In a closed-door GOP conference meeting on Thursday, Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reportedly reprimanded Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), asking the Florida Republican to take his seat when he attempted to interject during McCarthy’s address.
What Happened: The House Republicans met for nearly four hours to discuss the potential courses of action amid challenges in reaching a consensus on a candidate for the position of Speaker, The Hill reported.
The GOP lawmakers characterized the meeting as highly charged and intense.
According to the report, during the meeting, McCarthy explicitly referred to Gaetz by his name and Gaetz promptly rose from his seat to "kind of interrupt him and say something," a source said.
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As per the second source in the room, McCarthy immediately retorted, saying, “Sit your [a**] down.”
However, McCarthy refuted claims of shouting at Gaetz. "I was at the mic, I was speaking and Matt Gaetz tried to interrupt," McCarthy said.
"I told him to sit down."
"I think the entire conference screamed at him," McCarthy added.
"Listen, the whole country, I think, would scream at Matt Gaetz right now. Remember, it was the crazy eight led by Matt Gaetz and every single Democrat that put us into this situation."
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"He gets his Irish up sometimes," Gaetz said while discussing McCarthy’s reaction.
"I'm not a very emotional person. I'm a lawyer by trade, not a baker, and so I'm used to the presentation of arguments and the listening of arguments without getting hot under the collar," he added.
Why It Matters: The conference had nominated Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for the role, but he was unsuccessful in securing the gavel after about six Republicans withdrew their support during the second vote on Wednesday.
The House GOP has been struggling to reach a consensus on its leadership since the historic removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the Speaker's role two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Jordan scrapped plans to hold a third vote on Thursday as his opponents showed no signs of backing down. Despite the GOP conference's nomination of Jordan for the Speaker's role last week, it remains uncertain whether he will secure enough support on the House floor to claim the position.
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