Republican in-fighting had former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) finding particular fault with one GOP member he said “unleashed the demons.”
(Video: Fox News)
The divide in the House Republican Conference came as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) led 101 members of his party against 112 in siding with 185 Democrats on passage of the $1.2 trillion omnibus spending bill. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) used that bill to justify filing a motion to vacate Johnson, prompting Gingrich to point to Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) for paving the way for “disaster.”
Joining Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” Friday, host Laura Ingraham raised the matter of Colorado Rep. Ken Buck’s (R) departure and Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R) planned exit in the midst of a dwindling razor-thin majority and how New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D) could potentially take hold of the gavel sometime this year.
Were he in Johnson’s position, the former lawmaker asserted, “Well I think, first of all, you’d have to have a totally different approach. We shouldn’t underestimate how bad what Matt Gaetz did was for the whole system.”
“He unleashed the demons,” said Gingrich.
“He went after somebody who would raise $480 million, had gained seats for three elections in a row, and he drove [former Speaker] Kevin McCarthy out of office. And from that point on, it has been a disaster,” he continued. “I don’t blame Johnson, I think Speaker Johnson has a hand that’s virtually impossible to play and that’s where I think some of the people just make it worse.”
“This is the best argument I have seen for why we need not only to elect Donald Trump but to elect a very large majority with him,” contended the former legislator. “When I was speaker I had a lot more ability than Johnson did to run the House because I had a big enough majority. You could have five or 10 people who were crazy and you could still govern. He doesn’t have a one-vote majority.”
Ingraham wasn’t alone in speculating on the possibility of a Jeffries speakership within the year as former U.S. Secret Service agent and radio host Dan Bongino sounded the alarm with Buck’s departure ahead of the omnibus vote.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if three people leave and New York doesn’t work out,” he said of a special election slated to replace former New York Rep. Brian Higgins (D), “who’s going to be the speaker? Yeah, his name is Hakeem Jeffries.”
Despite the divide in the votes that showed more Republicans were against aligning with Johnson than with him and, as Texas Rep. Chip Roy (R) pointed out, those who voted with the speaker were in safe districts according to the Cook Political Voting Index, Gingrich furthered the blame game against the House Freedom Caucus.
Fascinating details. 1) majority of GOP (101 to 112) voted NO, 2) 10 of the 20 GOP Committee Chairman voted NO. 3) of the 101 “YES” votes, the Cook PVI score for 32 of the “YES” votes is over R+15, and for 51 of them is over R+10. https://t.co/JB4iHIeDqB
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) March 23, 2024
“Sooner or later you’re gonna realize the bills have been worse since McCarthy was gone. The Democrats are in greater control. The hardliners on the right have done nothing except make it worse,” he argued. “The Freedom Caucus right now has been a disaster in public policy terms. If you think your job in life is to grandstand and complain while the other team runs over you, they’re doing a great job.”
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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3 thoughts on “Gingrich claims Matt Gaetz ‘unleashed the demons’ following MTG motion to oust Speaker Johnson”
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I agree 1000%!! But what’s done is done and the NEXT SPEAKER should be someone who sees a SLIGHT House Majority (go to hell all you who have resigned – hope you choke on your 30 pieces of silver) as STILL a tool to force the DEMONcrats to end or slow down their DESTRUCTION of Our Nation! Johnson could have stood tough TWICE NOW and has done NOTHING but Olympic Gold Medal Flips!
Yes…..they should have voted NO
Gingrich is wrong. I met Newt, and I like him but in this case, he is absolutely wrong. Johnson made the wrong choice, a government shutdown would have been a good thing. Spending would halt for all pork and foreign aid, which is a good thing. It would force the Biden Administration to negotiate in good faith, which they never have since being put into office. Passing a Democrat-proposed budget has increased inflation every time it has happened, and this one did the same thing. A loaf of bread is $1 more now since the bill passed. That harms the country Newt.