A Republican lawmaker is suggesting there could have been violence after the vote to strip House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his position.
During an interview on CNN’s “The Lead” Wednesday, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) was asked by host Jake Tapper if he agreed with the interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry’s (R-N.C.) decision to adjourn the House for a week.
“Jake, I’ll be really candid,” Graves responded, adding, “I think if we had stayed together in the meeting last night, I think that you would have seen fists thrown, and I’m not being dramatic when I say that.”
He noted, “There is a lot of raw emotions right now. I think it was best to let folks go back home, decompress a bit, and then come back together.”
Watch the video below:
“If we had stayed together in the meeting last night, I think that you would have seen fists thrown … There is a lot of raw emotions right now.”
— The Recount (@therecount) October 4, 2023
— Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) says he supports the House taking the week to “decompress” before a Speaker vote pic.twitter.com/RSCkBx7U2y
On Tuesday, the House voted 216-210 to remove McCarthy as speaker, and supporters of the California Republican did not hide their anger with the move.
Shortly after the vote, McHenry declared the House in recess and then aggressively slammed the gavel down.
In case you missed it:
The Rep. Patrick McHenry gavel slam …. pic.twitter.com/TV1VGbkT7Y
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) October 3, 2023
Republicans are considering expelling Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) from their caucus in retaliation for leading the effort to oust McCarthy.
Graves is one of the lawmakers who forcefully defended the then-speaker before the vote. During a speech on Tuesday, he lashed out at Gaetz for fundraising off of his efforts to strip McCarthy of his position.