Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) took aim at House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), accusing him of conspiring with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) to undermine him, The Hill reported.
Gaetz has long been an opponent of McCarthy, including refusing to back his Speakership bid in January. He re-upped calls to replace the Speaker last week with a tweet to Swalwell inquiring about Democratic support, which McCarthy claims is, in reality, about an ethics complaint against the Florida congressman.
“Matt is working with Eric Swalwell, but let me be very clear,” McCarthy told CNN. “Matt is upset about an ethics complaint. I don’t care what they threaten against me. I’m not gonna interject into an independent committee like ethics, and I’m not going to put Swalwell back on the Intel committee. So, they can do whatever they want.”
As The Hill points out, Gaetz is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct and did drugs.. The Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to prosecute Gaetz on sex trafficking allegations in February.
In an MSNBC interview later Wednesday, Gaetz denied that he is motivated by that investigation.
“I am the most investigated man in the entire Congress, and right there you saw Kevin McCarthy lying like a dead dog because I have never asked him to interfere in any ethics matter,” Gaetz said.
Read the full report over at The Hill.
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