During a closed-door meeting on Thursday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) offered his most pointed challenge yet to conservatives threatening to oust him as speaker, daring them to do it.

At a Republican member-only meeting covering the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and the appropriations process, McCarthy responded to Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and others who have threatened to utilize the motion to vacate to oust him as speaker if he doesn’t meet their demands on appropriations.

“If you want to file a motion to vacate, then file the fucking motion,” McCarthy said, according to Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), who recalled the statement to reporters after the meeting.

McCarthy’s use of the expletive was confirmed by one other member who was in the room.

This comes at a time when McCarthy’s frustration with the holdouts on the appropriations bills has hit a boiling point. He has publicly expressed frustration with them over the past three days.

Gaetz, who is one of the holdouts and who has publicly threatened to use the motion to vacate, responded to McCarthy’s comments by taking to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, to taunt him.

“Sounds like [Speaker McCarthy] is having a totally normal one — not rattled at all,” Gaetz said in the post. “[P]ull yourself together, Kevin.”

McCarthy has been trying to convince the holdouts to vote on a rule for the defense appropriations bill and support a continuing resolution that would keep the government up and running. But some of the fringe members of his conference have expressed that they do not fear a government shutdown, making it “difficult” to reason with them, he said.

 

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