A resolution declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacated is reportedly circulating through the House.
The alleged resolution dated Sept. 15 appears to be authored by Florida representative Matt Gaetz, who has been an outspoken critic of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.
The resolution was originally reported by journalist and professor Matt Laslo, who claimed to have found a copy of the alleged resolution on a baby changing table in a restroom “underneath” the House floor.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the alleged motion to vacate McCarthy as Speaker of the House has not been confirmed or denied by members of Congress.
BREAKING REPORT: Resolution declaring the SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE VACANT has been observed circulating the House Floor..
Author: Matt Gaetz..
THOUGHTS? pic.twitter.com/ZwDhzDEA1n
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) September 19, 2023
Last week, McCarthy dared GOP critics to file a motion to vacate his seat after he expressed support for a new spending package to avert a partial government shutdown before Sept. 30.
“If you think you scare me because you want to file a motion to vacate, move the f—ing motion,” McCarthy reportedly said during a closed door meeting.
The speaker also reportedly said he was frustrated and concerned about a government shutdown if Republicans don’t pass bills soon, according to CNN reporter Melanie Zanona.
McCarthy also reportedly said Congress would remain in session during a potential government shutdown.
In a post to X, Gaetz said the Speaker was “having a total normal one” and was “not rattled at all.”
“Truth is, Kevin controls his own fate,” the Florida representative wrote.
Gaetz said “instead of emotionally cursing,” McCarthy should agree to pass single-subject spending bills and hold votes on term limits and balancing the federal budget. Gaetz also suggested McCarthy should seek the release of all footage related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, along with a subpoena of Biden’s son Hunter.
“We must begin immediately. Pull yourself together, Kevin!” Gaetz wrote.
Sounds like @SpeakerMcCarthy is having a total normal one – not rattled at all.
Truth is Kevin controls his own fate.
So instead of emotionally cursing, let’s do this:
Single-subject spending bills
Term limits vote
Balanced budget vote
Release J6 tapes to all
Subpoena… https://t.co/Yr6BY0SJQ6— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) September 14, 2023
Prior to McCarthy’s comments, Gaetz reached out to California representative Eric Swalwell asking how many Democrats in the House would support a motion to vacate McCarthy’s seat.
McCarthy responded to Gaetz’s comment by suggesting the Florida representative was “upset about an ethics complaint.”
“I don’t care what they threaten against me,” Speaker McCarthy said. “I’m not gonna interject into an independent committee like Ethics, and I’m not going to put Swalwell back on the Intel Committee … they can do whatever they want.”
Gaetz, who is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use among other allegations, denied accusations that his interest in vacating McCarthy’s seat is related to the Ethics Committee’s investigation into him.
“I am the most investigated man in the entire Congress, and right there you saw Kevin McCarthy lying like a dead dog because I have never asked him to interfere in any ethics matter,” Gaetz told MSNBC. “[An] abject lie from a sad and pathetic man who lies to hold onto power.”
McCarthy assumed speakership after a historically contested vote in the House. Critics in opposition to McCarthy demanded a reinstatement of the motion to vacate, which was in place from 1801 until former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi assumed her second stint as Speaker of the House in 2018.
