Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) responded to a tweet by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich criticizing Florida U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL-01) “suicidal efforts to cripple the House GOP.”
Stay in your lane. https://t.co/f1wMo3POFV
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) October 2, 2023
“The effort to expel Matt Gaetz for being a destructive, irresponsible anti-Republican may be a step too far,” Gingrich tweeted on Sunday. “Expulsion from the House requires a two thirds vote. However expelling him from the House Republican Conference and eliminating all his committee assignments and all resources other than those an individual member is entitled to would be a rational response to his suicidal efforts to cripple the House GOP.”
Replying to Gingrich’s tweet, Burchett wrote, “Stay in your lane.”
Gingrich’s tweet came on the same day Fox News reported some House Republicans are seeking to expel Gaetz amid his threat to pursue a motion to vacate House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20).
While appearing on CNN over the weekend, Gaetz said he intends to file a motion to vacate this week.
“Speaker McCarthy made an agreement with House conservatives in January, and since then he’s been in brazen, repeated material breach of that agreement,” Gaetz said. “This agreement that he made with Democrats to really blow past a lot of the spending guardrails we set up is a last straw.”
“I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week. I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that will be trustworthy,” Gaetz added.
While some Republicans allegedly support expelling Gaetz, others have announced their support for the Florida congressman, including Georgia U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14).
On Twitter, Greene said that while she does not agree with Gaetz’s motion to vacate, “a Republican-led effort to expel Matt Gaetz absolutely will not be tolerated by Republicans across the country.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Image “Rep Tim Burchett” by Rep Tim Burchett.
