Matt Gaetz Mocks McCarthy, McConnell, McDaniel After Midterms: 'McFailure'

Republican Representative Matt Gaetz highlighted three key GOP leaders on Thursday in an apparent mockery after his party did not see the anticipated "red wave" in Tuesday's midterms.

Gaetz tweeted the names of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, then ended the post with "McFailure."

While Gaetz did not elaborate on the tweet's meaning, McConnell, McCarthy and McDaniel have all been criticized for their leadership in the wake of the GOP's results on Election Day.

"Congressman Gaetz's tweet speaks for itself," a spokesman for the congressman told Newsweek.

Some critics of McConnell, McCarthy and McDaniel have suggested they all should be ousted from their positions. Attorney and podcast host Eric Matheny, for example, tweeted Thursday that all three "must go" because their "establishment interests do not align with the majority of American conservatives."

The party had been expected to secure major wins in the House, which is currently controlled by Democrats, and possibly in the evenly divided Senate. Although the GOP has so far won more seats in both the House and Senate, with a number of races still waiting to be called, Democrats seem to have held off the Republicans from dominating the midterms in a so-called red wave.

As of Thursday morning, Republicans had managed to secure 208 seats in the House of Representatives, still short of the 218 they need to flip the House. This is still a better showing compared with the Democrats—who currently control the House but had just 184 seats as of Thursday morning.

As for the Senate, Republicans had 48 seats as of Thursday morning and Democrats won 46, with just a couple of races still up for grabs.

Before Tuesday's voting, two experts told Newsweek on Monday that they expected significant Republican gains, particularly in the House.

Richard Groper, a professor in the political science department at California State University, said he expected the Republicans to take the House by about 20 seats but thought the Senate would remain divided 50-50, which gives the Democrats control because of Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote.

Robert Stein, a professor of political science at Rice University, said that he expected the Republicans to gain at least 20 House seats and that they could be in reach of 25. Republicans have gained so far. Stein also said he believed the GOP could win a one- or two-seat Senate majority.

Newsweek reached out to McConnell, McCarthy and the RNC for comment.

Update 11/10/22, 12:15 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with a statement from Matt Gaetz' office.