I confessed in an earlier post that I don't know how Right-wingers think but that this feud seemed to me personal. That seems to be the case here.
Gaetz’s takedown mission: ‘He wants Kevin’
Past shutdown fights have been organized around a demand. This one is better understood as being centered on a long, nasty grudge.
[Gaetz has] spent months relentlessly hounding House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — to the point that he’s almost certain to lead a charge to remove him in the coming weeks.
Most other House Republicans watching as Congress lurches toward a federal shutdown see something else entirely.
“This isn’t a function of him being concerned about process,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said. “This is a function of personality.”
“He wants Kevin,” added a Gaetz friend. “That’s it, and everything else revolves around that.”
With less than 48 hours until the shutdown deadline, this one deeply chaotic relationship has emerged as a key factor driving the standoff.
[Gaetz] has harnessed the anti-establishment fervor inside the House GOP like no other member, setting trap after trap for a speaker desperate to please his detractors and keep his job.
Past government shutdowns have been organized around a demand — reversing the Affordable Care Act, for instance, or building a border wall. This one, should it come to pass Sunday, is better understood as being centered on a long, nasty grudge.
But the real throughline is Gaetz and McCarthy’s mutual antipathy, according to those who have watched the two men closely in recent years.
“There is something between them, and I don’t know what it is,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said. “And that’s the impression I’ve gotten from McCarthy, too: It’s not policy-driven; it’s personal.”
...
...dating back to Trump’s presidency...they were engaged in what might be best described as a political love triangle, competing for Trump’s attention and affection.
As one former House leadership aide put it, “I wouldn’t underestimate the jealousy factor.”
Gaetz would often float ideas to Trump, only to see McCarthy intervene and kill them...
...
...McCarthy phoned Gaetz and excoriated him for launching a public campaign without a heads-up...
Another incident from that era was captured in a new memoir written by former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson. Late at a 2019 Camp David retreat, Hutchinson says Gaetz followed her to a cabin he thought was hers — only to find McCarthy, who had gathered a bunch of Republicans for drinks and conversation.
Gaetz said he was lost, she writes, and prodded Hutchinson to escort him back to his cabin. “Get a life, Matt,” McCarthy said, shutting the door. (Gaetz denies the episode happened.)
...when it came time for McCarthy to fulfill his own ambitions and claim the speaker’s gavel, Gaetz quickly emerged as his fiercest critic — mocking him publicly and leading a conservative revolt that was settled only after four days, 15 ballots and a series of tense episodes on the floor (including one where Rogers lunged at Gaetz).
While other conservatives flipped their votes to McCarthy in exchange for a suite of policy and process promises, Gaetz never once voted for him...
Now McCarthy’s only way out will be to pass a bipartisan CR, reneging on his January deal and empowering Gaetz to seek revenge.
“Gaetz has boxed McCarthy in,” said one senior GOP aide close to McCarthy world. “People think Gaetz is dumb, but ... he’s really smart.”
But should Gaetz take the next step and move to oust McCarthy from the speaker’s chair, it will not be without risks. Actually removing McCarthy will require Democrats to join the band of rebels, and some Republicans believe that will never happen — instantly rendering Gaetz irrelevant.
“If he wants to, he can keep the attention … and that keeps people asking about him,” said one senior House GOP aide who predicted Gaetz might flinch. “The moment he calls the motion to vacate, the charade is up. It’s put up or shut up.”
What does Matt Gaetz really want?
“I just really think that one person wants a lot of attention. It may not be all that personal. It is maybe made-up to be personal,” GOP Rep. Carlos Giménez said of his fellow Floridian, later clarifying that the attention-seeker he referenced was not McCarthy.
“I think [Gaetz] is just using that as a vehicle to run for governor, and he thinks that the one way to go lift his profile is becoming this rebel,” Giménez added, describing his motivations as “despicable” either way.
[Gaetz] is reportedly exploring a run for governor, which might be compelling him to turn his antics up a notch. And he has been persistent in his policy demands of late — never mind that he voted repeatedly for CRs under President Donald Trump.
There are a number of theories behind the Florida Republican’s hostile feud with Kevin McCarthy, including his widely expected gubernatorial run in 2026.
What is Matt Gaetz‘s endgame: spending cuts, a political boost, or revenge?
...the simmering feud between the Florida conservative and Speaker Kevin McCarthy flared up again Thursday morning in a closed-door meeting, with one lawmaker telling Gaetz to “fuck off” for leveling unproven accusations against the speaker. Gaetz has threatened to force a vote on booting McCarthy for weeks, publicly called him “pathetic” and accused him of lying multiple times.
Hill Republicans, when granted anonymity to speak candidly, say they don’t believe Gaetz when he insists it “isn’t personal” (though rank-and-file GOP lawmakers are quick to add they don’t know what has set off the Florida Republican).
Some in the GOP chalk it up to Gaetz seeking a future foothold as a conservative TV pundit, others to a desire for name recognition ahead of his widely expected gubernatorial bid in 2026. Still others say he’s sincere in his demands for more spending cuts before voting to fund the government.
The speaker hasn’t publicly weighed in. But in private, McCarthy has questioned what he could have done to trigger this level of hostility from Gaetz, according to a longtime ally of the speaker. Other McCarthy allies have theorized that Gaetz’s fury dates back to a now-closed Justice Department inquiry into sex trafficking allegations, when some in the House GOP came just short of openly celebrating his potential political demise.
Gaetz said in a brief interview that he doesn’t fault McCarthy for anything related to that probe: “No, I think that was all handled fine.” And he denied he’s running for governor...
Still, calling Gaetz a thorn in McCarthy’s side would be an understatement. The Floridian has repeatedly threatened to call for a vote to strip the speaker’s gavel...
McCarthy knows a long shutdown imperils his hold on his thin majority come 2025 — and the threat of a challenge to his speakership before the crisis is over looms large. Which Gaetz is openly, repeatedly, pushing for.
The Californian pointedly declined to criticize Gaetz during the federal sex trafficking probe that ensnared him. But in recent weeks, as their relationship curdled, McCarthy has occasionally hurled his own accusations back at Gaet...
Their tense relationship began affecting the entire House GOP more than a year ago, when the Floridian vowed to nominate former President Donald Trump for speaker. That clear message of no confidence in McCarthy shortly thereafter translated into open resistance on the floor throughout January’s speakership election.
Gaetz never cast a ballot for McCarthy, remaining one of six conservatives who — only after 14 failed rounds — agreed to vote “present” in order to let the Californian claim the top gavel.
Now, he insists that his repeated antagonizing of the speaker has everything to do with holding McCarthy to the promises he made during that standoff, including bringing all 12 individual spending bills to the House floor.
“It’s based on the terms of the January agreement. If Kevin comes into compliance with the January agreement, he doesn’t have any problems. If he continues to be out of compliance with the January agreement, he’s got problems,” Gaetz said, though he’s publicly acknowledged that some of the priorities he’s demanded from McCarthy would likely fail in floor votes.
Some members believe there’s more on Gaetz’s mind, however. The Florida conservative has already built significant name recognition as McCarthy’s foil, and Republicans see Gaetz as someone who likes to punch up for political gain — he’s rumored to be eyeing Florida’s governorship in 2026, when Gov. Ron DeSantis is termed out.
That means allying himself with other gadflies, more so than just a partnership with hardliners in the Freedom Caucus. Some Republicans noted Gaetz’s defense of former Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), both progressives who have clashed with their own leadership, as a further sign he aligns himself with self-styled outsiders.
“I just really think that one person wants a lot of attention. It may not be all that personal. It is maybe made-up to be personal,” GOP Rep. Carlos Giménez said of his fellow Floridian, later clarifying that the attention-seeker he referenced was not McCarthy.
“I think [Gaetz] is just using that as a vehicle to run for governor, and he thinks that the one way to go lift his profile is becoming this rebel,” Giménez added, describing his motivations as “despicable” either way.
