Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga) urged House Republicans on Tuesday to expel Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and defeat his motion to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Gingrich labeled the Florida Republican as “anti-Republican” in a vicious opinion piece that appeared in The Washington Post.
Gaetz was criticized by Gingrich for his “egocentric behavior” and for diverting attention from matters that might harm the Democratic Party.
“Gaetz’s motion to remove McCarthy should be swiftly defeated, and then he should be expelled from the House Republican Conference. House Republicans have far more important things to do than entertain one member’s ego,” Gingrich wrote in the op-ed.
“Gaetz has gone beyond regular drama. He is destroying the House GOP’s ability to govern and draw a sharp contrast with the policy disasters of the Biden administration,” he continued.
Gingrich contends that the conference rules were not superseded by an agreement struck when McCarthy became Speaker to permit any member to bring a motion to vacate.
Since leaving the House, Gingrich has been actively involved in politics.
He recounted instances in which he clashed with other GOP leaders, such as when he opposed President George H.W. Bush’s tax increase in 1990.
In the 1994 legislative elections, which saw Republicans retake the House for the first time in decades, Gingrich, a Trump ally, is frequently credited with helping Republicans win.
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