It was one of the most rambunctious scenes to unfold on the floor of the House of Representatives in modern history.
In the 14th round of voting to elect a new speaker of the House on Jan. 6, 2023, Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama appeared to lunge toward his fellow Republican, then-Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. In an apparent attempt to restrain his colleague and avoid a televised fight in the middle of a congressional session, a third GOP lawmaker — Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina — clawed at Rogers’ face, holding him back.
New details on the confrontation — which came late at night, after more than a dozen failed votes in the most protracted and divisive House speaker election in decades — are recounted in a book by John Leganski. The longtime congressional aide managed the House floor for the man who was eventually elected speaker, Kevin McCarthy.
Gaetz was the chief agitator among a group of six far-right Republicans intent on keeping McCarthy from the gavel. Over the course of four days, the holdouts forced vote after vote while demanding that McCarthy make various concessions.
Earlier in the day on Jan. 6, Gaetz had demanded he be named chair of a subcommittee on the Armed Services Committee. Rogers was in line to chair the armed services panel.
Rebuffed, Gaetz suggested allowing members to leave for the weekend and reconvene after that. Aware that passing time can allow new problems to arise, McCarthy’s team refused.
In the moments leading up to the altercation with Rogers, Gaetz voted “present” on the 14th ballot for speaker at around 11 p.m. McCarthy urged Gaetz to help him over the finish line so members could get home to their personal obligations, suggesting their colleagues were missing family and health emergencies.
“I don’t think you understand,” Gaetz said, blaming McCarthy’s staff for failing to delay subsequent voting until Monday, according to Leganski. “That does not concern me whatsoever. Personal appeals have no effect on me.”
As Gaetz yelled back and forth with McCarthy’s top floor lieutenant about the scheduling of the vote, Rogers approached Gaetz.
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“Matt, I won’t forget this,” he yelled. “You hear me?”
It was at that instant that Hudson grabbed Rogers, and still photographers captured the remarkable scene.
In the aftermath, Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana wept, and Rep. Morgan Luttrell of Texas stared at Gaetz while reciting the Rosary. Meanwhile, McCarthy’s allies were already strategizing, hoping a seasoned Democrat, such as Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, would be moved enough by the drama on the floor to side with Republicans and push McCarthy through.
As a vote to adjourn neared, Gaetz walked to McCarthy. “We’re good,” he said. “We’ll do it tonight.”
Later that night, McCarthy was elected speaker.
Gaetz offered his forgiveness to Rogers two days later, and Rogers apologized in a post on X, writing that he “briefly lost [his] temper.”
CBS News has reached out to Gaetz and Rogers for comment.
McCarthy became speaker after Republicans won control of the House in the 2022 midterms. But with a narrow majority, his time in the role was volatile — and short-lived. In October 2023, less than nine months after McCarthy was first elected, the House voted to remove him as speaker, with Gaetz leading the charge again.
The conversations on the House floor in January 2023 offer a view into the inner workings of and petty feuds in Congress that are seldom seen by the public.
The book “Glory, Grief, and the Gavel”is written by Leganski, who worked his way up in McCarthy’s office from intern to deputy chief of staff for floor operations over the course of a decade. He was a top adviser to McCarthy in his quest to become speaker and sat by his side for the final tally of the 15th vote that won McCarthy the gavel.
In the book, Leganski offers a rare, unfettered account of what goes into becoming speaker of the House, and takes digs at enemies. Due to be released Tuesday, it was obtained early by CBS News.
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