Could Matt Gaetz Be Expelled? What We Know as Republicans Turn on Him

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz could face expulsion proceedings from the House of Representatives as his fellow Republicans appear to grow weary of his personal vendetta against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, according to reports.

House GOP members are said to be looking into trying to oust Gaetz from the party if the findings of an Ethics Committee report into allegations of sex trafficking, bribery and drug use against the congressman reveals findings of guilt.

The committee has been investigating the allegations against Gaetz since 2021, which the Republican has long denied. The allegations are believed to overlap a Justice Department probe into claims Gaetz had sex with a teenage girl and paid for her to travel with him, including over state lines for prostitution. The Justice Department confirmed in February that it would not bring forward charges against the Florida Republican as part of the sex trafficking investigation.

While the precise details or findings in the House Ethics Committee are unknown, Fox News and CNN are quoting unnamed House Republicans who said they hope the report will give the party a reason and justification to try and remove the MAGA congressman in a motion.

Any attempt to expel Gaetz from the House would require a two-thirds majority vote. In the entire history of the United States, only five members of the House of Representatives have been expelled. The last House member to be removed from office was Ohio Congressman James Traficant in 2002 after he was convicted on corruption charges.

Gaatz has met the ire of some members of the GOP over his long-running feud against McCarthy, with the Florida representative announcing on Sunday that he intends to file a motion to vacate which would trigger a House vote to remove McCarthy as House Speaker.

"No one can stand him at this point. A smart guy without morals," one Republican House member told Fox News. The quote was also posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich. In response to the claims, Gaetz posted a mocked-up image of several people pointing guns at his face.

A Republican lawmaker also noted the findings of the Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz could see the Florida congressman ousted.

"We want him out," the lawmaker told CNN.

Newsweek reached out to Gaetz's office via email for comment.

Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich asked on social media if Gaetz was "secretly an agent for the Democratic Party?" because of his attempts to remove McCarthy via a motion to vacate.

"No one else is doing as much to undermine, weaken and cripple the House GOP," Gingrich wrote on X. However, in a follow-up post, the former Georgia congressman said the alleged effort to expel Gaetz for being a "destructive, irresponsible anti-Republican may be a step too far."

"Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds vote. However expelling him from the House Republican Conference and eliminating all his committee assignments and all resources other than those an individual member is entitled to would be a rational response to his suicidal efforts to cripple the House GOP," Gingrich said.

New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said she would "absolutely" support a motion to remove McCarthy as House Speaker, questioned why the GOP would try to expel Gaetz and not New York Republican George Santos.

Santos has been being charged with numerous offenses including embezzling money from his campaign, falsely receiving unemployment funds and lying to Congress about his finances.

"The idea that Republicans would expel Gaetz over creating political headaches for themselves but not Santos over indictment on 13 Federal charges, including 7 counts of wire fraud and 2 counts of lying to Congress, seems wild," Ocasio-Cortez posted on X. "They'd be setting themselves up for the entire cycle."

Gaetz said on Sunday he will file a motion to vacate against McCarthy in the coming days. The threat arrived after the House Speaker negotiated a stopgap funding bill to prevent a government shutdown that was backed by the Democrats.

Due to the GOP's narrow 221-212 majority in the House, only five Republican lawmakers would need to defect in order for the motion to pass, if all Democrats vote to remove McCarthy.

McCarthy said he was not concerned by efforts to remove him as House Speaker, suggesting the attempts are merely a "personal" issue between him and Gaetz.

"Go ahead and try," McCarthy said on Saturday. "You know what? If I have to risk my job for standing up for the American public, I will do that."