The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his leadership role, marking the first time in history the highest-ranking member of the House has been removed.
House members moved to remove McCarthy (R-CA) from the position in a 216-210 vote — with eight Republicans joining all present Democrats. Some hours after the vote, McCarthy said he would not seek to regain the speakership, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) introduced the measure to vacate the speakership over accusations that McCarthy failed to deliver on promises to Republican lawmakers.
“Chaos is Speaker McCarthy,” Gaetz said, per Reuters. “Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word.”
There is no clear replacement option for the speakership, however, Gaetz floated Reps. Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Steve Scalise (R-LA), according to Forbes.
“I don’t have a shortlist, I honestly don’t,” Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) said, per the WSJ. “There’s a lot of really qualified individuals that are certainly capable of being the speaker.”
He said that the next speaker must have the trust of the conference, adding, “[T]hat is what Kevin has lost; that’s why he’s not the speaker anymore.”
Before the ouster, McCarthy’s allies touted his conservative record, while Gaetz claimed the Republican majority had failed to deliver for the American people. Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) accused Gaetz of using the vote as a fundraising ploy as he pointed at his phone to an email from the Florida congressman’s team. Members began to chant “shame.”
“Using official actions to make money, it’s disgusting,” Graves said, according to Fox News.
“When it comes to how those raise money, I take no lecture on asking patriotic Americans to weigh in and contribute to this fight from those who would grovel and bend [the] knee for the lobbyists and special interests who own our leadership,” Gaetz responded.
McCarthy struggled in January to gain the speakership under the new Republican majority. It took a historic 15 rounds of voting.
The ousting of McCarthy as speaker comes as Congress attempts to rally a spending plan for the government to avoid a shutdown in November. Over the weekend, the House passed a short-term spending bill to the ire of some Freedom Caucus Republicans, many of whom voted to vacate the speakership on Tuesday.
“This is a distraction from what we should be focusing on, which is the appropriations process,” said Main Street Caucus Vice Chair Stephanie Bice (R-OK), per Fox News. “This is all about Matt Gaetz. It’s not about Kevin McCarthy. Matt Gaetz is using the American people as pawns in his narcissistic game of charades.”
The Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy included Gaetz, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ), Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Rosendale.
Lawmakers are not expected to vote on a new speaker until next Wednesday, however, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) has assumed the position of speaker pro tempore.