Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) delivered a blunt assessment of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) after the far-right Florida congressman revealed his plot to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the leadership role.
Gaetz told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that he planned to seek to remove McCarthy from the position after McCarthy worked with Democrats to narrowly avoid a shutdown of the federal government at the weekend.
Gaetz led the right-wing group of House Republicans who opposed McCarthy’s bid for the speaksership in the first place. McCarthy required 15 votes to finally land the gig.
Pelosi, talking to Tapper after his conversation with Gaetz, told the CNN anchor that he was “wasting your time on that guy.”
Gaetz “has no sway” in the House “except to get on TV and to raise money on the internet,” Pelosi continued.
McCarthy, asked by CBS’ Margaret Brennan about Gaetz’s mission to depose him, responded: “I’ll survive.”
Watch the interview here: