DeSantis: 'I opposed McCarthy when it wasn't cool'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) weighed in Tuesday on the speakership battle raging on Capitol Hill, noting that he was against Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) "when it wasn't cool" during his time as a congressman. 

"I opposed McCarthy when it wasn't cool years ago," DeSantis told Scripps News. "He's really somebody that Donald Trump has backed and put into that position." 

"And so I think that they've not delivered results," he continued. "I think the contrast between Florida, us delivering results, and what you have in Washington is typically failure theater." 

DeSantis represented Florida in the House from 2013 to 2018 and was a founding member of the conservative Freedom Caucus. 

DeSantis's comments came before the House voted Tuesday evening to remove McCarthy as speaker. A small group of House Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), joined with Democrats to oust McCarthy in a 216-210 vote.

The House voted 218-208 earlier Tuesday afternoon against a motion to table Gaetz’s resolution to oust McCarthy, setting up the vote on whether McCarthy should remain speaker. 

DeSantis did not have praise for the effort to oust McCarthy, instead calling the move "performative."

"Look this whole movement to do this motion, I think a lot of that is performative," DeSantis said. "I think a lot of that is the typical theatrics we're used to seeing. I'm not sure how much thought is going into that, but I can tell you this, our voters want to see results. We're sick of the talk. A lot of these DC Republicans have promised all of these things over the years, and then when it comes time, they don't deliver." 

Tuesday marks the first time the House has ever voted to remove a sitting Speaker. The chamber will be run by an acting Speaker — Speaker pro tempore — chosen from a list designated by McCarthy and shared with the House clerk.