When Florida Panhandle-area GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz used a rarely used congressional procedure last month to remove U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from power, he was initially blasted by Republicans and Democrats alike for creating chaos on Capitol Hill.
But now with hard-right conservative Mike Johnson of Louisiana elected as the new U.S. House Speaker, Gaetz boasted Saturday about his actions while speaking at the Republican Party’s Florida Freedom Summitt in Kissimmee.
“Fighting Washington has won us a new conservative speaker. Fighting Washington has shown the swamp creatures that they don’t win every time,” he said. “Fighting Washington has restored some modicum of power back to ‘We the People.’ And I’m just getting started.”
Gaetz said at one point GOP congressional leadership sat him down and told him that he lacked patience. “But it seemed more to me that they lacked courage,” he said.
Redistricting in Florida recently led four more Republicans elected to the U.S. House, taking control of that GOP chamber in Washington. At that point, Democrat Nancy Pelosi lost her House speakership, and Republican McCarthy was ultimately removed.
Gaetz said, “So I guess in a way, you could say that it was Florida that led to the firing of not one, but two liberal California speakers,” a shot at McCarthy, who Gaetz and other conservatives criticized for working too closely with Democrats.
The 41-year-old Gaetz has been rumored to be considering a run for governor of Florida in 2026, and he concluded his speech with a call to arms.
“If you are willing to take some risks, endure some criticism, and put it all on the line, then come fight with me!” he said.
This article originally appeared in florida phoenix