There’s no love lost between Kevin McCarthy and Matt Gaetz, which the former reminded everyone of Monday night.
On Fox News' Jesse Watters Primetime, McCarthy not only said that there was “no reason” for Donald Trump to select Gaetz for attorney general, but called out the former Florida congressman for the scandal that largely torpedoed his chances.
Regarding Trump’s transition moves, McCarthy first commended the president-elect for getting rid of “the problem.”
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“At this moment in time, you look at his poll approval of what he’s doing with this new transition he’s bringing in—got rid of the problem. Now, he’s in a very good place and the approval is high.”
Watters chimed in. “And you’re saying the problem was Matt Gaetz?” he asked.
“Well,” McCarthy replied, “that’s a fear for all young girls. They need their justice.”
Watters reacted casually: “Oh, stop it. You guys hate each other! We’re going to have a pay-per-view fight between you two.”
“No, no, no,” McCarthy continued. “There is no reason why that man should ever have been picked. Those girls need justice and that’s just not the place for him. He would have stayed in Congress if he cared about that.”
Gaetz resigned from Congress while a House Ethics Committee probe was ongoing. It had been looking into allegations that Gaetz had sex with a minor in 2017 and that he had paid for sex. Gaetz has denied those claims, and a federal investigation didn’t bring charges against him.
Gaetz was largely responsible for McCarthy’s ouster as House Speaker last October after McCarthy revived that ethics probe—something Gaetz is quick to point out on his newly created Cameo profile.
