Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) confirmed that a deal, made in writing, that had “multiple forms” was cut between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and GOP rebels during the speakership vote earlier this month.
In a candid exchange with MSNBC host Ari Melber, Gaetz credited the appointment of Republican holdouts to key committees to their negotiation tactics against McCarthy and contended that he had “no objection” to publicly releasing the specifics of the concessions GOP hard-liners secured from McCarthy.
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“There was specifically a side-by-side sheet where we made offers to McCarthy. There were some offers he accepted, some he modified, some he rejected, just like you’d see in any negotiation,” Gaetz explained on the Beat With Ari Melber on MSNBC. “I can tell you that Thomas Massie, Chip Roy, and Ralph Norman being on the Rules Committee would not have happened but for this negotiation.”
Earlier this month, a band of roughly 20 House Republican members voted against McCarthy for speaker. Gaetz was among the most prominent members. McCarthy underwent 15 rounds of voting before he locked down the speaker’s gavel, which came after Gaetz opted to vote present to lower the threshold for him. The multiple rounds of voting marked the first time since at least 1859 a speaker needed that many votes to win the gavel.
Prior to the speakership vote, Gaetz was adamant that McCarthy would not become speaker and lacked the votes. However, during deliberations, McCarthy sought to win over the GOP rebels, which largely comprised members from the House Freedom Caucus.
While some of McCarthy’s concessions are publicly known, such as his agreement to lower the requirement to bring forward a “motion to vacate” the speaker to one representative, others remain shrouded in mystery. During the interview, Melber noted a Punchbowl News report that described the three-page document that McCarthy worked out with the members of the House Freedom Caucus.
Some members, such as Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who backed McCarthy throughout the skirmish, have publicly complained about the lack of transparency in those negotiations.
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When pressed, Gaetz stated that he has “no objection” to releasing the specifics of the agreements cut with McCarthy publicly, though he noted that he was “unsure” if he still had a copy of the deal cut, which would prevent him from disclosing it himself.
“I have no objection. It was largely released to the conference and country when you saw the appointments to the committees. When you see which members populate, you’re seeing — when you see floor votes, you see that agreement,” he added. “I don’t know that I still have a copy because we were able to resolve a lot of these things.”
