Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-FL) role as the ringleader behind the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has created enduring resentment among more than a few of the Florida Republican's House colleagues who have grown weary of his grandstanding ways.
According to a report from the Daily Beast's Sam Brodey, Gaetz's unpopularity among Republicans he serves with in the House has grown with one Republican telling the Beast, "There aren’t a lot of people who, you know, are gonna go out of their way to defend Matt Gaetz. I mean, he’s a pretty diabolical character.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), who admitted Gaetz has almost been involved in two physical fights with colleagues, added, "The anger is pretty well with him. I just think there will be long memories because he did serious damage to our House conference.”
One person who appears to be working behind the scenes against Gaetz is McCarthy, whom Brodey described as stalking "...the halls like a ghost determined to avenge his own murder. In interviews, McCarthy has kept alive the idea that Gaetz and his allies deserve punishment, warning gravely that the party won’t heal 'if there’s no consequences for the actions.'"
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McCarthy recently mentioned during a Fox News interview that Gaetz is still being scrutinized by the Ethics Committee, telling Maria Bartiromo, "Once that Ethics complaint comes forward, he could have the same problem as Santos and I think the conference would probably be better united to move forward and get this all done.”
As the Beast's Brodey notes, McCarthy may have a point, reporting that "Ethics is looking into a much broader range of potential violations, many of which could be deeply embarrassing and reputation-harming for Gaetz—including an allegation that he showed inappropriate sexual content to colleagues on the House floor."
The report also notes that, while Gaetz represents a solidly Republican district, voters appear to be getting tired of his act too.
"A new poll from Florida Atlantic University found that, statewide, Gaetz only had a 21 percent approval rating, with 57 percent of voters disapproving of him. Notably, Gaetz was polarizing even in his own party, breaking almost exactly even among GOP voters," Brodey reported.
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