Matt Gaetz says he'll resign from Congress if the Democratic Party changes tack and elects a moderate Republican for speaker

• Matt Gaetz says he's sure House Dems won't break ranks and vote in a moderate Republican as speaker.
• Gaetz told the Fox News host Laura Ingraham he would resign in that scenario.

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said Thursday he's certain that House Democrats would not change tack and elect a moderate Republican for speaker — and if they did, he'd resign.

Gaetz was speaking with the Fox News host Laura Ingraham and was asked about the possibility of Democratic representatives breaking ranks. Ingraham earlier Thursday night said on her show that there may be a scenario in which the Democratic Party helped elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy or another Republican so that "both parties share power on the committees."

Gaetz disagreed with her hypothesis.

"I'm on the floor, Laura. These 212 Democrats are going to vote for Hakeem Jeffries every single time," Gaetz told Ingraham. "He is a historic candidate for them. They are not going to cleave off under any circumstance. I assure you of that.

"If Democrats join up to elect a moderate Republican, I will resign from the House of Representatives. That is how certain I am. I can assure your viewers: That won't happen," Gaetz added.

—JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) January 6, 2023

The Florida congressman was referring to House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who will become the first Black congressional party leader when he's sworn in. Jeffries secured all 212 votes from his party for the 11 speakership ballots held as of Thursday.

McCarthy is vying for the speakership but has failed 11 consecutive times to secure the 218 votes needed. McCarthy now needs to convince the 20 hard-line GOP members — dubbed "Never Kevins," a crew of congresspeople blocking his speakership bid — that he's the man for the job.

Gaetz might have some cause for confidence. On Tuesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was spotted speaking with Gaetz on the House floor. The Democratic congresswoman told The Intercept that during that conversation, she assured Gaetz that her party would not help McCarthy get the votes he needed.

"McCarthy was suggesting he could get Dems to walk away to lower his threshold," Ocasio-Cortez told The Intercept of her conversation with Gaetz. "And I fact-checked and said absolutely not."

Gaetz is a prominent figure in the "Never Kevin" movement. Before the first speakership vote Tuesday, he delivered a scathing rebuke of the California congressman.

"If you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge of the exercise," Gaetz said. "I'm a Florida man and I know of what I speak."

The Florida congressman has also been trolling McCarthy and mocking him for his consistent failures. On Tuesday, Gaetz posted on Twitter a letter to J. Brett Blanton, the architect of the Capitol, asking why McCarthy was allowed to work from the speaker's suite despite not yet landing the job.

"What is the basis in law, House rule, or precedent to allow someone who has placed second in three successive speaker elections to occupy the Speaker of the House Office?" Gaetz wrote in his letter. "How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?"

Gaetz has over the past three days consistently voted to block McCarthy from securing the speakership. On Thursday, Gaetz voted for former President Donald Trump to be speaker, even after McCarthy made significant concessions to the "Never Kevin" camp.

Representatives for Gaetz and McCarthy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.