Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace said during a Monday appearance on “The View” that she empathizes with Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s effort to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Gaetz vowed Sunday to file a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair this week in order to force a House vote on whether to oust McCarthy. The Florida congressman announced his plan after McCarthy struck a deal with President Joe Biden to keep the government open until Nov. 17. Mace said the speaker has failed to uphold some of his promises he made to her prior to assuming the gavel in January.
“I empathize with Matt Gaetz over his frustration,” Mace said. “My frustration is a little bit different, but I was made promises by the speaker that have not been kept. I’ve been a strong fighter for women’s rights since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, actually since before then. I’ve negotiated my own deals, my own promises on women’s issues, on gun violence, on balancing the budget. None of those promises have been kept. I come from South Carolina. When I look you in the eye and I shake your hand and I make a promise and I keep it, I expect you to keep it too. So I empathize with some of the frustration.”
“He promised we would have regular order, he promised we would follow the law. We have not done that and what is it going to take to change Washington,” she added.
Mace estimated about a dozen of House Republicans would support Gaetz’s expected motion to vacate, and that she remains undecided on whether she would support the motion. The South Carolina representative also said that although there are probably members of the Republican caucus who could garner the 218 votes needed to become speaker, McCarthy will likely keep his gavel with Democratic support. (RELATED: ‘Everything’s On The Table’: Nancy Mace Won’t Rule Out Ousting McCarthy)
Gaetz asserted during a Sunday interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper that there are enough GOP votes to vacate McCarthy’s chair. He also vowed not to make any deals with Democrats, who he predicted will help McCarthy keep his position.
“The only way Kevin McCarthy is speaker of the House at the end of this coming week is if Democrats bail him out. Now, they probably will. I actually think that when you believe in nothing, as Kevin McCarthy does, everything’s negotiable and I think he’ll cut a deal with the Democrats,” Gaetz said.
Democrats are expected to extract several concessions from McCarthy in return for voting against the motion to vacate, such as ending the impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, adhering to spending levels agreed upon with the president and appointing more members of their party to committees.
During a Sunday appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” McCarthy challenged Gaetz to “bring it on.”
Gaetz is reportedly communicating with House Democrats to get them on board with removing McCarthy. Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in a separate Sunday interview with Tapper that she would “absolutely” vote in favor of vacating McCarthy’s seat, according to CNN.