There’s a movement brewing among some members of the House Republican caucus to expel colleagues who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership.
The push appears to rest on a simple, yet unconvincing, insult that’s emerged in recent weeks — that Rep. Matt Gaetz and other GOP hard-liners who joined his bid to remove McCarthy are not real conservatives.
We’ll get to the absurdity of that allegation in a moment but, for now, let’s just take a look at the wave of Republicans who’ve deployed it against Gaetz and company.
In his remarks after being ousted, McCarthy claimed conservatives who moved to vacate his speakership “are not conservatives, and they do not have the right to have the title.”
Conservative commentator and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich recently claimed that Gaetz and his backers “aren’t real conservatives. These are opportunists who are totally irresponsible.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., slammed Gaetz’s behavior as “not conservative” and denounced him as a charlatan last week, as the Florida Republican was upping the pressure on McCarthy with a potential government shutdown looming.
Another New York Republican, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, said that Gaetz’s move to eject McCarthy from the speakership amounted to “one of the greatest acts of heresy.”








