Matt Gaetz Holds McCarthy's Feet To The Fire, Demands House Withhold His Pay During Government Shutdown

On Tuesday, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has been heading up the fight against a continuing resolution to the frustration of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), requested that his pay be withheld if a government shutdown took place at the beginning of October.

As reported by the Daily Caller, the Florida Republican wrote to Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the U.S. House of Representatives Catherine Szpindor requesting the change to his pay.

“It is my understanding that pursuant to the Constitution, members of Congress will continue to receive their pay during a lapse in appropriations," Gaetz wrote in his letter. "Therefore, I am requesting that in the case of a lapse of appropriations beginning at 12:00 a.m. on October 1, 2023, my pay be withheld until legislation has taken effect to end such lapse in appropriations in its entirety."

Gaetz has been at the forefront of the battle against the status quo funding of the government via continuing resolutions and instead is pushing for separate appropriations bills in order to debate the individual funding priorities rather than funding the entire government via a single vote.

While the Florida firebrand has received pushback from both sides of the aisle, he seems to be sticking to his guns and is willing to fight it out well past the funding deadline of October 1st.

"The only way to stop governing by Continuing Resolution is to stop governing by Continuing Resolution," he wrote on X/Twitter.

Gaetz, as one of the leaders who initially stood against McCarthy's speakership in January, has repeatedly made issue with the leadership of Speaker McCarthy and has attempted to hold him to account for the promises he made to secure the speaker's gavel.

"No vote on Term Limits. No vote on a balanced budget. No plan to have individual appropriations bills considered. No full release of J6 tapes. No spending cut to raise the Debt Limit," Gaetz wrote about the lack of action from the speaker back in August. "Trump has been charged with 91 counts. We haven’t even subpoenaed Hunter Biden - or any Biden for that matter."

"I know it is the tendency of political leaders to self-preen, but the truth is that while some GOP House work has made positive reforms - it isn’t good enough. Not even close, actually," he remarked. "We are going to have to seize the initiative and make some changes."

As the fight for funding the government continues, Americans know that Rep. Matt Gaetz is working to ensure that Speaker McCarthy keeps his promises and that he is willing to personally sacrifice during a potential shutdown. 

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