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WASHINGTON – Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., continues to draw the ire of his Republican colleagues in the House weeks after he led the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from the speaker, along with some of his opponents. secretly floated his expulsion from Congress.
Many Republican House members, many of whom are still angry with Gaetz for his actions that have prevented McCarthy and the majority of the conference from passing legislation, have begun discussing the ongoing investigation of Gaetz. by the House Ethics Committee following the impeachment of former representative George Santos, RN.Y.
In the run-up to the dismissal of Sanitoa, many of those who opposed his dismissal publicly announced their concerns about the dismissal of a member who has not been convicted. to a crime, which will change the previous situation set by the Congress today.
One of those representatives was Gaetz himself, who defended Santos on the House floor.
“I’m not going to stand up to defend George Santos, whoever he is, but to defend the precedent that my friends are determined to break,” Gaetz said last week.
One House Republican, who spoke to USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the discussions between his colleagues, said GOP members are well aware. future consequences of the expulsion of Santos.
“There were many people who voted to dismiss Santos with the clear intention to consider the example there in what happens to the next,” said the representative. “There was a lot of thought about the trial and what would happen if a report came out about Gaetz.”
Gaetz led the minority of Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy from the top job in the House earlier this year. After lawmakers and Democrats voted to terminate McCarthy, it led to weeks of conflict in the Republican caucus to choose another leader. Although lawmakers finally met now-Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spent weeks as lawmakers tried to work out a temporary deal to avoid a shutdown. Hi.
GOP lawmakers, the Republican said, would be “more willing” to fire Gaetz than Santos if the House Judiciary Committee releases a similarly damning report for Gaetz as a Long Island Republican.
The House Judiciary Committee is currently investigating allegations against Gaetz, including sexual misconduct, drug use, Prohibition, as well as misuse of campaign funds. The committee has reached at least one witness in its investigation in a sign that the tables have turned on Gaetz after its investigation of Santos, CNN reported. The Justice Department investigated Gaetz for sex allegations but decided not to press charges against him in February.
The House Judiciary Committee, a bipartisan group split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, has been criticized for moving too slowly and limiting options for sanctions when wrongdoing is found.
However, when Sanitoa was fired after the committee’s damning report showed many evidences that he violated the law of the federal, federal representatives renewed hope that they could act quickly and quickly to address congressional crime.
“One of the complaints you often hear is that things often go to the ethics committee and it takes a long time,” said Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., the chairman of the committee, last week. “I don’t think it’s fair for members of Congress and for members of this body.”
“It is very important to do the work of the ethics committee, that they return their report in a timely manner,” so that members can face the appropriate consequences, said Guest.
Another House Republican who spoke to USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity to discuss the conference’s implications for Gaetz said members are waiting for any ethics reports about Gaetz to be released. did not publicly call for his dismissal.
“If there’s something bad in there, I’m sure people will get their teeth into it.” He’s an abomination to our conference,” the House Republican said of the GOP conference’s treatment of Gaetz. “If he comes back to plead guilty to this ethical issue, I think he’s in trouble.”
At a recent closed-door meeting, the Republican recalled, Gaetz rose to speak but yelled at members to “sit down and shut up,” reflecting the anger of lawmakers. the GOP is still against Gaetz.
But other Republicans are raising concerns that their peers may be arming the ethics committee against members they may have political disagreements with.
Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, a member of the House Ethics Committee that led the investigation into Santos, declined to comment on the investigation into Gaetz but told USA TODAY that “the all subjects are independent from each other,” warns the connection of research. among the two councilors.
Rep. Mike Lawler, RN.Y., who has criticized Gaetz for his politics, also warned against using the committee as a “political weapon or a whip against someone because I don’t like them.”
Other GOP members are trying to strike a middle ground between quickly pushing for Gaetz’s ouster to avoid a pre-trial hearing and leaving the door open to ousting Gaetz when the ethics committee comes up. control with bad information.
Two other House Republicans said lawmakers will take a close look at the committee’s report on Gaetz when it is released. then make their decision as to what punishment they should consider.
When asked by USA TODAY about his thoughts on members calling for him to be fired because of his ousting of McCarthy, Gaetz, who has been dismissive of his colleagues, smiled: “Represent who?”
