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Kevin McCarthy appears to believe that Matt Gaetz, the man who opposed him, belongs behind bars. McCarthy, who is behaving like a spurned ex-lover, is currently on a media blitz, doing his utmost to portray the MAGA firebrand as a “criminal” even worse than George Santos. It’s worth noting that McCarthy doesn’t use a crooked Democrat as his example of “wrong behavior,” despite the abundance of options, starting with Joe Biden himself. McCarthy’s girlish frustration comes shortly after Gaetz called for an investigation into McCarthy’s alleged “assault” on a fellow Republican who voted to remove him from the Speakership.

Axios:

Conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) announced Tuesday he is filing an ethics complaint against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy following the California Republican’s altercation with Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.).

Why it matters: Tensions between McCarthy and the eight lawmakers who voted to oust him from his leadership position have lingered since October.

Gaetz wrote a letter to House Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-Fla.) and Ranking Member Susan Wild (D-Pa.) on Tuesday arguing that the altercation, which involved McCarthy allegedly elbowing Burchett in the back, “deserves immediate and swift investigation by the Ethics Committee.”

Burchett alleged that McCarthy “sucker punched” him “in a shot to the kidney.”
McCarthy denied elbowing Burchett, and said it was a crowded hallway.

McCarthy fired back, claiming Gaetz should be behind bars.

Vanity Fair:

Kevin McCarthy and Matt Gaetz have never been bosom buddies, but the relationship between the GOP congressmen has been on a distinct downward spiral over the last 10 months. Some reasons for that likely include:

Gaetz’s refusal to support McCarthy’s bid for House Speaker, his decision to cast a ballot for another candidate through 14 rounds of voting, and then vote present on the final one.
The fact that McCarthy, according to Gaetz, is behind the Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sex trafficking and sexual misconduct by the Florida representative.
Gaetz’s move to oust McCarthy from his leadership role.

And we’re guessing a reconciliation is not in the cards any time soon, given McCarthy’s recent suggestion that Gaetz is guilty of everything he’s been accused of and belongs behind bars!

Matt Gaetz didn’t just take that hit sitting down; he punched back at the disgruntled Kevin with a powerful right hook. The Vanity Fair piece continues:

Speaking to Politico about the divisiveness among Florida Republicans in Congress and the little power they hold, the former House Speaker said, “You have a cross section [of lawmakers]. You have [Rep. Matt] Gaetz, who belongs in jail, and you have serious members.” McCarthy did not specify what, exactly, Gaetz should be in jail for, but the odds are extremely high he was referencing the sexual misconduct business. In 2021, the Justice Department opened an investigation into Gaetz for allegedly having sex with an underage girl and traveling across state lines. Shortly thereafter, CNN reported that the congressman had shared images of naked women with colleagues on the House floor and allegedly claimed to have slept with the women in the photos. (Gaetz has denied allegations against him.) While the DOJ ended its investigation of Gaetz and did not charge him with any crimes, the House Ethics Committee revived its own investigation in July 2023.

In response to McCarthy’s jail remarks, Gaetz told Politico, “Tough words from a guy who sucker punches people in the back. The only assault I committed was against Kevin’s fragile ego.” (After McCarthy allegedly elbowed Representative Tim Burchett in the kidneys earlier this month, a claim McCarthy denies, Gaetz called for an Ethics Committee investigation into the ex-House Speaker.)

Kevin is making the rounds, speaking to every news outlet that will have him, and his tone resembles that of a resentful ex-girlfriend seeking revenge on the boyfriend who dumped her.

This is another instance of political warfare, employing the same kind of vindictive tactics we’ve seen the Democrats use against President Trump. Kevin has taken a page from the regime’s playbook on how to target enemies. However, Kevin may encounter the same issue that Biden faces: people love Matt and strongly dislike Kevin. So, he might find himself in the role of a disgruntled ex-girlfriend for quite some time.

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