4-10-2023 (WASHINGTON) In a remarkable turn of events, the U.S. Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, marking an unprecedented development in the midst of Republican internal conflicts. This decision followed McCarthy’s reliance on Democratic votes to pass a “clean” stopgap funding bill aimed at averting a federal government shutdown.
The vote, with a count of 216-210, occurred nearly nine months after McCarthy’s initial election to the position in a dramatic 15-round floor battle. This marks the first instance in U.S. history in which a House speaker has been removed from office during their term.
Eight Republicans aligned with Democrats in supporting the motion to remove McCarthy from the speakership. This move transpired less than 24 hours after hardline Republican Representative Matt Gaetz announced his intention to remove McCarthy through a process known as “a motion to vacate.”
Gaetz and other staunch Republicans had issued warnings for weeks, declaring their intent to oust McCarthy as leader of the chamber if he relied on Democratic votes to pass funding legislation.
Hakeem Jeffries, the leading House Democrat, expressed in a statement on Tuesday that during the Republican majority, the House “has been restructured to empower right-wing extremists, acquiesce to their rigorous demands, and impose a strict partisan ideology.”
Given the Republican leadership’s unwillingness to distance itself from the MAGA extremism in a genuine and comprehensive manner, Jeffries declared that House Democratic leadership would vote in favor of the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair, alluding to the “Make America Great Again” slogan popularized by Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign.
In a last-minute effort to avert a government shutdown, McCarthy unveiled a stopgap funding bill on Saturday morning. This legislation aimed to maintain federal agency funding at existing levels until mid-November and included $16 billion in funding for disaster relief.
The bill omitted the significant spending cuts and border security provisions sought by conservative Republicans and did not incorporate additional aid for Ukraine, a priority for Democrats. The Senate and House approved the bill on Saturday, and President Joe Biden signed it on Saturday night, just minutes before the federal government funding for the fiscal year was set to expire.
McCarthy’s decision to present a “clean” stopgap funding bill was unexpected, considering his previous efforts to advance a funding bill featuring sharp spending cuts and border security provisions to secure support from Republican conservatives.
When asked on Saturday about potential efforts by conservative Republican critics to remove him from the speakership due to the funding bill, McCarthy told reporters, “If someone wants to remove (me) because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try.”
The House will now be tasked with selecting a new speaker, although there is currently no consensus on who may fill the position.
