Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., interrupted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s interview on CNN during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday evening.
“This is a more united Republican Party,” said McCarthy to anchor Kaitlan Collins on the convention floor before Gaetz, a political rival, disrupted the interview.
In a video, McCarthy seemed to discuss his removal as speaker when Gaetz suddenly appeared in the frame.
“What night are you speaking? Are you speaking tonight?” Gaetz mockingly asked.
McCarthy continued to speak to Collins, ignoring Gaetz’s taunts and referring to the ethics complaint against Gaetz over alleged involvement with a 17-year-old.
“If you took that stage you would get booed off of it,” Gaetz added.
When questioned about the incident on NBC News Now, McCarthy said, “I think it shows exactly who Matt Gaetz is.”
Gaetz has long been a contentious figure within the Republican Party and played a significant role in McCarthy’s ouster as speaker, questioning his adherence to conservative principles.
In October, Gaetz filed a “motion to vacate” against McCarthy, accusing him of poor leadership, cooperating with Democrats, and abandoning conservative values. The House voted 216-210 in favor of the motion, marking the first time in U.S. history a sitting speaker was removed this way.
“We’re concerned about the future of the conservative agenda in the House,” Gaetz said at the time. “I would say that the conservative agenda was being paralyzed by Speaker McCarthy.”
McCarthy named the coalition that joined Democrats in removing him “The Gaetz Eight.”
“What Matt Gaetz did has broken the Republican majority. He’s now created ‘Lord of the Flies.’ Ask anybody inside our conference; they actually know it,” McCarthy stated.
Two months after being ousted as U.S. Speaker of the House, McCarthy announced plans to resign by December 2023.
The House Ethics Committee announced in June it was investigating allegations that Gaetz “engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.”
Gaetz has faced a lengthy House investigation, initiated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in early 2021 over reports of his relationship with an underage girl. The DOJ decided not to charge Gaetz in 2023.
Gaetz denies all allegations, according to the committee.