Chaos Erupts in Congress as Kevin McCarthy Removed from House Speaker Role

The US Congress has been thrown into disarray as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his position by Republican extremists, setting the stage for a tumultuous intraparty struggle leading up to next year’s elections.

In a historic move, McCarthy, who recently collaborated with Democrats to avert a government shutdown, faced a rebellion led by a faction of far-right colleagues unhappy with his actions.

This marks the first time in US history that a House Speaker has been removed through a vote against them, leaving Congress in a state of paralysis with only about 40 days to prevent another potential government shutdown in mid-November.

Following the vote, McCarthy defended his decisions, stating, “I wouldn’t change a thing” and referencing Ronald Reagan’s advice about principles and freedom.

The ouster marks the first test of the new “motion to vacate” rule implemented by McCarthy in January to secure enough support to become Speaker. This rule made it easier for far-right rebels in his own party to remove him by reducing the number of votes required.

Despite McCarthy’s efforts to appease the right-wing of his party, the motion to oust him was introduced by Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump.

Gaetz criticized McCarthy’s reliance on Democrats to pass a last-minute stopgap bill to prevent a government shutdown, and alleged that McCarthy had made a secret deal with Democrats regarding funding for Ukraine, a stance opposed by Gaetz and other Republicans.

The move drew commentary from Trump, who questioned why Republicans were fighting among themselves instead of focusing on Democrats.

Patrick McHenry, chief deputy whip and an ally of McCarthy, is temporarily serving as the Speaker until the Republican Party decides on a replacement.

Although McCarthy could have thwarted the challenge with enough Democratic support, it became evident early on that this was unlikely to happen.

Democrats argued that the responsibility to resolve the issue lay with the Republicans, urging them to distance themselves from extremists within their ranks. They pointed to McCarthy’s launch of an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, his failure to uphold a bipartisan deal on the debt ceiling, and his continued support for Trump after the January 6 Capitol attack as reasons for concern.

McCarthy remained optimistic before the vote but ultimately could not afford to lose more than a few Republican votes to retain his position.

In the end, the motion to vacate him succeeded, with eight Republicans siding with Democrats. This internal turmoil within the Republican Party follows Congress’s recent passage of a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown.

The bill will keep agencies funded at current levels until mid-November, giving Congress more time to work on a longer-term solution. However, the events of Tuesday have left the House in a state of uncertainty.