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LINK Dog-Toting GOP Rep. Slams Gaetz and McCarthy's 'Backroom' Deals

Rep. Nancy Mace took aim at Rep. Matt Gaetz following a tumultuous week in the House that highlights new divisions within the GOP.

"Matt Gaetz is a fraud. Every time he voted against Kevin McCarthy last week he sent out a fundraising email," Mace, a Republican representing South Carolina, told the host Margaret Brennan on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "What you saw last week was a constitutional process diminished by those kinds of political actions."

In one message to supporters, Gaetz accused McCarthy, now the House speaker, of "standing in the way of a true MAGA majority" before asking for donations, Fox News reported.

Another email to supporters read: "McCarthy and his allies have pulled every trick in the book to silence me and give the Swamp's biggest alligator his coronation as Speaker of the House."

Gaetz, who was on the receiving end of Rep. Mike Rogers' emotionally charged lunge during the 14th voting session for House speaker on Friday, was among 20 far-right representatives who withheld their votes from McCarthy during what seemed like an endless negotiation process.

Early Saturday, in the 15th round, Gaetz was one of six lawmakers to vote "present," which essentially allowed for McCarthy's win without 218 votes in favor of him as speaker.

"I ran out of things I could even imagine to ask for," Gaetz told CNN after the 15th vote.

McCarthy won the speakership, but it's still unclear how much power he conceded to his ultraconservative Republican counterparts.

We don't know what they got or didn't get," Mace told Brennan, condemning the "backroom deals."

"We haven't seen it," Mace said. "We don't have any idea what promises were made or what gentleman's handshakes were made."

She added: "And it does give me quite a bit of heartburn because that's not what we ran on. It is quite ironic."

Mace has represented South Carolina's 1st District since 2021. Though Mace used to work for his campaign, she's criticized former President Donald Trump for his role in the insurrection. Still, she voted against impeaching Trump in 2021, arguing that the process was "rushed."

All eyes were on Mace during the third and fourth days of the speaker vote when she brought her dog, Libby, to the chamber, saying, "There are no rules right now," The Independent reported.

—Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) January 5, 2023

House lawmakers are set to vote on Monday on a rules package that would set the stage for how the House will operate. Mace told Brennan she was unsure whether she'd support the package.

"I like the rules package. It is the most open, fair, and fiscally conservative package we've had in 30 years. I support it," Mace said. "But what I don't support is a small number of people trying to get a deal done or deals done for themselves in private, in secret, to get a vote or a vote present. I don't support that."

Representatives for Mace, Gaetz, and McCarthy did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

snytiger6 9 Jan 9
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1

Mace is also in it for herself. A pretty glass of poison. Kevin is only the embodiment of a Speaker. 45 holds the actual gavel.

1

Sounds like nothing any real use is going be in the house until the next election . Based on the bs happening now.

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