McCarthy ousted in historic vote to strip him of speakership

For the first time in history, the House voted to oust its speaker from his position on Tuesday when it passed a motion to vacate the chair and stripped Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) of his speakership.

Lawmakers voted 216-210 to remove McCarthy from his position after eight Republicans joined all Democrats in a historic rebuke to GOP leadership, leaving the House at a standstill until lawmakers can elect a new speaker. The vote comes after weeks of threats to McCarthy from members of his right flank, particularly Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who filed the motion on Monday evening.

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The Republicans who voted to oust McCarty include Gaetz and Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Ken Buck (R-CO), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Bob Good (R-VA), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Nancy Mace (R-SC).

The vote was preceded by an hour of debate between centrist Republicans and GOP leaders against Gaetz and hard-line conservatives, during which McCarthy allies criticized the defectors for using their personal “drama” to upend the House.

“Today, this body filled with people in fancy suits, led by a few Republicans who are running with scissors and supported by Democrats who have personal issues with the speaker, have uncertain intentions and even more uncertain goals,” Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) said. “And they’ve decided to make today about drama. Not about solving problems and helping our constituents. But about drama.”

The House will now move forward with appointing a temporary speaker to replace McCarthy, with members set to reconvene at some point to elect a new speaker. The House cannot move forward with its business until a new speaker is chosen, putting spending bills and other legislation on hold until further notice.

The motion to vacate has only been used twice, with the last one coming in 1910. None has previously succeeded. McCarthy made concessions to rank-and-file conservatives during the speakership vote, allowing any single lawmaker (Democratic or Republican) to bring a “motion to vacate the chair.” Before the change, a member would need to get a majority of their party in support of the motion in order to move it forward.

Gaetz made the motion to vacate after accusing McCarthy of making a “back deal” with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution over the weekend to fund the government temporarily, which he says is in direct violation of the speakership agreement brokered in January.

House Democrats held a heavy hand in the vote, with the party voting together as a conference to oust McCarthy. Several party members said ahead of the vote they weren’t interested in helping Republicans sort out their intraparty tensions, and they cited a deep mistrust of McCarthy as part of that decision.

“We’re not here to keep Kevin McCarthy in power. This is their problem,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) said Tuesday prior to the vote.

It’s unclear who GOP defectors will nominate as a replacement, but Rep. Ralph Norman (R-NC) said several names have been floated. When asked how many rounds it could take to elect a new leader, the North Carolina Republican simply said, “A lot.”

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) was named the speaker pro tempore in the interim.

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One GOP member with direct knowledge of the conversations said holdouts have a handful of people in mind, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), and Reps. Mark Green (R-TN), Kevin Hern (R-OK), and Jodey Arrington (R-TX). All of these members voted against the motion to vacate in support of McCarthy.

McCarthy is also expected to throw his hat back in the ring in the speakership election, although it’s unclear whether he’d try to broker a new agreement to win over some of his GOP critics.