Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) slammed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and seven other Republicans on Sunday, saying they caused the U.S. Congress to be paralyzed as war breaks out in the Middle East.
McCarthy made the remarks during an interview with Kristen Welker on NBC News’ “Meet The Press” on Sunday when asked about the ongoing drama in the House — which has not had a speaker for three weeks after the group of Republicans joined Democrats and voted to oust McCarthy.
The seven other Republicans included Andy Biggs (AZ), Ken Buck (CO), Eli Crane (AZ), Bob Good (VA), Matt Rosendale (MT), Tim Burchett (TN), and Nancy Mace (SC).
“What do you say to Americans who look at this chaos and believe it’s a sign that Republicans cannot govern?” Welker asked.
“Well, that’s embarrassing,” McCarthy responded. “And you’ve got to understand why we are here. Eight Republicans, led by Gaetz, have created this chaos by joining every single Democrat in voting to shut down one branch of government.”
McCarthy said he would do the same thing again by keeping the government open because of all the world events going on right now.
“Could you imagine if we were having this discussion right now with the American government shut down, with our troops in the Middle East wondering when they’ll ever get paid again?” he said. “Keeping the government open was the right decision to make. And I’d make it again, each and every day.”
“Unfortunately, the chaos has continued,” McCarthy continued while speaking about the conference’s inability to pick a new speaker. “We need to solve this problem. We’ve got a wide-open Southern border. We’ve got crushing inflation. We’ve got war in the Middle East. This is not a moment in time to play around with learning on the job. We need someone who understands how to do this job.”
McCarthy took another shot at Gaetz a few moments later, saying that Gaetz decided to oust McCarthy because he had a personal vendetta against him over a House investigation into him that was started in the last Congress.
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