MCCARTHY REMOVED AS HOUSE SPEAKER

On Oct. 3, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his position, marking the first time a speaker has been ousted in U.S. history. The historic bipartisan vote ended 216-210, with 8 Republicans joining all 208 Democrats in attendance to vote “yea” on the motion to vacate the speakership.

This ordeal came in the immediate aftermath of narrowly avoiding a federal government shutdown, due to McCarthy bargaining with Democrats to pass a stopgap spending bill.

His actions drew the disdain of the far-right Republicans who wished not to make any compromise with the Democratic party. Fellow GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of the Freedom Caucus was the one who set into action the removal motion. According to the Florida congressman, he motioned to remove the speaker due to a complete lack of trust.

On the House floor, Gaetz testified that “Chaos is Speaker McCarthy. Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word.

“The one thing that the White House, House Democrats, and many of us on the conservative side of the Republican caucus would argue is that the thing we have in common? Kevin McCarthy said something to all of us at one point or another that he didn’t really mean and never intended to live up to,” said Gaetz.

House Democrats have largely aligned themselves with Gaetz’s position that McCarthy’s word could not be trusted, with many citing his public criticism of them. In an interview with CBS News mere hours after averting the shutdown, the former speaker claimed that “the Democrats tried to do everything they can not to let [the spending bill] pass,” despite the fact that the bill was bipartisan.

Additionally, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged his party to vote against McCarthy, reasoning that Democrats simply had no reason to bail out the California congressman. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shared the same sentiment, posting as such on X, formerly Twitter.

So, now that the speakership is vacated, who will be the next speaker?

Democrats are fully united in voting for Hakeem Jeffries as the speaker, just as they were during McCarthy’s (difficult) election last January. However, without a Democratic majority in the House, Jeffries has virtually zero chance of actually becoming speaker.

On the Republican side, no clear candidate for speaker has emerged. Immediately following McCarthy’s ouster, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana became the favorite to become speaker. However, he struggled to consolidate support within his party and promptly withdrew from the race before a single round of voting.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was the next Republican candidate, despite being less popular than Scalise within his party. On Oct. 17, a full House vote on Jordan’s nomination won him only 200 votes, short of the necessary 217 votes, with 20 Republicans voting against him. During a second vote the next day, Jordan fared even worse, receiving fewer votes – just 199 votes, with 22 Republicans voting against him.

By Thursday afternoon (Advocate press time), Jordan had removed himself from further consideration – and then quickly reconsidered, adding to the confusion.

No one knows when a new speaker will be elected, given the divide within the Republican party. Without a speaker, the House will be unable to fully function for the time being, which has several implications – including ability to send aid to confront the Israel-Hamas or Russia-Ukraine wars.

Second, the threat of a total federal government shutdown still looms. The spending bill the House passed in September to avert the shutdown is only a temporary solution that lasts through Nov. 17.

If the speaker’s seat remains vacant or if a long-term spending bill is not passed in time due to the turmoil in Congress, then the country may face yet another shutdown.