Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R-FL) ripped into House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and the lineup of party moderates backing his bid for Speaker of the House.
The America First conservative blasted the California Republican and “his pathetic supporters” for attempting to make voters think “the Freedom Caucus is risking making a Democrat the Speaker.” Sabatini added that the “Weasel McCarthy” does not have the 218 votes he needs.
WOW
Any Republican member of Congress who votes for Kevin McCarthy is a coward or a traitor… Or both https://t.co/82NxbaBgGg
— Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) December 2, 2022
McCarthy, despite coming up far short of that threshold, is operating as the “Speaker-elect” and treating the result as a foregone conclusion. That, many Republicans including Sabatini believe, is far from the truth.
Calling out McCarthy to drop his bid, the representative believes that a genuine race for the gavel is needed to ensure strong leadership as Republicans take control on Jan. 3.
Sabatini responded to perceived blackmail attempts by powerful establishment GOP figures threatening a RINO or possibly a moderate Democrat would step into the Speaker’s role.
He tweeted that it is indeed “McCarthy who is causing the issue” and declared there are “DOZENS of Congressmen that would receive 100% of the House vote when they run.”
McCarthy, he asserted, is not one of those dozens. In fact, Sabatini said that McCarthy knows he won’t win but insists on running anyway, which itself threatens Republican goals even as the party once again assumes the House majority.
Sabatini insisted that the party does not need to wait until Jan. 3 to see who garners the 218 votes needed to become Speaker. Rather, the caucus needs to determine that outcome soon.
For his part, McCarthy told Newsmax that House Democrats could end up choosing the new Speaker if the GOP “plays games” in January. He also declared to Fox News that Republican priorities will fall by the wayside if the conflict continues.
The representative said that the investigation of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will stall before it starts. The border will not be secured and energy independence cannot be achieved.
What is apparent is that there is a showdown looming for the Speaker’s gavel. Whether McCarthy, who is backed by former President Donald Trump for the role, or another Republican assumes the position at this point is anyone’s guess, but the next two years depend mightily on the choice.
