Matt Gaetz Takes Republican Leadership to the Wood Chipper After Red Wave Disappointment

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is calling out Republican congressional leadership after the party failed to deliver a red wave on midterm election night.

Gaetz confirmed that he won’t be voting for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for speaker of the House when the new, slim Republican majority takes office in January. Republicans appear likely to govern with a majority of less than 225 seats in the House.

Gaetz made his intentions clear in an interview with Charlie Kirk on Monday, calling the prospect of being “waterboarded by Liz Cheney” a preferable alternative.

There are definitely more than five members of Congress who would rather be waterboarded by Liz Cheney than vote Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House, and I’m one of them. pic.twitter.com/UmZurW27Bk

— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) November 15, 2022

Gaetz recommended six members of the House Republican caucus as potential replacements for McCarthy, pointing to them as unobjectionable candidates to both MAGA and establishment wings of the caucus alike.

The Florida congressman vocally opposed McCarthy‘s leadership in an interview with Steve Bannon on Monday.

We cannot trust Kevin McCarthy to be Speaker of the House. pic.twitter.com/GbaLlzOL8R

— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) November 14, 2022

McCarthy was ultimately re-elected as the leader of the Republican caucus on Tuesday, but he’ll still have to be elected on the House floor in order to become speaker when the new Congress is sworn in.

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McCarthy didn’t receive the votes he would need for the speakership in the closed-door Republican caucus meeting, according to The Washington Post.

In an earlier tweet — as the Republican Party’s inability to execute a red wave became clear, Gaetz singled out three leaders of the party’s establishment as failures.