“Mr. Speaker, just tell us: what was in the secret Ukraine side deal? What commitments were made to President Biden to continue the spending of President Biden in exchange for doing things for President Biden? It is becoming increasingly clear who the Speaker of the House already works for, and it’s not the Republican conference,” Gaetz said during remarks on the House floor.
Gaetz stated he intends to file a motion to unseat McCarthy this week, after the speaker led the passage of a short-term government funding deal on the eve of a shutdown. Gaetz opposed the legislation, instead proposing that Congress pass single-subject appropriations bills.
Gaetz alleges that McCarthy made a secret deal with Biden to bring Ukraine aid legislation to the House floor as part of negotiations on the short-term funding measure. Other members of Republican leadership were not aware of the deal, Gaetz claimed.
Ukraine has lost the support of the “majority of the majority” in the House of Representatives, Gaetz noted. McCarthy cannot team with Democrats to overrule the will of the majority party per the so-called Hastert Rule, Gaetz stressed.
The House could hold votes later on Monday or later this week that “could be implicated” by McCarthy’s response to Gaetz’s question, the lawmaker said, in reference to his motion to vacate the speakership.
Some House Republicans are also preparing an effort to expel Gaetz from Congress, pending an ethics probe into the lawmaker, US media reported earlier this week. US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has opposed both the motion to vacate McCarthy's speakership and the effort to expel Gaetz, arguing that the in-fighting only hurts the party’s work in Congress.