WASHINGTON — Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy claimed Tuesday he was stripped of the gavel last fall because he refused to stop a House ethics investigation into allegations that far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz had sex with a minor.
Speaking at Georgetown University in Washington, McCarthy was asked whether he believes he was ousted for making too many “concessions” to Democrats, as his opponents in the GOP conference claimed.
But McCarthy (R-Calif.) rejected the accusation, calling it a “misnomer” and instead alleging that Gaetz (R-Fla.) forced him out over a personal vendetta.
“I’ll give you the truth why I’m not speaker,” said McCarthy, who resigned from Congress at the end of 2023. “It’s because one person — a member of Congress — wanted me to stop an ethics complaint because he slept with a 17-year-old.”
“Did he do it or not? I don’t know,” he added, noting that the complaint was lodged before he was elected speaker in January 2023.
Gaetz led a small group of far-right lawmakers to boot McCarthy from his position with a motion to vacate Oct. 3, charging he did not do enough to support spending cuts after negotiating a deal with the White House and Senate Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.
When the motion was sent to the House floor, just eight Republicans joined 208 Democrats in voting to remove McCarthy from the speakership. The move made history, as it was the first time a motion to vacate had been successfully deployed in the chamber.
Despite his removal and subsequent decision to leave the House altogether, McCarthy said Tuesday he would have done the same thing “all over again.”
“We’re not going to pay our troops [in a government shutdown],” he said. “I’m going to pay my troops.”
In a post to X on Wednesday morning, Gaetz responded: “Kevin McCarthy is a liar. That’s why he is no longer speaker.
“Just ask the 224 people who voted to remove him,” he added, incorrectly inflating the tally by eight members.
The Justice Department investigated the teen sex allegation against Gaetz, ultimately deciding in February 2022 not to charge the lawmaker.
The House Ethics Committee investigation is ongoing.