In a recent controversial vote, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted off the job, merely nine months after his victory following a dramatic 15-round floor fight. This is a historic event, as it has never happened before in the history of the United States. The vote ended in a close decision of 216-210 to overthrow the powerful Californian Republican. Floridian Republican Matt Gaetz, the initiator of this vote, had been accusing McCarthy of breaking promises made to conservatives regarding reduced spending. However, many speculate that McCarthy’s ousting wasn’t a purely political attack; rather, it might have been driven by a personal feud between Gaetz and McCarthy that had been simmering ever since McCarthy was voted as Head Speaker.
However, his removal may have been caused by how he was elected. During the election, McCarthy failed to secure the vote on the first ballot, forcing him to make deals with far-right Republicans, including one that allowed any one person to initiate a vote to vacate the speaker. This deal caused the end of McCarthy’s Speakership.
McCarthy also made many other controversial decisions as Speaker, such as angering the Chinese Communist Party by meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. He also sparked the fury of fellow Republicans because he didn’t ask for enough demands in change during a debt-ceiling crisis (the Government needed permission from Congress for more money) and closely worked with President Biden when many members were against him.
This idea of removing McCarthy from the top job was initiated when he struck a controversial deal with the Democrats to avoid an approaching government shutdown for 45 days, which sparked dissent from the far-right Republicans. There were indications that McCarthy’s speakership might end after 90 senators from his party opposed his bill to avoid the shutdown. However, McCarthy obtained the most votes and successfully avoided the incoming shutdown.
To avoid being ousted at the time, McCarthy had to work with Democrats, which the Republicans didn’t like at all, leading to the vacancy of the speaker seat. He also failed to cut a deal with Democrats, leaving both parties against him. On Tuesday, October 3rd, McCarthy announced that he wouldn’t be running for Speaker again, which shocked America. Currently, the Speaker seat is being held by Rep. Patrick McHenry, an ally of McCarthy.
Next in line for the top job were Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise. The GOP hoped to elect a Speaker on Wednesday, October 11th, to prevent more chaos in a Speakerless House. The timing couldn’t be worse. With an incoming government shutdown, a war in Ukraine, and the recent developments in Israel with the Hamas Organization breaching Israeli borders, the military was caught off guard.. McCarthy spoke out, raising questions on why they had to vacate a Speaker during these unstable times.
As long as the United States doesn’t have a Speaker, there will be an abrupt halt in most political activities, such as administering aid and passing resolutions, which could potentially create chaos. There is an even bigger divide in the government now, as many Republicans are against Gaetz and believe he is not a “team player.”
In the end, Steve Scalise won the nomination from the House with a 113-99 Republican vote. Jim Jordan plans to vote for Scalise and encourages many of his supporters to do the same. However, Scalise dropped out of the race due to many not supporting him because of his need to address his blood cancer and his lack of a plausible plan. This led to Jim Jordan being the primary candidate and he hustled to consolidate support.