Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., caused a stir on social media after voting for former President Donald Trump to become Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday.
A group of about 20 Republicans, including Gaetz, Rep.-elect Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and others, have voted against McCarthy and labeled him a member of "The Swamp" as the vote for speaker has gone through 11 rounds over three days.
Gaetz voted for Trump during the seventh and eighth rounds of voting, then officially nominated him during the eleventh round.
Anthony Sabatani, chairman of the Lake County Republican Party and a former Florida House Rep., tweeted, "BREAKING: MATT GAETZ JUST VOTED TRUMP FOR SPEAKER—LEEEETTTSSSGOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
The Columbia Bugle, a popular conservative Twitter account, tweeted a picture of then-President Trump hugging an American flag and smiling widely with the hashtag #SpeakerTrump.
Paul A. Szypula, a former U.S. Senate candidate and conservative commentator, tweeted, "Rep. Gaetz just voted for Donald John Trump to be Speaker of the House. Trump wears a US flag pin on his jacket. McCarthy wears a Ukraine flag. That says it all."
"Imagine this scenario. Donald Trump elected Speaker of the House on January 6. I know it’s not gonna happen. It’s a dream but it would be fantastic," Carmine Sabia, a conservative writer, tweeted.
"Who wants President Trump elected Speaker so he can conduct the J6 investigations and expose Nancy Pelosi on the national stage?" Rogan O'Handley, who runs the DC_Draino newsletter asked.
Founder of Revolver News and former Trump speechwriter, Darren J. Beattie, said, "Donald Trump as Speaker is the only meaningful outcome to all of this."
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"The 7th House Speaker vote is occurring now. McCarthy still doesn’t have the votes. Matt Gaetz voted for President Trump," Scott Presler, a conservative activist, tweeted.
"Republicans won the popular vote in 2022. Still, Americans largely distrust the gov’t. With the passing of the reckless $1.7 trillion omnibus bill, that gap widened. There isn’t a consensus on the House Speaker b/c members want to ensure this doesn’t happen again," he added.
"I get how you feel: What’s the point of a Republican House if only means a tap on the breaks? If unity means concessions & surrender, the voters aren’t buying. We don’t want empty platitudes. Instead, we want a disciplined majority to hold the gov’t accountable for its actions," he continued Thursday evening.
Other conservatives have also been critical of McCarthy. Michael Johns, a co-founder of the National Tea Party movement and former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush, tweeted "From '17 to '19, @kevinomccarthy was Majority Leader when we controlled the House, Senate, and White House. We had no higher national priority then than ensuring the border wall was funded. But he and @PRyan never delivered. Result: Our nation is now under a vast invasion."
Some conservatives from other wings of the party were less enthusiastic about the Trump nomination, however. T. Becket Adams, program director of the Young America Foundation's National Journalism Center, tweeted, "good job putting him in the running in another race he will lose."
"Gaetz has no plan for actually accomplishing a non-McCarthy speaker. He’s just doing random crap for attention. He’s now repeatedly voted to make Speaker people whose judgment tells them to make McCarthy Speaker," Sunny McSunnyface, a prominent conservative Twitter account, posted.
Trump announced his candidacy for president in November, and has endorsed Kevin McCarthy for Speaker.
