Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) slammed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and seven other Republicans on Sunday, saying they caused the U.S. Congress to be paralyzed as war breaks out in the Middle East.

McCarthy made the remarks during an interview with Kristen Welker on NBC News’ “Meet The Press” on Sunday when asked about the ongoing drama in the House — which has not had a speaker for three weeks after the group of Republicans joined Democrats and voted to oust McCarthy.

The seven other Republicans included Andy Biggs (AZ), Ken Buck (CO), Eli Crane (AZ), Bob Good (VA), Matt Rosendale (MT), Tim Burchett (TN), and Nancy Mace (SC).

“What do you say to Americans who look at this chaos and believe it’s a sign that Republicans cannot govern?” Welker asked.

“Well, that’s embarrassing,” McCarthy responded. “And you’ve got to understand why we are here. Eight Republicans, led by Gaetz, have created this chaos by joining every single Democrat in voting to shut down one branch of government.”

McCarthy said he would do the same thing again by keeping the government open because of all the world events going on right now.

“Could you imagine if we were having this discussion right now with the American government shut down, with our troops in the Middle East wondering when they’ll ever get paid again?” he said. “Keeping the government open was the right decision to make. And I’d make it again, each and every day.”

“Unfortunately, the chaos has continued,” McCarthy continued while speaking about the conference’s inability to pick a new speaker. “We need to solve this problem. We’ve got a wide-open Southern border. We’ve got crushing inflation. We’ve got war in the Middle East. This is not a moment in time to play around with learning on the job. We need someone who understands how to do this job.”

McCarthy took another shot at Gaetz a few moments later, saying that Gaetz decided to oust McCarthy because he had a personal vendetta against him over a House investigation into him that was started in the last Congress.

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The chief of a prominent technology conference called Web Summit resigned from his position after criticizing Israel‘s war on Hamas in response to terrorist attacks earlier this month.

Irish entrepreneur Paddy Cosgrove reportedly stepped down as CEO on Saturday after a series of sponsors and speakers withdrew from Web Summit’s annual gathering this year.

“Unfortunately, my personal comments have become a distraction from the event, and our team, our sponsors, our startups and the people who attend,” Cosgrove said in a statement. “I sincerely apologise again for any hurt I have caused.”

Cosgrove drew controversy after he posted to X critiquing Israel’s offensive against Hamas that began after the group’s terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7 that killed an estimated 1,400-plus people, calling attention to the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip who have been caught in the middle of the conflict.

“I’m shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland’s government, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are,” Cosgrove said on October 15.

He faced criticism for the post. One response came from former PayPal and Facebook executive David Marcus.

“Saddened by your ill-informed stance. You could’ve taken a more nuanced one, condemning these atrocities and calling for restraint. That would’ve been acceptable. You chose to support terrorists. As such I’ll never attend/sponsor/speak at any of your events again,” Marcus said.

Cosgrove issued other statements to X, including a lengthy post that explained, “What Hamas did is outrageous and disgusting. It is by every measure an act of monstrous evil. Israel has a right to defend itself, but it does not, as I have already stated, have a right to break international law.” He later posted on October 16, “To repeat: War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies & should be called out for what they are. I will not relent.”

The next day, he issued an apology that was published on his Web Summit blog.

“I understand that what I said, the timing of what I said, and the way it has been presented has caused profound hurt to many,” Cosgrove said. “To anyone who was hurt by my words, I apologise deeply. What is needed at this time is compassion, and I did not convey that. My aim is and always has been to strive for peace. Ultimately, I hope with all my heart that this can be achieved.”

But over the past few days, a number of major participants had dropped out of Web Summit’s 2023 event with Intel, Google, and Meta among them. Siemens, a German company, told Insider it was withdrawing as a sponsor after assessing “recent developments surrounding Web Summit.”

With Cosgrove’s exit, a spokesperson for Web Summit said a new CEO would be appointed and that its annual event next month in Lisbon, Portugal, would go on as planned, according to the Associated Press.