Kevin McCarthy Removed As Speaker Of The House
Kevin McCarthy was forced to relinquish his role as the speaker of the United States House of Representatives following a 216 to 210 vote on Oct. 3.
The news follows Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz’s threat to remove McCarthy from office.
Tensions mounted as the Senate pushed back on proposals by far-right Republicans for steep budget cuts.
As the possibility of a government shutdown loomed, McCarthy found himself between a rock and a hard place—he would either stand firm with his party or strike a deal with Democrats for the sake of keeping the government running.
He chose the latter, supporting a 45-day funding bill that increases federal disaster assistance by $16 billion but withholds assistance to Ukraine.
North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry has stepped in as the speaker pro tempore and called for a recess to determine who will fill McCarthy’s vacancy.
This marks the first time a House speaker has been voted out of office. Past speakers have stepped down after losing backing from their parties.
McCarthy took office when the House shifted from Democratic to Republican majority in January. He succeeded Nancy Pelosi and lasted 269 days, the third shortest speakership in history.
Interestingly enough, McCarthy’s removal happened shortly after he directed the House committee to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden’s foreign business affairs.
The timing of the 58-year-old’s ouster seems peculiar like a plan to shift attention from Biden’s investigation onto the Republican party.
An article published by CNN on Oct. 12 titled “Americans’ views of the Republican Party and its congressional leaders have worsened amid the House leadership crisis” explains how the public’s negative view of the Republican party has risen from 45 percent to 52 percent since December of 2022.
The New York Times posted a story on Oct. 5, “To the World, McCarthy’s Exit Is Just Another Example of U.S. Disarray,” highlighting how the House’s situation adds to the controversy and instability that has characterized the US political system in recent years.
Another factor in McCarthy being ousted was friction between the former speaker and Gaetz since January, when the Florida representative led a group of Republicans in a call to action for right-wing policies to be prioritized in the House.
Last month was also not the first time that McCarthy yielded Republican goals for the sake of moving forward in the House. In May, he compromised with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling after the U.S. hit its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit in January.
At the end of the day, McCarthy’s removal from the House was a result of mounting pressures within the Republican party, but the circumstances surrounding his exit are worth noting.
