Matt Gaetz Calls Kevin McCarthy 'Liar' and 'Lapdog'

Matt Gaetz CPAC

As Republicans get ready to take its House majority in January, members must decide who will be Speaker. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL-1) is arguably the leader, or at least the voice of Republicans opposed to putting Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the Speaker's seat.

In a recent op-ed for the Daily Caller, Rep. Gaetz offers a further explanation for why McCarthy should not be Speaker, and it is easily his most vicious attack on McCarthy yet.

Rep. Gaetz essentially calls McCarthy a mercenary, and that every Republican in Congress is aware of it. "Every single Republican in Congress knows that Kevin does not actually believe anything. He has no ideology," says Gaetz. Additionally, he quotes former GOP California Rep. Bill Thomas, McCarthy's "mentor," who describes McCarthy as a liar who will "change the lie if necessary."

From here, Gaetz tells of the times McCarthy caved to Democrats or otherwise hindered the Republican agenda. These include voting in favor of a Ukraine relief package and suggesting sending fighter jets, took a knee during the Black Lives Matter protests, and even "fell" for the allegations of collusion between former President Donald Trump and Russia during the 2016 Election.

Furthermore, Gaetz calls McCarthy a "lapdog" for special interests. Jeff Miller, arguably McCarthy's right-hand man, has lobbied for Amazon, Apple, and Pfizer. The latter two tech companies paid Miller's firm to help oppose Republican attempts to break up Big Tech.

"This is who Kevin is. He sticks his wet finger in the air to decide what position to take," writes Gaetz, adding in another paragraph that "leaders don’t wait to see what the crowd wants. Leaders also don’t take orders from lobbyists."

Finally, he tweets the concluding lines of his article, saying that "Kevin McCarthy knows he will end up failing Republicans and caving to liberals. That’s why he opposes reinstating the motion to vacate, which was in place from 1801 to 2018. He wants to make sure conservatives can’t fix the problem once it’s too late."

Grayson Bakich

Florida born and raised, Grayson Bakich is a recent recipient of a Master’s Degree in Political Science at the University of Central Florida. His thesis examined recent trends in political polarization and how this leads into justification of violence.