U.S Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) had to be restrained when he confronted Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on the House floor.
The heated moment occurred Friday night, after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to secure a majority in the 14th consecutive House speaker vote. The first round of voting took place on Tuesday and was followed by days of painstaking negotiations, as Gaetz and a number of GOP representatives—including Andy Biggs of Arizona and Lauren Boebert of Colorado—refused to cast their support behind McCarthy.
Tensions reached new heights following the 14th round, which left McCarthy just one vote short of the speakership. McCarthy subsequently approached Gaetz on the floor and had an animated conversation, which included some finger pointing. Moments later, Rogers was seen confronting Gaetz while surrounded by fellow congress members. The Alabama lawmaker then appeared to lunge toward Gaetz before he was restrained by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), who then placed his hand over Rogers’ mouth.
“Mike Rogers lost his temper and was basically going to, you know, put his hands on Matt,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) told Fox News. “And it was actually Richard Hudson — grabbed Mike Rogers from behind and pulled him away. So yeah, that was completely out of line. And then I’m sure it’ll be dealt with.”
McCarthy claimed victory on the 15th speaker ballot in the early hours of Saturday. He pulled this off after the remaining GOP holdouts agreed to vote present, lowering the number of votes needed to secure speakership. McCarthy ultimately earned 216 votes.
“That was easy, huh?” McCarthy said during his first speech as the newly elected House speaker. “I never thought we’d get up here.”
