Gaetz ärkerival McCarthy: ”Alla vet” att han inte kommer godkännas

Matthew Louis Gaetz II ( GAYTS; born May 7, 1982) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district from 2017, until his resignation in November 2024. His district included all of Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties, and portions of Walton County. A member of the Republican Party, he is widely regarded as a staunch proponent of far-right politics as well as an ally of president-elect Donald Trump. The son of prominent Florida politician Don Gaetz and grandson of North Dakota politician Jerry Gaetz, Gaetz was raised in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. After graduating from the William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia, he briefly worked in private practice before running for state representative. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 until 2016, and received national attention for defending Florida's "stand-your-ground law". In 2016, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was re-elected in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024. Gaetz routinely conflicted with other Republicans and the party's leadership. Gaetz's tenure as congressman led to widespread controversy, with The New York Times noting that he faced accusations of "illicit drug use, sharing inappropriate images and videos on the House floor, misusing state identification records, converting campaign funds for personal use, and accepting impermissible gifts." In 2020, Gaetz was accused of child sex trafficking and statutory rape. After an investigation, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) decided not to charge him, although Gaetz was under investigation for underage sexual abuse and illegal drug use by the House Ethics Committee up until his resignation; according to sources, a "highly critical report" was scheduled to be released in the imminent week, but will not be released as his resignation made the situation outside their jurisdiction. In October 2023, Gaetz filed a motion to vacate which led to the removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. On November 13, 2024, president-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Gaetz to serve as United States attorney general. Gaetz resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives shortly after the announcement. His nomination led to surprise, alarm, and negative reception from Senate Republicans.

Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January to October 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for California's 20th congressional district from 2007 until his resignation in 2023. McCarthy graduated from California State University, Bakersfield. He served two terms as a member of the California State Assembly before being elected to the U.S. House in 2006. McCarthy served as the House Republican chief deputy whip from 2009 to 2011 and as House majority whip from 2011 to 2014. After House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's reelection loss in the 2014 Republican primary, McCarthy was elected majority leader under speaker John Boehner. He retained that position during Paul Ryan's speakership. In 2019, after Ryan retired, McCarthy was elected House Minority Leader. As Minority Leader, McCarthy supported Donald Trump's debunked claims of voter fraud after Joe Biden won the 2020 U.S. presidential election and initially participated in efforts to overturn the results. After the U.S. Capitol was stormed during the 2021 electoral vote count, McCarthy reversed his previous comments on voter fraud in the election and blamed Trump for the riot. By 2022, he had publicly reconciled with Trump. McCarthy led the House Republicans through the 2022 elections, in which they gained a slimmer-than-expected majority. McCarthy was the Republican nominee for speaker in January 2023, but did not win the speakership on the first attempt, only securing the office after days of successive votes and negotiations within his own party as well as a historic 15 different ballots. As Speaker, McCarthy dealt with a standoff between the House Republican conference and Biden administration that led to the 2023 debt-ceiling crisis and what would have been a first-ever national default. To resolve the crisis, the parties negotiated the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which passed with bipartisan support in Congress before Biden signed it into law. In September 2023, McCarthy relied on Democrats to help pass a bipartisan continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown. As a result, Republican congressman Matt Gaetz filed a motion to vacate against McCarthy. Following a largely unprecedented House floor debate between members of the majority party, McCarthy was voted out as speaker on October 3, 2023. His tenure was the third-shortest for a Speaker of the House in United States history, and he became the first speaker to ever be removed from the role during a legislative session. McCarthy resigned as a member of the House at the end of that year.