‘You’re Welcome!’ Matt Gaetz Boasts About Driving ‘Swamp Rat’ Republicans Out of D.C. and Turning Congress Into a ‘Living Hell’
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the firebrand congressman who spearheaded the effort to removed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) boasted about turning Congress into a “living hell” for the “swamp rats” among his colleagues at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday.
“In Congress, I’m often excoriated, smeared, derided for exposing a corrupt system that has been weaponized against we the people,” began Gaetz.
He continued:
I’ve made it a living hell for the swamp rats and many of them are retiring now. In fact, CNN just ran an article blaming me for their departures. You’re welcome! Truth is we can’t save the nation with the current Republican team. We have to get tougher, smarter, and we need newer, bolder voices in the United States Congress. So if you’re out there campaigning and running as a Paul Ryan or Kevin McCarthy Republican, my message to you is this: They don’t work here anymore!
The CNN article referenced by Gaetz quoted a number of his critics within the Republican caucus.
“When you have folks on your own team with their knives out, it makes it less enjoyable,” argued Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE)
“I thought some of our members would be smarter,” mused Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL).
“It’s unfortunate because you think of the brain trust you are losing. I blame a lot of the ‘crazy eights’ led by Gaetz. They want to make this place dysfunctional to try to wear people out,” submitted McCarthy himself. “It’s very sad … It makes it more difficult for getting people to run in the current climate.”
Gaetz had previously reveled in the news of his colleagues’ departures on X.
“The fundamental premise is that I’ve made congress so miserable for so many members that they are leaving. Wonderful!” he wrote.
Twenty-three House Republicans have announced that they will not seek reelection, including Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and rising star and China Select Committee Chair Mike Gallagher (R-WI).
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