Former Republican House Speaker and Georgia Senator Newt Gingrich has openly attacked Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for the current chaos in the House of Representatives. Gingrich has recently become increasingly active after attacking President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech finding the speech to be too partisan and fracturing. But despite Gingrich’s criticism, Biden’ SOTU speech aligns with the current political landscape especially with the fact that this is an election year.
Problems in the House
Lately, Republican members have stirred significant confusion and disorder in the House. Whether intentionally or not, their actions have put the Republican majority at risk, especially following several resignations at a critical time. The controversial decision to block the key border bill last month was a turning point for several GOP senators that initiated the chaos. This decision caused a lot of disagreement and anger among some lawmakers who saw the border bill as solution to the ongoing border crisis.
Resignations
Colorado’s Republican Congressman Ken Buck recently left his position in the House, expressing regret on Sunday that he hadn’t done so sooner, despite previously announcing he wouldn’t run for re-election. Similarly, Wisconsin’s Mike Gallagher declared his resignation set for April 19, amidst his fourth term, having also stated his lack of interest in seeking re-election this fall. The series of departures in the House are now a challenge for the Republicans. With Gallagher’s and Buck’s exits, there will be 217 Republicans against 213 Democrats in the House. The replacements might arrive as soon as the general election in November.
Gingrich says it all started with Gaetz
While many within the GOP are preoccupied with these developments, Gingrich traces the root of the House’s issues back to actions by Matt Gaetz, particularly criticizing him for causing upheaval by ousting former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year. In an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” Gingrich shared his perspective, explaining what he would say in response to fellow party members leaving if he were still in charge.
Different approach
According to Gingrich, having different approach currently is the best for the Republicans in the House.
“We shouldn’t underestimate how bad what Matt Gaetz did was for the whole system. He unleashed the demons, he went after somebody who would raise $480 million, had gained seats for three elections in a row, and he drove Kevin McCarthy out of office. From that point on, it has been a disaster.”
Supporting Johnson
“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,” he continued. “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. 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.”
Blaming the Senators
“The fact is there are 8, or 10, or 12 people who are going to get up every morning voting ‘no.’ The truth is, they don’t even know what they’re voting on. All they know when they wake up in the morning is, I’m going to be a ‘no’ today. So he really has no majority at all. You have to decide, sooner or later, you are going to 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. The Freedom Caucus right now has been a disaster in public policy terms. Do you think your job in life is to grandstand and complain while the other team runs over you? They’re doing a great job,” Gingrich stated.
Gaetz’s motion to oust McCarthy
Gaetz launched a bid to remove McCarthy from his leadership role, accusing him of relying on Democrat votes, which supposedly went against a prior deal with some Republicans and the former Speaker. The next day, a group of Democrats and eight Republicans voted to vacate McCarthy from his position. Despite this, McCarthy expressed no regrets about prioritizing effective governance over complaints, particularly his willingness to work with Democrats. However, by December, he declared his intention to step away from political life, thereby vacating his congressional seat.
