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Long-Time Republican Congress Member Says Personal Differences Lead to Removal of House Speaker

Monday, October 9th, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(By Hope Kirwan, Wisconsin Public Radio) A longtime Republican Congress member from Wisconsin said personal differences, not party priorities, are behind the historic removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

According to Hope Kirwan with Wisconsin Public Radio, McCarthy was ousted in a Tuesday vote, the first time a House speaker has been removed in this way. All of Wisconsin's Republican U.S. Representatives voted to protect McCarthy from removal, including U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin's 6th District.

Florida U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who led the group of eight Republicans who voted for McCarthy's removal, said the former speaker has not fulfilled his promises to conservatives, citing McCarthy's decision to work with Democrats on a short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.

Speaking with Wisconsin Public Radio's "The Morning Show" on Friday, Grothman said he believes the vote was solely due to a personal conflict between the Congress members. "Nobody in Washington believes that Matt Gaetz is doing this because McCarthy talked to Democrats," Grothman told "The Morning Show."

"He's doing it because he, on a personal level, does not like Kevin McCarthy." Grothman said the GOP majority in Congress wants to keep the federal government funded, in part because he believes a shutdown would hurt Republicans politically.

The House is now at a standstill until a new speaker is elected. Grothman told "The Morning Show" that the Republicans who ousted McCarthy "have no plan B." "They have no particular idea who was going to wind up replacing him," Grothman said.

"In addition to the outlandishness of tossing out McCarthy, if you're going to do something that dramatic, you better know what's going to happen afterwards. And they had no idea, they hadn't thought about it at all."

Grothman told WPR that he is looking for the next House speaker to be able to bring the Republican party together despite increasing divisions. While he praised McCarthy's record in the position, Grothman said he believes the former speaker paid too much attention to the far-right Freedom Caucus.

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