Members of the House of Representatives removed Kevin McCarthy from his position as speaker Tuesday by a vote of 216-210. The motion’s sponsor Rep. Matt Gaetz along with 7 other Republicans and 212 Democrats voted to remove the speaker. This was the first time in history that a speaker of the house has been removed from office.
After days of tension surrounding an Sept. 30 stopgap spending bill passed to avert a government shutdown, some conservative Republicans protested McCarthy’s alleged broken promises and acceptance of high government spending in the bill. The stopgap spending bill supplies funds for the government until Nov. 17, after which the government could shut down again unless a new spending bill is passed.
[Related: Congress passes stopgap spending bill to avoid government shutdown]
The vote also comes after McCarthy’s original fierce standoff for the speakership in January—14 votes had failed in five days until a final successful vote Jan. 7 after many rounds of negotiations.
Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry has been selected as the temporary Speaker of the House. It is not clear who will become speaker next or when they will be elected, and McCarthy said he will not run again.
[Related: Former IU student found guilty on four charges related to Jan. 6 insurrection]
The Republican defectors were Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eli Crane of Arizona, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Bob Good of Virgina, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Matt Rosendale of Montana.
No more votes are scheduled for the house this week.
