Former House Speaker John Boehner has made a shocking suggestion regarding GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz after emerging from a period of relative political silence. The GOP have long been uncomfortable with Gaetz for his frequent incendiary proclamations and outlandish behavior, and now Boehner has floated the idea of removing Gaetz from any House GOP caucus committees.
Boehner first made the suggestion on Twitter in response to news that the House Ethics Committee had launched an investigation into allegations of misconduct and other related matters against Gaetz. The gag order issued to certain members of the committee precludes any public discussion of the inquiry, so less than 24 hours after the announcement Boehner warned about “cleaning [the GOP] from within” and allowing the Ethics Committee to proceed without interference.
The idea of removing Gaetz from any committee position would be entirely unprecedented, and even Boehner acknowledged the difficulty of such a move. Removing Gaetz from his leadership roles at the House Freedom Caucus and the Republican Study Committee would require both internal consensus and a vote of the whole House. A change of this magnitude within a party caucus would usually take months of negotiation and consensus building, but in this case it appears the former speaker wants to expedite the process.
Though some members of the party have spoken out in support of the suggestion, others have expressed skepticism and concern that it signals a greater power struggle between the conservative and more moderate factions of the GOP. The move reflects a larger shift towards a party that is not only politically conservative, but also more united in its willingness to confront those individuals who could cause harm or embarrassment to the party.
It remains to be seen what action (if any) the House will take on this proposed initiative. The suggestion has certainly shed new light on the complexities of party politics, and how far leaders are willing to go in order to protect their rank-and-file members from the disruptive behavior of certain members. It is unlikely, though, that such a drastic move would be successful without the unified support of the House GOP caucus, and it remains to be seen if that can be achieved. Whatever the outcome, the suggestion is a stark reminder of the power of former Speaker John Boehner and his willingness to openly challenge the status quo.
