On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois and Rep. Matt Gaetz squared off for the second round in their dispute over who should serve as Speaker of the House.
In January, Bost, a Republican representing Illinois‘ 12th District, which includes parts of the metro-east in southwestern Illinois, vocally objected when Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, was delivering a speech opposing Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, as the Speaker.
Bost’s tendency to passionately voice his opinions during legislative meetings was not a new occurrence. In his previous role as a state representative, he once threw papers and passionately criticized the then-Illinois Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan.
While McCarthy briefly held the position of Speaker in January, he was later removed from the role on October 3 when Gaetz and seven other Republicans refused to support him. The Republicans, who hold a 221-212 majority in the House, held a private meeting to select a new Speaker after Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, failed to secure enough votes in two consecutive attempts this week.
During this closed meeting, an incident involving Bost and Gaetz took place, raising questions about what exactly occurred. The Daily Mail reported that Bost allegedly blamed Gaetz for McCarthy’s removal on October 3.
Efforts to contact Bost for a comment on Thursday were unsuccessful. However, Gaetz spoke to reporters after the meeting and was asked if Bost had made a physical gesture toward him. Gaetz described the encounter as follows: “I think he was quite animated. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a lunge,” as per a YouTube video posted by Forbes Breaking News. The Daily Mail quoted Gaetz as stating that Bost had apologized to him.
There were two points of agreement between Bost and Gaetz on Thursday. First, they both opposed giving additional powers to the temporary speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-North Carolina, until January. Second, they expressed support for Jim Jordan as the Speaker. Bost conveyed his support for Jordan on X (formerly known as Twitter) with the statement: “I support #JordanForSpeaker. If he brings another vote to the House floor today, I’ll vote for him again. What I don’t support is a plan to extend short-term powers to a temporary Speaker.”
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