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A visibly angry and frustrated Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) had to be physically restrained after lunging at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on the House floor by other members late Friday as the drama to elect a new speaker continued to play out.
Cameras caught the moment that the GOP lawmaker lost his cool and moved quickly towards Gaetz, who continued refusing to back Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for the speakership after a historic 14th ballot. It would take another — 15 ballots — for McCarthy to finally win the post after the House reconvened at 10 p.m. Friday night.
Fox News reported:
Gaetz was discussing with Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the possibility of backing him in the next vote and appeared to mouth the word “committee.”
Gaetz is currently on the House Armed Services Committee, which is chaired by Rogers. McCarthy appeared to agree and returned to his seat. Rogers, having witnessed the interaction, then walked up to Gaetz’s row and made a move toward him.
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., intervened and physically restrained Rogers, pulling him back by his shoulders in full view of C-SPAN’s cameras.
At one point, Rogers pointed at Gaetz and appeared to yell, “I won’t forget this!”
WATCH:
After McCarthy’s victory, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) handed the Speaker’s gavel to the California Republican, who will now preside over the 118th Congress.
“It took a loss by a razor-thin margin in a late-night Round 14, a heated exchange with one of his sternest opponents, and a near-adjournment of the House till Monday to break a logjam unseen since before the Civil War,” the Associated Press reported after the 15th round of balloting.
“The final tally that put him over the top: 216 for McCarthy, 212 for Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries and 6 simply ‘present,’” the outlet reported.
A video clip of a frustrated McCarthy confronting Gaetz after his first “present” went viral online late Friday:
🚨 BREAKING: Matt Gaetz votes present, leaving Kevin McCarthy one vote short of being confirmed as Speaker.
McCarthy is NOT happy 😂pic.twitter.com/dWcDjTQAVo
— Patriot Alerts (@alerts___) January 7, 2023
The newswire noted further:
All day Friday, McCarthy had been inching ever closer to taking up the gavel as he won over multiple diehard conservative critics and resistors. McCarthy, who flipped 15 colleagues to supporters in dramatic votes on Friday afternoon, returned to the chamber at 10 p.m. ET with hopes high that he’d woo enough additional hardliners to put him over the top.
But then came a surprising loss, with him snagging 216 votes, just one shy of the 217 needed to get a House majority after two colleagues, Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz, merely voted “present.”
What followed was some extraordinary drama, as McCarthy and Gaetz appeared to exchange sharp words on the House floor. A vote to adjourn till Monday was quickly introduced, but was then walked back as supporters did a U-turn and rescinded votes.
Some Republicans said the drama was worth it to secure a better rules package agreement regarding power from McCarthy.
“This is a really good rules package, and it’s good that we negotiated this for our system of government, and it’s great for the American people,” said Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.). “If we’re going to have self-government, we’ve got to show this” to the public.”
She also said she did not agree with Gaetz’s continuing to hold out support for McCarthy.
“I disagree with his position” of refusing to support McCarthy. “But that’s OK. We’re still going to be friends tomorrow after this is all said and done,” she said.
“There’s a point in time where you’ve got to give up on your position — after getting everything you want. … At that point, you’re not really negotiating. You’re more of a hostage-taker,” she noted further.
Earlier Friday, Gaetz threatened to resign from Congress if moderate Republicans struck a deal with Democrats to help elect McCarthy over the objections of House conservatives.
But that said, the Florida Republican also expressed confidence that all 212 Democrats would continue voting for Jeffries to be speaker after selecting him to become the leader of the party, replacing Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), which turned out to be the case.
