At a closed-door meeting with Republicans in the basement of the Capitol on Wednesday night, Speaker Kevin McCarthy pitched what he thought could finally be a breakthrough in a spending dispute with right-wing rebels that had left the House in a state of paralysis, staring down a disastrous shutdown with no way to move forward.
Then Representative Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican who months ago emerged as Mr. McCarthy’s chief tormentor, rose to speak.
Mr. Gaetz announced flatly that he had seven members who would oppose any plan to pass a stopgap measure to keep the government from shutting down on Oct. 1, no matter what spending or policy concessions Mr. McCarthy was willing to make to win them over.
The proclamation did not go over well in the room, where even some members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus grumbling in disapproval.
But after the meeting, Mr. McCarthy quietly approached Mr. Gaetz and asked him to share the list of names, which Mr. Gaetz happily turned over.
Persons:
Kevin McCarthy, Matt Gaetz, McCarthy’s, tormentor, Gaetz, McCarthy
Organizations:
Capitol, Florida Republican, Caucus
Locations:
Florida