"Former" House Speaker McCarthy

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GOP conservatives shutter House to protest McCarthy-Biden debt deal, setting up next budget brawl

WASHINGTON (AP) — In fallout from the debt ceiling deal, Speaker Kevin McCarthy is suddenly confronting a new threat to his power as angry hard-right conservatives bring the House chamber to a halt, reviving their displeasure over the compromise struck with President Joe Biden and demanding deeper spending cuts ahead.

https://apnews.com/article/house-republicans-speaker-mccarthy-gas-stoves-efe22cb525349daf704828ad777b403e?

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House GOP tensions erupt as standoff hamstrings agenda

Frustrations from establishment House Republicans spilled out into the open on Wednesday after right-wing lawmakers succeeded in blocking nearly a week’s worth of House votes.

https://www.axios.com/2023/06/07/house-gop-mccarthy-freedom-caucus-rebels?

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McCarthy's squeeze

The House GOP's structural problems are colliding all at once, with rank-and-file Republicans bewildered on how things will get back to normal.

Why it matters: House GOP rebels have embraced a tactic that broke 20 years of tradition and lets them hold the floor hostage.

• This has sparked concerns about the optics of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ability to control his conference, with multiple sources referring to the situation as an “embarrassment” for leadership.
• One Republican told Axios that McCarthy is trying to “solve one side of the Rubik's Cube” without addressing the macro problem.

The big picture: While conservative hardliners are in agreement that they want to renegotiate parts of the speakership deal, they haven’t publicly said what they want changed.

• That's led to some moderates, furious at the House Freedom Caucus, threaten to embrace the rebels' tactic to shove their own bills to the front of the line.

The other side: McCarthy has now survived multiple short-term crises, including a 15-ballot speakership vote and a debt ceiling negotiation that looked hopeless at some points.

• One GOP source noted that McCarthy has voiced that he will need the entire conference involved in talks as they look to address upcoming issues including investigations, reauthorizations of the Farm Bill and FISA and appropriations.
• Multiple Republicans noted that tensions are running high after seven consecutive weeks of session, likening the current mood of the conference to a “long family road trip” where cooler heads are likely to prevail after a break.

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Speaker McCarthy supports expunging Trump’s impeachments over Ukraine and Jan. 6

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Friday he supports the idea of expunging the two impeachments of Donald Trump as hard-right Republican allies of the former president introduce a pair of proposals to declare it as though the historic charges never happened.

https://apnews.com/article/mccarthy-trump-impeachment-greene-stefanik-expunge-0a8466e34566ad7ff94c95642884952c?

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McCarthy: Don't underestimate me

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is facing his first major test since hardline GOP rebels ground the House floor to a halt last month in protest of his handling of the debt ceiling negotiations.

Why it matters: Whether — and how — McCarthy successfully shepherds the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act through the House will dictate the next phase of his speakership.

• Up to this point, McCarthy's tenure has been broadly dominated by two conflicting dynamics: Predictions of his demise at the hands of conservative rabble-rousers and an uncanny knack for defying his doubters.
• McCarthy advised critics not to underestimate him today as a potential crisis brewed over the NDAA, telling reporters: "This just seems like another week in Congress. I’ll get through it, we’ll figure it out as we go."

Driving the news: Right-wing Republicans are demanding votes on a range of controversial amendments to the massive defense policy bill, which has passed with bipartisan support every year for the past six decades.

• Many of the amendments take on culture war issues that have become a cornerstone of the GOP agenda, including diversity programs and funding for gender-affirming care at the Pentagon.
• One key demand is an amendment to block a Pentagon policy reimbursing service members who travel to get an abortion — a vote that could endanger vulnerable Republicans that McCarthy wants to protect.
• The House Rules Committee began meeting this afternoon to decide which of the more than 1,500 amendments filed by lawmakers should receive a vote.

Between the lines: While the House Armed Services Committee advanced the NDAA with broad bipartisan support, several of the proposed floor amendments could cost the bill Democratic votes — potentially imperiling final passage.

Behind the scenes: McCarthy this afternoon summoned representatives from every ideological faction of the GOP conference to discuss how to stave off future rebellions.

• Multiple lawmakers told Axios that while the NDAA fight is important, they believe the bigger threat to McCarthy's standing as speaker will be appropriations.
• McCarthy previously had suggested that Congress would pass 12 separate appropriations bills — a process demanded by members of the Freedom Caucus — but today hinted he may have to go a different route.

What to watch: Three GOP lawmakers told Axios they believe a government shutdown in October — the result if Congress doesn't pass the appropriations bills or a continuing resolution — is more likely than not.

Share this story.

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Kevin McCarthy Cedes Speakership to the Far Right Once Again

Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave in to conservatives on the annual defense policy bill. Not only did he expose his members to controversial votes, but he may still not pass the bill.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/kevin-mccarthy-cedes-speakership-to-the-far-right-once-again?

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McCarthy's winning streak

One of the defining skills of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) tenure is his ability to identify issues that divide moderate Democrats from their more progressive counterparts.

Why it matters: On issues ranging from crime, immigration, energy policy, COVID-19 mandates and, most recently, Israel, McCarthy has brought bills to the floor that win bipartisan support from Republicans and a sizable number of Democrats — while both marginalizing and raising the profile of polarizing progressives.

• McCarthy rose to power in the GOP conference as a political operator, not a policy wonk. He's more attuned to how Republicans can keep the House majority than crafting consequential legislation in a divided Congress.
• While many of these votes are symbolic, they're designed to re-emerge in campaign advertisements against vulnerable Democrats in 2024.

Driving the news: The most recent headache for House Democrats came this week after Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) called Israel "a racist state" during a progressive panel.

• As Democratic leaders quickly criticized her comments (and Jayapal herself backtracked and clarified), Republicans offered a resolution condemning antisemitism and declaring Israel isn't a racist or apartheid state.
• The resolution passed 412-9, with only a small faction of left-wing lawmakers, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), voting against.

The big picture: This has been a familiar pattern on the House floor. The GOP's biggest victory came during the debate over Washington, D.C.'s crime bill, when Republicans worked to overturn the local City Council's less-punitive rewrite of the criminal code.

• Most House Democrats initially opposed the GOP's efforts, with the most vulnerable members divided. But as public outcry over rising D.C. crime ensued, President Biden — who initially signaled he'd veto the GOP legislation — announced he would sign it.
• That paved the way for most Senate Democrats to join with Republicans in their anti-crime efforts.

Zoom in: Republicans also point to several other areas in which they've divided Democrats on issues that resonate with voters.

• Legislation ending the COVID emergency won support from 11 politically vulnerable House Democrats. It then passed the Senate in a 68-23 bipartisan fashion and was signed into law by Biden in April.
• A bill to prohibit the federal government from banning gas stoves won healthy bipartisan support, with 29 House Democrats crossing over to join all House Republicans.
• A symbolic resolution denouncing the horrors of socialism won 109 Democratic supporters, while 86 House Democrats voted against.

Reality check: Republicans have been taking tough political votes too, with McCarthy pressured to placate an empowered right-wing faction of Republicans.

• Democrats point to the GOP amendment to the defense authorization bill that reverses a Pentagon policy paying for service members’ travel to access abortion care. Democrats unanimously opposed the measure, while two House Republicans from Biden districts defected.
• Republicans also split over controversial amendments — backed by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — defunding U.S. efforts to help Ukraine's fight against Russia.
• Internal GOP arguments over spending will likely ramp up pressure on McCarthy this fall, as right-wing members push for deep cuts in appropriations bills.

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⚡ McCarthy floats Biden impeachment

Diagram: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Speaker Kevin McCarthy last night raised the possibility of an "impeachment inquiry" into President Biden and compared him to Richard Nixon, Axios' Andrew Solender reports. Why it matters: McCarthy has dangled impeachment against Biden cabinet officials. But this is the closest he's come to making that threat against the president himself. ? Between the lines: The House isn't ready to vote on Biden's impeachment yet — a move many swing-district moderates wouldn't go for. But McCarthy faces significant pressure from his right flank to go full bore. Last month, the speaker went so far as to kill a right-wing effort to hold a House vote on impeaching Biden over his border policies. ? But McCarthy told Fox News' Sean Hannity on Monday that the House investigation into business dealings by Biden family members "is rising to the level of impeachment inquiry, which provides Congress the strongest power to get the rest of the knowledge and information needed." Citing testimony by IRS whistleblowers to the Oversight Committee, McCarthy said: "This president has also used something we haven't seen since Richard Nixon — used the weaponization of government to benefit his family." The other side: Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte, in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), offered to make U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who led the investigation into Hunter Biden, available for testimony. Read the letter. Watch the video ...

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McCarthy's can of worms

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has thrilled hardline Republicans with his new threat to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

• Now comes the hard part: following through.

Why it matters: McCarthy knows there are massive risks to impeaching Biden, especially if the exercise appears purely partisan: "I think the country doesn’t like impeachment used for political purposes at all," McCarthy told Punchbowl News last October, before he became speaker.

• The majority that the GOP won in the following month's midterms ended up being far smaller than many expected, salvaged by 18 Republicans elected in districts Biden won in 2020.
• Those vulnerable "majority-makers" — who pushed back against calls to impeach Biden for his family's business dealings after the election — are now at risk of being drowned out by the right-wing Republicans propping up McCarthy's speakership.

Driving the news: McCarthy doubled down today after floating an impeachment inquiry on Fox News last night, telling reporters that initiating the process would give investigators "the apex of the power of Congress" to gather information.

• Two IRS whistleblowers testified last week that Justice Department officials interfered in the investigation of Hunter Biden. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also released an internal FBI document containing unverified allegations of a foreign bribery scheme involving the Bidens.
• "We're watching this administration use government much like Richard Nixon used [it] by denying us to get the information that we need," McCarthy argued.
• The Justice Department yesterday offered to make David Weiss, the Trump-appointed prosecutor leading the Hunter Biden investigation, available to testify to Congress after the August recess.

Between the lines: By Republicans' own admission, the investigation into alleged Biden family corruption has yet to uncover specific evidence of wrongdoing by the president himself.

• Republicans are betting that will change next week when former Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer testifies behind closed doors to the House Oversight Committee.
• Archer, who was convicted of fraud in 2018, is expected to testify that Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone during meetings with foreign business partners — potentially undermining the elder Biden's insistence that he has "never spoken" to his son about his business dealings.

Behind the scenes: Some moderate Republicans expressed frustration about McCarthy's move toward an impeachment inquiry, with one lawmaker telling Axios that impeachment talk "is not helpful" in their district.

• "I think he's just trying to keep everyone happy right now and get us through the week," the lawmaker added, pointing to the ugly appropriations fight consuming the House.
• McCarthy, meanwhile, snapped at a reporter who asked him about criticism that he's simply appeasing the right flank of his conference, stating defiantly: "This is about America."

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McCarthy edges back from the brink of a Biden impeachment inquiry

The speaker shifted to suggesting that House GOP investigations might merit one — less than a day after a more direct flirtation on Fox News.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/25/mccarthy-biden-impeachment-inquiry-00108116?

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?️ 1 big thing — Scoop: McCarthy ouster risk

Speaker McCarthy speaks to reporters at the Capitol on July 25. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) must dodge multiple landmines to keep his gavel through brewing internal fights, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports. Why it matters: That makes a government shutdown more likely after a Sept. 30 deadline. McCarthy will be in no position to make a deal with President Biden and Senate Democrats. What's happening: Hard-right Republicans are renewing suggestions that a motion may be called for a floor vote on McCarthy's speakership. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told Axios: "I think it's [motion to vacate] in the back of everybody's mind … t just takes a couple of votes." A single member can call a motion to vacate. Only a few Republicans would have to vote with Democrats to remove McCarthy with a majority vote. ? Between the lines: Some House Republicans are using these threats as leverage to launch an impeachment inquiry against President Biden. "When we get back to Washington [next week], we have got to seize the initiative," Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told conservative radio host Todd Starnes yesterday. "That means forcing votes on impeachment. And if Kevin McCarthy stands in our way, you may not have the job long."

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?️ How Dems could save McCarthy

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a leader of the House's hard right, will detail his grievances with Speaker McCarthy's leadership in a floor speech at noon today.

• But as Gaetz publicly floats a plan to team up with Democrats to remove McCarthy, some House Dems say they're not interested, Axios' Andrew Solender and Juliegrace Brufke report.

Why it matters: A single member can trigger a "motion to vacate" vote. But actually removing the speaker requires a majority of the House — and would likely need substantial support from Democrats.

? By the numbers: McCarthy's allies say he can likely count on most of the Republican conference to support him.

• That would leave insurgents needing as many as 200 Democratic votes — nearly the whole caucus — to boot McCarthy.

"Most of us came here to govern and get things done, not indulge Matt Gaetz when he has one of his tantrums," Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) told Axios.

• Another House D (R-Fla.), a leader of the House's hard right, will detail his grievances with Speaker McCarthy's leadershi in a floor speech at noon today.s, and who might take his place."

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McCarthy vs. himself

Eleven days ago, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) pledged he would only launch an impeachment inquiry into President Biden with a vote on the House floor — "not through a declaration by one person."

• Today, McCarthy stood alone at a lectern and declared that three GOP-led committees would begin a formal impeachment inquiry, at his sole direction.

Why it matters: For most observers, it's a U-turn of epic proportions. For McCarthy, it's an uncomfortable flip-flop that protects vulnerable Republicans from a difficult vote while allowing him to fight another day as speaker.

State of play: The August recess revealed that Republicans do not have the votes to authorize an impeachment inquiry, with a handful of GOP lawmakers expressing skepticism about the evidence against Biden uncovered so far.

• McCarthy clearly calculated the claims of hypocrisy he now faces would be more tolerable than the growing pressure from the GOP's impeachment-hungry hardliners, who could threaten to oust him.
• By moving existing Republican investigations under the umbrella of an impeachment inquiry, McCarthy is betting he can placate the right and focus on a more immediate crisis: averting a government shutdown at the end of the month.

Screenshot of McCarthy's tweet during the 2019 impeachment debate.

Flashback: Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) decision to open an impeachment inquiry without a vote was at the center of House Republicans' defense of former President Trump in 2019.

• The Trump administration refused to cooperate with what it called an "illegitimate" investigation. The Justice Department even issued an opinion finding that the House's subpoenas did not carry the extra weight bestowed by an impeachment inquiry.
• That could quickly become a problem for today's Republicans: As recently as Sunday, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) stressed that a formal resolution is what allows the courts to "understand that the House is engaged in a fundamental constitutional activity."

What they're saying: Caught in the hallway by reporters, McCarthy blamed Pelosi for changing the precedent and said he warned her about the consequences at the time.

• McCarthy did not explain why his position changed in the past 11 days, but the Biden campaign quickly seized on his U-turn to emphasize he did not have the support of his entire GOP conference.
• Given that House Democrats eventually held a floor vote for the public phase of their inquiry in October 2019, today's GOP holdouts are likely to face a significant pressure campaign in the coming weeks.

The bottom line: McCarthy has governed by the seat of his pants for much of his tenure. This latest chapter may be his boldest gamble yet.

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? Gaetz vows daily threat

One sign McCarthy will never fully please his right flank: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) took to the House floor today and laid out a scenario of starting "every single day in Congress with the prayer, the pledge and the motion to vacate."

Why it matters: A motion to vacate triggers a vote that would allow the speaker to be removed by a majority of the House, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports.

• Gaetz — who would likely need as many as 200 Democrats for his effort to succeed — argued McCarthy has not met the terms of the deal he struck with 20 conservative critics to secure the speaker's gavel in January.
• "It's put up or shut up time not just for McCarthy but for the 20, because if we aren't serious about bringing him into compliance with the deal, then we were never really serious about the deal in the first place," he said.

What to watch: Gaetz warned that a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown on Sept. 30 would be an "automatic trigger" for a motion to vacate.

Keep reading

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McCarthy's crumbling house of cards

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

House Republicans have fallen into a state of paralyzed chaos on their second day back from recess, with no obvious exit ramp in a government spending fight of their own creation. Why it matters: On the first night of the House speaker election — after hard-right rebels denied Kevin McCarthy the gavel on three consecutive ballots — we led this a newsletter with a piece headlined, "The ungovernable House GOP." Eight months later, that sentiment has never rung more true. Consider these four developments: The House was forced to cancel a vote today on advancing funding for the Pentagon — typically viewed as the least controversial appropriations bill — after Freedom Caucus Republicans rebelled over spending levels. Another typically uncontroversial appropriations bill funding agriculture has been scrapped entirely over an internal GOP debate about abortion policy, pitting moderates against conservatives. McCarthy's announcement of an impeachment inquiry into President Biden — which he bet would mollify conservatives itching for a government shutdown — appears to have backfired, with some Republicans trashing it as a "distraction." GOP leadership now is advocating for a short-term continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown on Sept. 30. But if McCarthy puts such a bill on the floor, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has vowed to trigger daily votes to oust him as speaker. The big picture: At the core of McCarthy's concessions to conservative rebels was an agreement to vote on all 12 appropriations bills individually, rather than continue the tradition of passing a massive "omnibus" each year. The trouble is that the fractious GOP conference can't even agree what each of those bills should look like, leading to a multi-car pileup that has drawn more attention to the party's divisions. The Senate, meanwhile, is chugging along with its own appropriations bills, voting 85-12 yesterday to open debate on a package combining funding for several agencies. Between the lines: "The more dysfunctional the House is, the more it empowers the Senate to determine what becomes law," tweeted Liam Donovan, a GOP consultant who closely tracks the House's right-wing bomb-throwers. If the Freedom Caucus truly opposed an omnibus, Donovan suggested, members would support whatever appropriations bills could get 218 votes to pass. "In reality, failure is preferable to incremental victory because it validates" their view that both the Republican and Democratic establishment are corrupt and content with the status quo, Donovan said. The bottom line: Throughout his speakership, McCarthy has consistently defied skeptics by averting a catastrophic debt default, passing key messaging bills and keeping his right flank at bay with the promise of radical change. The fragile house of cards he's built — piling ever higher with each new concession — is now on the verge of crashing down.

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Angry and frustrated, McCarthy challenges right-flank colleagues to try to oust him from his post

WASHINGTON (AP) — Angry, frustrated and unable to lead a fractured and unruly Republican majority, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday told the colleagues threatening to oust him: Do it.

https://apnews.com/article/speaker-mccarthy-profanity-shutdown-biden-impeachment-3ec12e37d00004b1e84b3d3db3237863?

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?️ Plotting McCarthy replacement

On the brink of a government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, discussions about who could replace Speaker McCarthy are emerging:

• Multiple GOP sources question whether he'll make it until December, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports from the Capitol.

Why it matters: Some House GOP members — including McCarthy allies — want a contingency plan to avoid another grueling speaker vote if Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-Fla.) threatened motion to vacate were to succeed.

Recruiting a viable "unity speaker" will be very difficult.

• Two GOP lawmakers noted that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) would be the natural successor. A caretaker speaker could bide time while Scalise undergoes cancer treatment ahead of the new Congress.

A slew of names have been floated, including Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), House Rules Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.), House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).

• Emmer is cited as a potential favorite in a Washington Post front-pager today. Emmer denied interest. Cole also demurred.
• One lawmaker said Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) was approached multiple times about being a potential replacement, but declined interest.

The other side: McCarthy allies argue that no other member can garner the support to get the gavel.

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?️ McCarthy's weekend from hell

Speaker Kevin McCarthy lacks an easy path to funding the government that wouldn't put his leadership position in jeopardy.

• Lawmakers are growing increasingly exasperated as Congress barrels toward a shutdown at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports.

Why it matters: McCarthy is stuck between moderates who fear a shutdown will cost them their seats — and conservative hardliners who threaten to take his gavel unless the House passes spending cuts that would be dead on arrival in the Senate.

• Keep reading.

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Rep. Matt Gaetz is threatening to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy. It won’t be easy On Sunday, the far-right Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz threatened to use a procedural tool — called a motion to vacate — to try and strip McCarthy of his office as soon as this week after he relied on Democrats to provide the necessary votes to fund the government. Read more.

Why this matters: The rules of the House allow for any single lawmaker to make a “motion to vacate the chair,” a rare and strong procedural tool that has only been used twice in the past century. In recent years, conservatives have wielded the motion as a weapon against their leaders, though no speaker has ever been removed from office through a motion to vacate.   Gaetz is among 20 or so members who voted against McCarthy round after round as he fought to become speaker. While others eventually relented and voted in favor of McCarthy or present, Gaetz fought until the very end.   If a motion to vacate effort against McCarthy were to pass the full House, an individual from a list written by the speaker would act as speaker pro tempore and their first order of business would be to hold an election for a new speaker. That event requires the House to vote as many times as it takes for a candidate to receive the majority vote. For McCarthy, that process took an unprecedented 15 rounds in January.

Related coverage ➤  Gaetz says he will seek to oust McCarthy as speaker this week. ‘Bring it on,’ McCarthy says Government shutdown averted with little time to spare as Biden signs funding before midnight

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?️ Pugnacious McCarthy

Speaker Kevin McCarthy has spent a cumulative six hours talking to the Capitol press corps since the House returned on Sept. 12, according to a tally by his office.

• Why it matters: I'm told McCarthy will keep an aggressive but not angry posture this week as he fights off an imminent threat to his gavel.

"I'll survive," McCarthy said nonchalantly to Margaret Brennan on CBS' "Face the Nation" — just after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) vowed on CNN to force a vote this week to try to oust McCarthy. "This is personal with Matt."

• On avoiding a shutdown when this weekend's stopgap expires Nov. 17 (six days before Thanksgiving), McCarthy said: "We're not going to surrender to the Senate. We passed what the American people want."

? The intrigue: On CNN's "State of the Union," Tapper told Gaetz: "I have seen personal communications between you and other people in which you blame McCarthy for your ethics investigation."

• Gaetz didn't deny that but said: "I have tens of millions of Americans who stand with me."

? What's next: Gaetz would likely need the vast majority of Democrats to vote with him to boot McCarthy. But many Dems aren't on board, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.

• Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), a member of the Progressive Caucus, said McCarthy "did the right thing … and I'll definitely vote not to vacate. I expect a good number of Democrats will as well."

Keep reading.

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Rep. Matt Gaetz files resolution to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing an extraordinary referendum on his leadership of the House of Representatives after a conservative member of his own conference, a longtime critic, moved to trigger a vote on whether he should remain at the helm.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2023/10/02/rep-matt-gaetz-files-resolution-to-oust-kevin-mccarthy-as-speaker-of-the-house/?

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? McCarthy showdown begins

Screenshot via X

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) filed his highly anticipated "motion to vacate" against Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tonight, triggering a vote on whether to oust him within the next two legislative days, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke reports. Why it matters: No speaker has ever been removed by a motion to vacate, which can be triggered by a single member but requires a majority of the House to succeed. The House has only voted on a motion to vacate one time — in 1910. What they're saying: "I have enough Republicans where at this point next week one of two things will happen," Gaetz told reporters after introducing the resolution. "Kevin McCarthy won't be the speaker of the House or he'll be the speaker of the House working at the pleasure of the Democrats, and I'm at peace with either result because the American people deserve to know who governs them." "If Democrats want to own Kevin McCarthy, they can have him," he added. The backdrop: Conservative hardliners are fuming about McCarthy's decision to rely on Democratic votes to avert a government shutdown, triggering a potential rebellion against his leadership. McCarthy has projected calm so far, casting Gaetz's effort to oust him as a personal feud and calling it destructive "to the institution." The top three members of Republican leadership — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota and conference chair Elise Stefanik of New York — all issued statements of support for McCarthy today. What to watch: McCarthy is expected to need Democrats to remain speaker. House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has yet to disclose leadership's plans, telling reporters that McCarthy had not reached out to him. The far-right House Freedom Caucus appears to be divided on the issue, with several members criticizing the timing of Gaetz's motion.

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Rep. Matt Gaetz files motion to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, throwing House into new turmoil Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing an extraordinary referendum on his leadership of the House after a conservative member of his own Republican majority, a longtime critic, moved to launch a vote to oust him from the helm. Read more.

Why this matters:  Late Monday, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., rose as the House was almost done for the day to file the motion — a resolution that would set a snap vote in coming days that even Gaetz acknowledged may not have enough support to remove the speaker from the job.   It’s a historic moment: the first time in more than 100 years that a lawmaker may force a vote using the legislative tool that has been threatened against other House speakers but never fully employed to try to remove them.   The bold strike to confront McCarthy carries potentially dire ramifications if enough lawmakers decide to remove him, but also for Gaetz if it fizzles out. It also puts on stark display the warring factions that have roiled the Republican majority this year in the House and beyond.

Related coverage ➤ Congress didn’t include funds for Ukraine in its spending bill. How will that affect the war? Rep. Jamaal Bowman triggered a fire alarm in a House office building amid voting on a funding bill

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McCarthy becomes the first speaker ever to be ousted from the job in a House vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown — a first in U.S. history, forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and throwing the House and its Republican leadership into chaos.

https://apnews.com/article/mccarthy-gaetz-speaker-motion-to-vacate-congress-327e294a39f8de079ef5e4abfb1fa555?

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Inside McCarthy's fall

The House made history by voting to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post, setting up another grueling speaker election without a clear successor.

• No speaker before McCarthy had ever been removed.

Why it matters: The 216-210 vote could create an unprecedented stalemate in the House, Axios' Juliegrace Brufke writes.

• McCarthy's election in January took the most ballots of any speaker election since before the Civil War. Since then, Republicans have struggled to maintain a functioning majority for moving legislation.

? Zoom in: Conservative firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced the motion to vacate yesterday, with eight Republicans joining him in his efforts to fire McCarthy.

• Democrats opted against saving the speaker. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said it's "now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War."

Gaetz, who has long had a contentious relationship with McCarthy, threatened to introduce the motion for weeks if the California Republican allowed a continuing resolution to stop a government shutdown to come to the floor.

• Gaetz argued McCarthy broke the terms of the agreement he struck with conservatives in January to obtain the gavel.
• Only a handful of Republicans were needed to successfully remove McCarthy due to the GOP's narrow majority.

Flashback: A motion to vacate has only been attempted one other time in the chamber's history.

• Speaker Joseph Cannon, a Republican from Illinois, defeated a vote against him in 1910.

? What's next: House business will essentially come to a halt until Republicans gather enough votes to elect a speaker.

• McCarthy told reporters today that he has no plans to step aside, signaling he might run again.
• Other names floated include House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and Reps. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) and Mike Johnson (R-La.).