Gaetz Explains Looming Government Shutdown Is Due To McCarthy’s ‘Failures’

On Friday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) explained that the looming government shutdown is due to the “failures” of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — noting that House Republicans are currently racing against the clock on the budget crisis to “correct” the problem caused by McCarthy refusing to keep his promises.

During the contentious battle to become House Speaker earlier this year, McCarthy made several promises to garner the votes necessary to win the speakership — including that he would not push through a massive omnibus spending package or continuing resolutions to fund the government and would instead pass single-subject spending bills.

However, McCarthy has avoided bringing these bills to the floor for a vote since taking the position — instead running out the clock until the last minute and begging his colleagues to once again sign a continuing resolution. This is not acceptable to many conservatives, including Gaetz, as it would continue to fund many areas of the government that Americans are concerned about — while not making any true cuts to the budget like McCarthy promised.

During a Friday appearance on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America,” Gaetz explained how McCarthy had caused the crisis.

“The issue is Kevin McCarthy purposefully backed us up against the wall where government funding was running out, and we hadn’t passed single-subject spending bills,” the Florida congressman said. “So, we’re now trying to do work to correct the failures of Kevin McCarthy. Thursday at 3 p.m., while we’re here trying to hammer this stuff out, Kevin McCarthy sent everyone home. This is not the French work week. We’ve got only a few legislative days left before the country runs out of money and you’ve got Kevin McCarthy quite literally punting while we’re trying to move the ball forward. So, I give him no credit for this movement. It has happened in spite of him, not because of him, and we’re going to have to address his leadership after we get through this government funding crisis.”

“But even though Kevin McCarthy is not doing a good job, and it’s really got us behind schedule and has mismanaged the institution, I am very heartened by some of the work that’s been done just in the last 36 hours, where moderate Republicans are sitting down with conservative Republicans, like myself, and we’re building a path forward,” Gaetz added.

“Here’s what it looks like: reviewing single-subject spending bills where agencies of government have to stand before us and defend their budget without all being lumped together,” he continued. “Since 1997, this country has been governed by either a continuing resolution or an omnibus bill, and what those two things have in common is that every disparate agency that’s in government is subjected to just one up or down vote to fund the whole thing or not fund the whole thing. That is unserious, we have moved away from that, and it is to the great credit of people like New York Congressman Marc Molinaro and others.”