Kevin McCarthy ousted as US House Speaker amid Republican infighting
04 Oct 2023 09:46am
U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) answers questions at the Capitol after being ousted as House speaker October 3, 2023 in Washington, DC - AFP
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The 216-210 vote came nearly nine months after McCarthy won the position in a dramatic 15-round floor fight, marking the first time in US history that a House speaker has been voted out of office in the middle of a term.
Eight Republicans joined Democrats in voting to remove McCarthy from the speakership, less than one day after hardline Republican Representative Matt Gaetz announced a resolution to remove McCarthy through a process known as "a motion to vacate”, reported Xinhua.
Gaetz and other hardline Republicans had warned for weeks they would move to oust McCarthy from his position as leader of the chamber if McCarthy relied on Democrats to pass funding legislation.
Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat, said in a statement Tuesday that under the Republican majority, the House "has been restructured to empower right-wing extremists, kowtow to their harsh demands and impose a rigid partisan ideology”.
"Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair,” said Jeffries, referring the "Make America Great Again” slogan popularised by Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign.
In a last-minute effort to avert a government shutdown, McCarthy released a stopgap funding bill Saturday morning, which would keep federal agencies funded at current levels until mid-November, and included US$16 billion of funding for disaster relief.
The bill dropped steep spending cuts and border security provisions sought by conservative Republicans, and did not include additional aid for Ukraine sought by Democrats.
The bill was passed by the Senate and House on Saturday, and was signed by President Joe Biden Saturday night, just a few minutes before federal government funding for this fiscal year was set to expire.
McCarthy's proposal came as a surprise, as he had been trying to advance a funding bill with steep spending cuts and border security provisions in attempts to garner support from Republican conservatives.
His decision to put forward the "clean” stopgap funding bill was welcomed by Democrats and the White House, but had upset some Republicans, especially party hardliners in the House.
When asked Saturday what if conservative Republican critics tried to remove him from the speakership over the funding bill, McCarthy told reporters that "If someone wants to remove (me) because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try”.
The House will now need to elect a new speaker, but there is no consensus yet on who might be able to fill the vacancy - BERNAMA
