Kevin McCarthy has officially been ousted as Speaker of the House, the first time in history that a Speaker has been removed in this way. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) has officially become acting House Speaker.
The motion, which was originally brought by Florida representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL), failed to be blocked by the House of Representatives as of 2:45 p.m. ET.
The vote was 208 to 218 with 11 Republicans against the motion to table, leaving the path free and clear for McCarthy to be officially ousted.
But what will happen once McCarthy does, indeed, vacate his post remains unclear.
Some political analysts — especially those at the Washington Post — believe that the ousting of McCarthy will lead to a House of Representatives being thrown into total chaos, rendered ineffectual despite their control of the chamber thanks to the ongoing infighting within the party.
Gaetz, however, is in lock-step with the so-called “MAGA Republicans” — that is, those on the hard right — who promised to oust McCarthy if he relied on Democratic votes to get his budget passed, which he did so on Saturday night, thus avoiding a government shutdown.
Republicans believe that Gaetz is in engaging in a political witch hunt, and believe that his devotion to Trump and other hard-right Republicans is causing an irredeemable fracture in the party.
Democrats, however, see the split as an opportunity.
Hakeem Jeffries, who is the House Minority Leader (D-NY), fully backs the removal of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.
However, he said, this is nothing more than a “civil war” between the GOP factions.
“Under the Republican majority, the House has been restructured to empower right-wing extremists, kowtow to their harsh demands and impose a rigid partisan ideology,” Jeffries said in a statement. “House Democrats remain willing to find common ground on an enlightened path forward. Unfortunately, our extreme Republican colleagues have shown no willingness to do the same.”
He continued: “It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War. Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair.”
