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Nancy Pelosi had critical words for CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Sunday after he spent a segment of his show interviewing Rep. Matt Gaetz, during which he asked the Florida Republican if he was planning on making good on a threat to file a motion to vacate House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s chair.
The California Democrat, herself a twice-serving Speaker, admonished Tapper for providing Gaetz with air time, claiming that he has no support among members of the House and arguing that he was more interested in self-promotion.
“You’re wasting your time on that guy because he has no sway in the House of Representatives, except to get on TV and raise money on the internet,” she told Tapper in an appearance on Sunday after the Gaetz interview, during which he said he planned to file his motion to vacate this week.
The Hill added:
The motion sets up a decision for Democrats, who could save McCarthy by voting for him, or possibly by voting present. The motion is likely to succeed if Democrats vote against McCarthy, since Republicans have such a slim majority in the House.
Pelosi did not say how she plans on voting, but she said Democrats should take their cue from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
“My advice to my fellow Democrats is simple: Follow the leader,” she told Tapper.
She also claimed that tax-cutting Republicans during former President Donald Trump’s term raised the national debt more than President Joe Biden or other presidents, including then-President Barack Obama, which CNN fact-checked as patently false.
Earlier, Gaetz told Tapper that he did plan to file his motion, but he wasn’t certain that it would succeed because he said he believes that Democrats would help bail McCarthy out.
Here’s a partial transcript:
CNN ANCHOR JAKE TAPPER: So, you have been threatening to topple McCarthy, issue a motion to vacate the speakership, if he worked with Democrats to fund the government with a clean C.R., a clean government spending bill, which is exactly what he did on Friday and Saturday.
The House gavels back in tomorrow at noon. Are you going to make a motion to vacate?
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Speaker McCarthy made an agreement with House conservatives in January. And, since then, he has been in brazen, repeated material breach of that agreement.
This agreement that he made with Democrats to really blow past a lot of the spending guardrails we had set up is a last straw. And then, overnight, I learned that Kevin McCarthy had a secret deal with Democrats on Ukraine.
So, as he was baiting Republicans to vote for a continuing resolution without Ukraine money, saying that we were going to jam the Senate on Ukraine, he then turns around and makes a secret deal.
So, I do intend…
TAPPER: So, motion to vacate tomorrow?
GAETZ: I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week.
TAPPER: This week.
GAETZ: I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy.
Earlier this year, McCarthy agreed to release over 40,000 hours of unseen footage from the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier this year. Now, pressure is mounting on the Speaker over the Jan. 6 tapes because he gave Carlson access to the footage earlier this year.
McCarthy promised to give the public and media access to the tapes after his team reviewed all of the footage to address any potential security concerns.
Gaetz is now upping the ante and vowed to compel McCarthy to release unredacted tapes from the Capitol insurrection.
Before a crowd outside the DC Central Detention Facility, Gaetz expressed regret for the inmates “having to endure this two-tiered justice system.”
After taking a shot at McCarthy, he argued that it is “critically important” for the full, unredacted security tapes to be made public.
“I think that is dishonest, particularly to people who have borne the brunt of this two-tiered justice system. And I just wanted to come down here to say from my heart how much I appreciate those who are holding vigil and that I am committing to you directly that I am going to work to get these J6 tapes released if Kevin McCarthy wants to keep his job,” Gaetz said.
