Former House speaker floats idea of removing Gaetz from House GOP caucus, committees

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., floated the idea of removing GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida from the House Republican Conference.

Gingrich wrote Sunday that he thinks expelling Gaetz fully from the lower chamber would be a step too far.

However, Gingrich said booting Gaetz from the House GOP conference and his committee assignments may be more of a ‘rational response.’

‘The effort to expel Matt Gaetz for being a destructive, irresponsible anti-Republican may be a step too far,’ Gingrich wrote on X, formerly Twitter. ‘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,’ Gingrich continued.

Fox News Digital reached out to Gaetz’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

According to the House Republican Conference rules set for the 118th Congress, it takes a two-thirds vote to expel a GOP member from the conference.

As for committee assignments, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is free to remove Gaetz from select and conference committees – such as the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence – but standing committees, like the House Judiciary Committee, are a different animal altogether.

To remove a member from a standing committee, the House is required to vote on a resolution for removal – like when ‘Squad’ Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee in February of this year.

Gingrich’s tweet comes as Republican members of the House look to expel Gaetz from the lower chamber amid his renewed threat to pursue a motion to vacate McCarthy.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., blasted efforts to oust McCarthy on Sunday, saying the move would be a ‘disaster’ for congressional Republicans.

Graham made the statement during an appearance on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ with host Margaret Brennan. Graham endorsed McCarthy as the ‘right guy’ for the job and said he only faces opposition from a handful of House Republicans.

‘I think Kevin is the right guy at the right time,’ Graham said. ‘The only way he loses his job is if a handful of Republicans join up with the Democratic Party to fire him.’

‘That would be a disaster for the future of the Republican Party. That’s not gonna happen. Kevin has the overwhelming confidence of his membership, he worked to avoid a shutdown. He will fund Ukraine, but he’s telling everybody in the country, including me, you better send something over for the border for me to help Ukraine, and he’s right to make that demand.’

Graham is the latest of a flurry of lawmakers to weigh in on a potential bid to oust McCarthy from the speakership. Gaetz vowed on Sunday to file a motion to vacate against McCarthy sometime this week.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed reporting.