By Harold Hutchison
Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York claimed Friday that former President Donald Trump and former Trump administration official Steve Bannon Republican orchestrated Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as speaker of the House.
Eight Republicans voted with 208 Democrats in support of a motion to vacate the chair introduced by Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, subsequently removing McCarthy from the speakership Tuesday. Trump endorsed Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio to become speaker early Friday morning in a post on Truth Social.
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“What we are finding out now and listening to now, that this is the party of Donald Trump, and that Donald Trump and Bannon were behind everything in regards to the removal — the Republicans’ decision to remove their own speaker,” Meeks told “CNN News Central” co-host John Berman. “That’s who did this.”
Gaetz appeared on Bannon’s talk show “War Room” Tuesday with Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, one of the Republicans who backed the motion to vacate, where Bannon jabbed at the congresswoman for supporting a motion to hold him in contempt of Congress.
“They’re dysfunctional,” Meeks continued. “I’m concerned about them continuing no matter who the speaker is, to be quite frank, in that regard, if they continue to do the same thing that McCarthy did time after time, cater to the MAGA Republican extremists.”
Jordan and Republican Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Kevin Hern of Oklahoma pulled out of a forum that was to air on Fox News Monday.
Neither Gaetz nor Meeks immediately responded to a request for comment.
