A Trump supporter elected official introduces a motion to impeach the Republican leader in the House

On Monday, the elected official from the extreme American right, Matt Gaetz, submitted a proposal to impeach the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.

This procedural maneuver, which has rarely been used in the history of the US Parliament, comes in the wake of Congress’ adoption last Saturday of a temporary budget for the administration, which many conservatives opposed.

The proposal by Matt Gaetz, an elected official from Florida, is likely to lead to a showdown in the coming days in the House.

“Go on!” Mr. McCarthy immediately responded in a defiant tone, in a message on X (formerly Twitter).

Mr. Gaetz, who is very close to Donald Trump, accuses Kevin McCarthy of striking a “secret agreement” with President Joe Biden on a possible package for Ukraine, in the middle of budget negotiations.

France Press agency

However, the right wing of the Republican Party strongly opposes releasing additional funds to Kiev, believing that the money should instead be used to fight the migration crisis at the US-Mexico border.

This group has de facto veto power in the House of Representatives over a large number of files due to the very small Republican majority in this institution.

Kevin McCarthy, the 58-year-old Speaker of Parliament, was forcefully elected last January, thanks to this very slim majority.

To get into office, he had to make massive compromises with about two dozen Trump supporters, including the possibility that any elected official would have the ability to call a vote to remove him.

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This fratricidal initiative was expected: Mr. McCarthy, who was elected at the expense of many negotiations with Trump supporters, said on Saturday that he knew he was risking his seat.

“You know, if I have to risk my position to defend the American people, I will do it,” he asserted.

Adoption of this proposal requires the approval of the majority in the House of Representatives.

In order to keep his seat, the Republican Speaker of the House may have to rely on Democratic votes. However, for the latter, nothing has been determined. Discussions are underway across Joe Biden’s party to determine whether or not Kevin McCarthy is worth bailing out.