Kevin McCarthy Rips Trump’s Selection of Matt Gaetz: ‘There’s No Reason Why That Man Should’ve Ever Been Nominated’

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy got in a few shots at longtime nemesis Matt Gaetz on Monday, saying President-elect Donald Trump never should have nominated the former congressman as attorney general.

Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration a week after Trump nominated him to be the nation’s top law enforcement official. The selection stunned Washington, as Gaetz had been the subject of a Department of Justice probe and a House Ethics Committee investigation examining whether he had sex with a 17-year-old girl and at least one woman he allegedly paid for sex. Gaetz was ultimately not charged by the DOJ and vehemently maintains his innocence.

McCarthy’s feud with Gaetz goes back to at least January 2023, when the latter led a small but vocal contingent of House Republicans who blocked McCarthy’s ascension to the speakership until the 15 ballot. In October of that year, Gaetz filed a motion to vacate the chair, which triggered a vote of the House on whether to remove McCarthy. That effort succeeded after Gaetz, seven other Republicans, and a unanimous Democratic conference voted to remove the speaker. It took the House three weeks to choose a new leader.

The former speaker appeared on Monday’s Jesse Watters Primetime on Fox News, where McCarthy pointed to a poll showing most Americans approve of Trump’s transition decisions.

“At this moment in time, you look at his poll approval of what he’s doing with this new transition he’s bringing, [he] got rid of the problem. Now, he’s in a very good place and the approval’s high.”

Host Jesse Watters then asked about Gaetz, which led to this exchange:

WATTERS: And you’re saying the problem was Matt Gaetz?

MCCARTHY: Well, that’s a fear for all young girls.

WATTERS: Oh, stop it!

MCCARTHY: They need their justice.

WATTERS: You guys hate each other.

MCCARTHY: No, no, no!

WATTERS: We’re gonna have a pay-per-view fight between you two.

MCCARTHY: No, let’s be very honest. There’s no reason why that man should’ve ever been nominated. Those girls need justice and that is not the place for him.

Gaetz has claimed he moved to oust McCarthy because the former speaker broke promises about how the House would conduct legislative business. McCarthy has said that Gaetz asked him to quash the Ethics Committee investigation, which McCarthy refused to do. Earlier this month, McCarthy predicted that Gaetz, who denied making such a demand, would not be confirmed by the Senate. In January, the Daily Beast reported that Gaetz privately told colleagues he moved against McCarthy over the Ethics probe.

Watch above via Fox News.