Marc Short, a campaign adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, criticized Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for spearheading the effort to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Tuesday.
Gaetz submitted a motion to vacate the chair after McCarthy relied on Democratic votes to avoid a government shutdown over the weekend. Gaetz claimed McCarthy violated terms of their January agreement that allowed him to become speaker. On Tuesday, eight Republicans voted to remove McCarthy, along with unanimous support from Democrats, resulting in a 216-210 tally in favor of removal.
Appearing on The Lead on Wednesday, Jake Tapper asked Short about this unusual development, considering his familiarity with Capitol Hill dynamics.
“You know a lot of people on the Hill,” Tapper said. “Is this how it should work – that one person, Matt Gaetz, should be able to bring a motion to vacate and eight Republicans should be able to, you know, unite with the minority party and topple the speaker?”
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Short replied: “No, certainly not. And I think you saw when Pelosi was speaker, she certainly didn’t allow that one motion to vacate within her conference. And I think whoever succeeds Kevin will make sure that that rule is changed. I don’t think that’s the way it is. But to be fair, it was negotiated by Kevin when he became speaker back in January. It was the condition to get some of the members to support him. But I don’t think it’s a healthy process, Jake.”
Short criticized further Gaetz for his role in the Republican debacle.
“But the people who were masquerading as fiscal conservatives really, really aren’t, Jake,” Short added. “I mean, Matt Gaetz, to say he came as a fiscal crusader, it’s more likely he came here for the teenage interns on Capitol Hill, to be honest. Look, he’s voted for continuing resolutions. He’s voted for omnibus bills. He voted for trillions of dollars in Covid spending. Even this year, he put forward an earmark, and yet he’s presented himself as, ‘I’m going to do this for the fiscal benefit of the country.’ That’s not honest. The guy just has a distaste for Kevin and used the rules to dethrone him.”
Gaetz was the subject of a Department of Justice investigation examining whether the congressman had sexual relations with a minor. That probe concluded without any charges being filed.
See the discussion in the clip below from CNN.
Pence Adviser Marc Short Says Matt Gaetz 'Came Here For the Teenage Interns On Capitol Hill' – Not To Govern pic.twitter.com/LrzpwBoy31
— (The Original) RidinwithBiden (@tltown2019) October 5, 2023
