Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives on January 7th, 2023. Just nine months later, he was ousted by the most extreme members of his own party and all 208 Democratic House Representatives. McCarthy’s departure as Speaker was a historic one, with the California Republican becoming the first Speaker to be removed in American history.
In order for McCarthy to receive the gavel in the first place, he had to make major concessions to the right-wing members of his caucus, most notably agreeing that only one member is necessary to file a motion to vacate the chair or request a vote to get rid of him. After 15 long rounds of voting, McCarthy finally won the reluctant support of most Republicans and the gavel. However, fast forward to October 1st, with hours left to avoid a government shutdown that all but essential government workers without pay until reopened, McCarthy struck a deal with House Democrats on a bill that would include upwards of $16 billion in additional funding for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, crucial to assistance for flooded areas of New York and Hawaii reeling from their large-scale fires. Cutting a deal with the Democrats to keep the government open, though, turned out to be the deal breaker for Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who swiftly utilized the power McCarthy conceded in January against the Speaker on Tuesday, October 3rd. Shocking his conference and the rest of the country, McCarthy decided to take the motion to the floor or have a vote, immediately after Gaetz’s motion, leaving him with no time to bargain with Democrats to keep his job.
According to multiple sources, McCarthy expected Democrats to help him keep his job considering he worked with them on their bipartisan bill to keep the government open. But Democrats had other ideas; after nine months of being stripped from committees, having bills and motions denied by McCarthy, as well as opening a baseless impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, they unanimously voted to send him packing along with just eight Republicans, enough to defeat him 216-210. But McCarthy refused to go away quietly; he instructed speaker pro tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) to remove preceding Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her second office so that McCarthy himself could move in, while Pelosi was away mourning the death of her friend, late Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA). He, additionally, called out the Democrats for “betraying him,” and the far-right for “dictating the speakership,” and noting that it “wasn’t a good thing”.
House Republicans caught in chaos must choose their next leader, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), and Jim Jordan (R-OH), the latter of which is endorsed by Donald Trump, as the most likely candidates. Scalise, known as a moderate Republican, is popular amongst the majority of the Republican caucus, but the farther-right Jordan has enough support from hardline conservatives to cause a rift, and the Trump endorsement could prove significant. Regardless, McCarthy’s departure as Speaker is a perfect example of the battles within the Republican Party which is currently being divided deeply by just eight members of their own.
This article also appears in our October 2023 print edition.
