The Speaker of the House has been removed for the first time in American history. On Tuesday afternoon the House voted to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership, making him the third shortest-serving House Speaker in American history. Democrats and eight Republicans voted together, resulting in a 216-210 decision to remove him from the speaker’s position.
“This is unprecedented. The House has never before voted to oust a speaker. The House has not voted on declaring the speakership vacant since 1910. That time, it failed,” Philip Rocco, associate professor of political science, wrote in an email.
When McCarthy was elected this past spring, he made several promises to House Republicans that the Freedom Caucus believe were broken. One of the rules he agreed to after over a dozen rounds of voting on speaker was that he would allow any member of his caucus to motion to vacate the chair. That rule was triggered Monday when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) introduced a motion to vacate McCarthy as Speaker.
“This is one illustration of how a united minority party in the House, in this case the Democrats, can alter the course of events by sticking together,” Rocco wrote in the email.
The ousting of the speaker comes at a crucial time when the government is set to vote on a spending package for the upcoming year. Last Saturday, the House passed a last-minute agreement to fund the government until Nov. 17, which the president signed. If no bill is passed by both chambers after that date, the federal government will shut down.
“This event shows the depth of the divisions within the Republican House Caucus right now, and it’s probably anyone’s guess what happens next,” Julia Azari, professor of political science, wrote in an email.
In alignment with House processes, Rep. Patrick McHenry will be the Pro Tempor speaker until a new speaker is voted upon, but there is no clear choice for McCarthy’s replacement yet. McCarthy has said to his conference that he will not run for the speakership again. The Republican conference intends to have a candidate presentation and discussion next Tuesday after McHenry reconvenes the House. Until then, the House will no longer be in session.
This story was written by Uzair Qhavi and Sophia Tiedge. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].
