speaker hold more weight now. McCarthy agreed earlier this year to House Freedom Caucus demands to allow a single member to call for a vote, known as a motion to vacate, to oust the leader of the lower chamber. The vote needs a simple majority in the House to pass.

"The path forward for the House of Representatives is to either bring you into immediate, total compliance or remove you pursuant to a motion to vacate the chair," Gaetz said.

Gaetz: McCarthy didn't put House 'in position to succeed' on shutdown

Gaetz said on the House floor Tuesday that McCarthy did not put the House in a position to succeed as the government approaches a looming Sept. 30 shutdown date and still needs to pass 11 appropriations bills.

The Florida lawmaker called on McCarthy to hold votes on individual spending bills instead of a continuing resolution, a short-term extension GOP leadership has been considering to avert a shutdown. Gaetz said he will move to oust the speaker if a vote is held on the stopgap measure.

"Sept. 30 is rapidly approaching and you have not put us in a position to succeed. There is no way to pass all the individual appropriations bills now and it's not like we didn't know when Sept. 30 was going to show up on the calendar," he said.

'Baby step': Gaetz calls for McCarthy to ramp up impeachment efforts

Gaetz was not impressed with McCarthy's Tuesday morning announcement that the House Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means committees will lead a formal impeachment inquiry against Biden.

The House Freedom Caucus member urged McCarthy to do more to subpoena Hunter Biden and other members of the Biden family after House Republicans have claimed that Biden financially benefited from his son's foreign dealings.

"This is a baby step following weeks of pressure from House conservatives to do more," he said of the endorsement.

Gaetz floated ousting McCarthy last spring

This isn't the first time Gaetz has floated the idea of introducing a motion to vacate that would remove McCarthy.

McCarthy faced a rebellion in the spring from the right flank of his party over his deal with President Joe Biden to suspend the debt ceiling.

Gaetz previously said if McCarthy failed to get at least half of House Republicans to vote for the agreement and relied on Democratic support for passage, it would be grounds for a motion to vacate McCarthy's speakership.

In January, Gaetz was one of several GOP detractors who voted against McCarthy's speakership at the beginning of the 118th Congress. Gaetz nominated and voted for Trump several times during the marathon 15 rounds of votes for speaker before voting "present" in the final tally that allowed McCarthy to cinch the role.

Many of McCarthy's detractors rallied around him in exchange for concessions, some of which were never disclosed.

"Mr. Speaker, dust off our written January agreement. You have a copy. Reflect on the spirit of that agreement and build on the start that we had moments ago. Begin to comply," Gaetz said Tuesday.

"I know that Washington isn't a town where people are known for keeping their word, well Speaker McCarthy, I am here to hold you to yours," he added.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rep. Matt Gaetz threatens to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker