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Related video: The moment McCarthy was fired as Speaker of the House
Article related informationReporters Anthony Zucker and Sam Cabral, BBC NewsReporting from US Capitol
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Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, was dismissed from his position due to a ‘rebellion’ by hardliners in the Republican Party. This is the first time in history that the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has been dismissed by a vote of no confidence.
In the final vote, the dismissal resolution was passed with 216 votes in favor and 210 votes against, and McCarthy, a California congressman, resigned from his position as chairman in a situation where the Republican Party holds the majority in the House of Representatives.
On the 30th (local time), Chairman McCarthy reached an agreement with Democratic senators to provide funding to government agencies, and then hard-line conservative lawmakers revolted.
Currently, the Republican Party does not have a clear candidate for the next Speaker of the House.
Matt Gates, a Florida Republican congressman who is allied with former President Trump, submitted a resolution to dismiss him on the night of the 2nd.
He accused McCarthy of conducting secret negotiations with the White House to continue funding Ukraine, but McCarthy denied this.
Rep. McCarthy held a private meeting with Republican lawmakers on the evening of the 3rd and announced to his fellow lawmakers his intention not to run for re-election as chairman.
He also targeted his political nemesis, Rep. Gates, accusing him of seeking attention.
Representative McCarthy said at a press conference, “This dismissal began with the superintendent and had nothing to do with government spending.”
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Related video: McCarthy-Gates feud… 105 seconds recap
He also said that Gates’ sending fundraising emails amid the infighting was “inappropriate behavior for a member of Congress,” adding that the hard-line lawmakers who ousted him were “not even conservatives.”
Even when Representative McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House, Gates and other right-wing lawmakers refused to support Representative McCarthy, and he was only able to ascend to the position of Speaker in January after 15 rounds of voting.
In the vote on the 3rd, eight Republican lawmakers supported the dismissal of Speaker McCarthy. Chairman McCarthy was able to gather the support of the remaining 210 Republican lawmakers. They opposed McCarthy’s dismissal.
However, the Democratic Party joined forces with Republican hardliners to overthrow the Speaker of the House.
The vote in favor of McCarthy’s dismissal, which surprised many, came from moderate Republican Rep. Nancy Mays.
“I’m looking for a Speaker who will tell the truth to the American people. I’m looking for someone who is honest and trustworthy in Congress and in both parties,” Mays, a South Carolina congressman, said after the vote.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to his fellow lawmakers saying he would support McCarthy’s dismissal as chairman.
“Let them wallow in their pigsty of incompetence,” Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic congresswoman from the northwestern U.S. state of Washington, told reporters before the vote.
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House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries refuses to rescue Speaker Kevin McCarthy
Republicans hold the majority in the House by a narrow 221-212 margin. The conference room was packed with lawmakers, but there was mostly silence while waiting for the voting results.
There were gasps as Arkansas Republican Rep. Steve Womack pounded his gavel and declared, “I hereby declare the position of Speaker of the House vacant.”
Ahead of the vote, former US President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform ‘Truth Social’ that the Republican Party should “fight the radical left-wing Democratic Party” rather than each other.
Republican Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, who supported McCarthy, has now been appointed as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives. Rep. McHenry first placed the House into recess.
It is unclear whether the speaker pro tempore will have the full powers of the House speaker or simply executive powers and the power to oversee new elections.
Although the relevant regulations do not specify the period for which the interim chairman will serve, a vote to elect a new chairman is scheduled for October 11.
Speaker McCarthy’s successor is unclear, but Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Tom Emmer, Republican of Minnesota, are being discussed as candidates. However, neither of the two lawmakers expressed interest in the chairmanship.
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Rep. Nancy Mays before voting to fire Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
White House press secretary Carine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that President Joe Biden “hopes to quickly select a Speaker of the House of Representatives,” adding, “Many challenges will not wait for us.”
Two other members of the Republican House who served as Speakers of the House before McCarthy, Paul Ryan and John Bonner, left the chamber after repeated conflicts with more hard-line conservatives.
In the United States, a resolution to dismiss the Speaker of the House of Representatives has been submitted only twice in the past century, in 2015 and 2010, and this is the first time it has been passed.
(Additional reporting: Kayla Epstein, Max Machha)
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2023-10-04 03:54:15
