![Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said Tuesday he wishes former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was still in Congress after House Republicans failed to impeach Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas. [Screenshot Newsmax]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-07-at-12.21.50-PM-e1707326584929.png "Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said Tuesday he wishes former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was still in Congress after House Republicans failed to impeach Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas. [Screenshot Newsmax]")
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said Tuesday he wishes former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was still in Congress after House Republicans failed to impeach Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas.
The House voted in November 209-201 to refer articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to committee, with eight Republicans voting with Democrats to prevent a full House vote. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reintroduced the resolution later that month. The vote failed to garner enough support on Tuesday.
Republican Utah Rep. Blake Moore voted “no” on impeachment alongside three other Republicans, though Moore’s vote was a strategic switch so that there could be a motion to reconsider next week. (RELATED: Dems Wheel In Hospitalized Rep To Save Mayorkas From Impeachment While ‘Wearing Blue Hospital Clothing And Tan Socks’)
Gaetz, who started proceedings to oust McCarthy, told Newsmax’s Eric Bolling he wishes McCarthy were still in Xongress
“Kevin McCarthy, after being dislodged as speaker, took his marbles and went home,” Gaetz said. “He would have been a reliable vote for impeachment but if he wasn’t speaker, he wasn’t willing to stick around.”
Rep. Matt Gaetz on failed impeachment vote: “I think that the errant expulsion of [George] Santos and the abject selfishness of Kevin McCarthy contributed to this result as much as the three Republican members who voted no.” pic.twitter.com/FD13V40icJ
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) February 7, 2024
Gaetz also said he missed former New York Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from Congress but seen as a reliable Republican vote.
Santos was expelled over allegations of fraud despite no conviction. There was bipartisan support for his expulsion.
McCarthy announced he would retire from Congress in December saying he would instead work on helping Republicans win races. His announcement came months after he was ousted from Congress in an effort led by Gaetz.