Matt Gaetz Says He'd Make 'Great' House Leader Amid McCarthy Rebellion

Representative Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, said on Saturday he would make a "great" House leader as MAGA Republicans continue to rebel against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after he reached an agreement with President Joe Biden to raise the country's debt ceiling last month.

"In the House, I'd make a great leader! (Only thing I'm missing is followers)," Gatez tweeted on Saturday morning.

Several House Freedom Caucus members are pushing to "hold the floor" in response to what they deem as failed negotiations by McCarthy that resulted in a less-than-celebrated debt agreement with Democrats.

The legislation that passed the House and the Senate fell well short of many Republican members' expectations due to a smaller number of COVID-19 funds returned and more lenient adjustments to expanded work requirements for programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Biden and McCarthy also agreed to cut the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) budget by up to $21.4 billion over the next three years, just nine months after Congress approved the president's proposal to boost the IRS' budget by $80 billion amid criticism from Republicans over the hiring of 87,000 new agents.

The legislation also rescinds approximately $1.4 billion that will be taken back immediately from unobligated funds provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that was signed by Biden last August.

Meanwhile, Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, also voiced her opposition to McCarthy's leadership taking to Twitter on Thursday by writing, "I can think of four trillion reasons why we are holding the House Floor!"

In a separate tweet on Saturday, Gaetz also mentioned the House floor and wrote, "We want to open the floor. But not for the next act of FAILURE THEATER. We've had enough 'messaging bills' this Congress. Let's deliver CONSEQUENCES, not messages."

While speaking to Newsweek on Friday about the debt ceiling deal that was passed, Representative Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican, believes that the compromise will lead to economic conditions that most House Republicans did not support.

"That bill that we started off with and the debt bill we ended up with is totally outlandish, is unacceptable and it should not have been agreed to...To have Democrats outnumber Republicans is a telling sign of what was in the bill," Norman said. "If we're going to pass messaging bills—this goes for either party—and ignore the financial disaster that this country is going to face, then they're gonna have to do it on their own. What [McCarthy's] got to deal with, and I told this to the caucus, is a lack of trust—and not just with us but the American people. People see this for what it is, look at the bill.

Political analyst Craig Agranoff told Newsweek on Saturday, "The rebellion by Gaetz and other MAGA Republicans against McCarthy is a sign of the deep divisions within the GOP."

He added: "It is unclear how long this rebellion will last, but it is clear that McCarthy will need to do something to regain the authority he has lost if he wants to stay speaker. He could start by reaching out to the MAGA Republicans and trying to find common ground. He could also try to build a stronger coalition of moderates and conservatives within the party. Ultimately, McCarthy's success will depend on his ability to unite the GOP and present a united front to the American people."

'Headaches Are Not Over'

A motion to vacate McCarthy's speakership only requires one member per House rules. However, Lisa Parshall, a political science professor at Daemen University, told Newsweek that if the hard-right members go that route, they must be confident it would have the votes to pass without a broad coalition due to the potential of wasting the option as a leverage tool.

Rather than exercise that ability, she said the "hold the floor" mentality is the members' next best option at this juncture.

"McCarthy's ability to hold the caucus and secure the passage of the [debt] deal with spending concessions despite Biden's pledge for a clean bill demonstrates how even a narrow majority can win policy concessions with discipline," Parshall said. "The 'hold the floor' revolt shows how hard it is to maintain discipline with the fringe of the caucus. So, his leadership is probably going to continue to be tested on less consequential legislation. His headaches are not over."

Gingrich Praises McCarthy's Negotiating Tactics

McCarthy continues to publicly exude confidence in his party, saying Thursday that House Republicans will continue to work together to better Congress. Meanwhile, his negotiating tactics have been praised by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich praised McCarthy's debt deal negotiations saying that he did not start with momentum, but "he has succeeded anyway."