5 October 2023
Kevin McCarthy was axed Tuesday as speaker of the US House of Representatives in a brutal, historic rebellion by far-right Republicans furious at his cooperation with Democrats.
The maneuver laid bare the chaotic levels of infighting among Republicans heading to the 2024 presidential election almost certainly led by Donald Trump.
The first ouster of a speaker in the House’s 234-year history was supported by only a handful of right-wing Republican hardliners.
However, the House is almost evenly divided and with Democrats joining eight rebel Republicans rather than riding to McCarthy’s rescue, he had no way to survive.
The 58-year-old former entrepreneur — who did not comment as he left the chamber — had sparked fury among conservatives when he passed a bipartisan stopgap funding measure at the weekend backed by the White House to avert a government shutdown.
Florida conservative Matt Gaetz, who forced the removal vote, gambled that he could oust McCarthy with just a few Republicans, helped by Democrats loath to bail out a speaker who only recently opened a highly politicized impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Republicans were warned by their leadership about plunging the party “into chaos” but Gaetz, who has repeatedly complained about McCarthy failing to honor agreements made with conservatives, retorted: “Chaos is Speaker McCarthy.”
“The reason Kevin McCarthy went down today is because nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy,” he added after the vote. “Kevin McCarthy has made multiple contradictory promises, and when they all came due, he lost.”
Democrats, too, had no love for McCarthy, pointing to his decision to renege on a deal with Biden on spending limits agreed earlier this year in high-stakes talks over the federal budget.
With McCarthy out, a temporary speaker put the House into recess until a permanent replacement is elected.
Republicans will gather at 6:30 pm (2230 GMT) to discuss putting up a candidate for a vote to be the new speaker.
