Lawmakers, weary from days of late-night negotiating, witnessed a tense exchange between Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., during a closed-door meeting with Republicans Thursday morning, according to The Associated Press.

“Gaetz, who has taunted McCarthy for weeks with threats to oust him from his post, confronted the speaker about conservative online influencers being paid to post negative things about him. McCarthy shot back that he wouldn’t waste his time on something like that, Gaetz told reporters as he exited the meeting,” AP reported. “McCarthy’s allies left the meeting fuming about Gaetz’s tactics.”

“I asked him whether or not he was paying those influencers to post negative things about me online,” Gaetz told CNN’s Manu Raju.

“After the exchange, members in the room could be heard complaining about Gaetz, with one member calling him a “scumbag” and another saying “F**k off,” according to a third source in the room,” CNN reported.

“A spokesperson for McCarthy confirmed to Fox News Digital that the speaker “had absolutely no role” in the alleged online campaign, and that “all signs” point to a Democrat-backed company,” Fox News reported.