Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his leadership role, an unprecedented move that plunged the chamber into chaos and sets up a showdown among congressional Republicans
The vote was the first of its kind in 113 years – and the first to succeed in U.S. history. The final vote was 216-210.
"The office of Speaker of the House of the United States House of Representatives is hereby declared vacant," declared Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack, who presided over the House.
Far-right Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a motion to remove McCarthy from his leadership post on Monday, just days after Congress passed an 11th-hour bill to fund the government at current spending levels for 45 days.
Seven GOP lawmakers joined Gaetz and every present Democrat to vote to oust McCarthy from his role: Reps. Andy Biggs, Ariz., Ken Buck, R-Colo., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Eli Crane, R-Ariz., Bob Good, R-Va., Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.
The move grinds the House of Representatives to a halt; lawmakers will not meet again until Oct. 10, which could prove problematic against a Nov. 17 government funding deadline and amid other imminent priorities, including voting on aid for Ukraine.
McCarthy told his fellow Republicans on Tuesday after the vote that he will not seek the speaker's gavel again, a surprising move that leaves the top spot in the House – and the role third in line for the presidency – wide open.
At a press conference Tuesday evening, McCarthy said he had no regrets about the actions that led to his ouster.
"I don't regret standing up for choosing governance over grievance," the California Republican said. "It is my responsibility, it is my job. I do not regret negotiating. Our government is designed to find compromise. I don't regret my efforts to build coalitions and find solutions. I was raised to solve problems, not create them."
“I may have lost this vote today, but as I walk out of this chamber I feel fortunate to have served," he said. “I wouldn't change a thing.”
On the subject of the government funding bill passed over the weekend, McCarthy said he knew it might cost him his job from far-right Republicans, but he "felt very comfortable in that decision and I think the American public believe that decision was right."
"I could not look the troops in the eye and say I would not pay them," he added.
Gaetz, after McCarthy's ouster, called McCarthy a "creature of the swamp" – a reference to former President Donald Trump's calls to "drain the swamp" of Washington by removing the influence of lobbyists and special interests.
"[McCarthy] has risen to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing that money in exchange for favors," Gaetz said of the California Republican. "We are breaking the fever and we should elect a speaker who is better."
McCarthy, at his news conference, said he believed the Florida Republican's action was "personal."
"You all know Matt Gaetz, you know it was personal," he told the gathered press. "It had nothing to do about spending ... Everything he accused somebody of, he was doing. It all was about getting attention from you."
In a social media post after the vote, Mace explained that her vote to remove McCarthy was "about trust and keeping your word."
"The Speaker has not lived up to his word on how the House would operate," Mace wrote on X, slamming McCarthy over the budget and government funding process, as well as "no action on many issues we care about and were promised," like "women’s issues and legislation to keep our communities safe."
"With the current Speaker, this chaos will continue. We need a fresh start so we can get back to the people’s business free of these distractions," the South Carolina Republican added. "I’ll work with anyone willing to do that and look forward to voting for a Speaker who shares this vision for changing Congress and getting us back on a path todelivering results for the people."
"I've made deals with the Speaker that he has not kept to help woman in this country, and we have done nothing for them," she told reporters. "When you shake my hand and you make a promise and don’t keep it, there are consequences to those actions."
"Nancy Mace is a whole other story," McCarthy said, noting that the South Carolina Republican's chief of staff said that he kept his promises to her.
After the vote, North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, who went from once being considered a "bomb thrower" in Congress to becoming one of McCarthy's handpicked deputies negotiating on the debt limit agreement earlier this year, assumed the role of interim speaker until a new one can be picked. He recessed the House so lawmakers can discuss a path forward. (When asked in January if he ever wanted to be speaker, McHenry gave Spectrum News a simple answer: "No.")
McCarthy, who was met after the vote with a long line of lawmakers looking to offer hugs, handshakes and heartfelt condolences, retreated from the chamber without spealing to reporters.
The move paralyzes the House floor until a new speaker can be chosen, meaning that no other business in the chamber can be conducted until a new leader is picked.
Who that person will be is far from clear. Gaetz has frequently mentioned House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., as a pick he favors, but the Louisiana Republican has thus far publically stood by McCarthy and is currently undergoing treatment for blood cancer.
Directly following Tuesday’s vote, Gaetz reiterated to reporters his support of Scalise for the role and said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., would “make a great speaker.” Emmer has also stood by McCarthy.
Burchett, in an interview on CNN after the vote said both Scalise and Emmer would be “excellent choices.”
Asked if the House would have a new speaker by tonight, Burchett responded: “I have no earthly idea.”
McCarthy can continue to run for his old job but will need enough GOP support to regain the gavel, meaning he would have to flip some of those who voted to oust him Tuesday if all Democrats remained united against him.
McCarthy assumed the speaker's gavel after 15 rounds of voting in January, the most needed to pick the House speaker since 1923. As part of an agreement with House Republicans before he was elected speaker in January, McCarthy agreed to allow a single member of the chamber to make a motion to remove him as speaker, with which Gaetz has repeatedly threatened McCarthy.
The California Republican had one of the shortest tenures as House speaker in U.S. history, behind Michael C. Kerr, who held the post for roughly eight months before dying of consumption in 1876.
News about McCarthy reverberated throughout the halls of Congress and even sparked reactions from 2024 presidential candidates.
"Chaos is never America's strength and it's never a friend of American families that are struggling," said Vice President Mike Pence, a 2024 GOP hopeful. "I'm deeply disappointed that a handful of Republicans have partnered with Democrats to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House."
"This is really embarrassing for the United States of America," said Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy in a video posted to social media, saying it will delay efforts to fund the government and provide Ukraine with additional aid. "This makes us look so weak and foolish around the world, and nobody should be rooting for this circus."
"This wouldn’t have happened under Speaker Pelosi and won’t happen under Speaker Jeffries," wrote Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that President Joe Biden "hopes the House will quickly elect a Speaker."
"The American people deserve leadership that puts the issues affecting their lives front and center, as President Biden did today with more historic action to lower prescription drug prices. Once the House has met their responsibility to elect a Speaker, he looks forward to working together with them and with the Senate to address the American peoples’ priorities," she said.