Matt Gaetz moves a step closer to getting expelled

If Matt Gaetz thought he was saving himself from expulsion by getting rid of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker, it’s turned out to be yet another instance of Gaetz not understanding how politics works. Even as House Republicans struggle behind the scenes to agree on a new Speaker, some of them are now talking publicly about kicking Gaetz to the curb.

In fact House Republican Derrick Van Orden is now telling the media that he’s not willing to vote for a new Speaker as long as “we have people in our conference who could shut this House down on a whim again.” In other words, he wants Gaetz expelled before a new Speaker is even elected.

So now House Republicans have gone from indirectly leaking to the media that they want to expel Matt Gaetz, to directly saying it on the record. This is a step closer to the end for Gaetz. At this point the only question may be whether Gaetz is expelled before or after there’s a new Speaker.