Rep. Matt Gaetz says his ideal candidate for Speaker if Republicans take control of the House after the midterms is staunch Trump loyalist Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
In an interview with Time Magazine, Gaetz called Jordan “the spiritual and intellectual leader of this conference.”
“Where Jim goes, the conference goes,” Gaetz adds. “I don’t even remember who holds which austere titles that append to what corner offices and expanded staff budgets, but they are the followers. Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, myself—we are the leaders.”
Gaetz publicly slammed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy–who is poised to become Speaker if Republicans retake control of the House–after the New York Times published an audio recording of a Jan. 10 phone call in which McCarthy and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise were venting their frustration with some Republican lawmakers and their rhetoric after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
McCarthy singled out Gaetz, saying he was “putting people in jeopardy,” adding, “and he doesn’t need to be doing this. We saw what people would do in the Capitol, you know, and these people came prepared with rope, with everything else.”
Gaetz fired back calling McCarthy and Scalise “weak men, not leaders.”
However, the Florida congressman says he hasn’t ruled out supporting McCarthy for Speaker. Jordan has also said he would support McCarthy and has no plans to run. But anything can happen.
“Paul Ryan was for Kevin McCarthy last time Kevin ran for Speaker,” Gaetz told Time. “I think one of the first steps to becoming Speaker is initially supporting Kevin McCarthy.”
In the meantime, Gaetz is traveling across the country endorsing and campaigning for Trumpian candidates in hopes of expanding the ‘MAGA Squad’ in the next Congress and grow more powerful.
“I need backup,” Gaetz says. “If I don’t get a bunch of folks through these primaries and into this expected Republican majority—if [the new GOP members] are all just here to cash the lobbyist checks, shuttle the PAC money to leadership and earn their frivolous attaboys along the way—I don’t have much of a fighting force.”
