McCarthy is Out: So What Now?

History was made in the Senate on Tuesday, October 3rd, when Republican Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, was voted out leaving the Senate and government in chaos just days after an averted government shutdown. In an extraordinary showdown, the House voted 216-210 against McCarthy marking the first time in U.S. history that the House removed its leader. Republicans Andy Biggs, Ken Buck, Tim Burchett, Eli Crane, Matt Gaetz, Bob Good, Nancy Mace, and Matt Rosendale voted against McCarthy alongside 208 Democrats. This is the first time in 113 years that the House has voted on whether or not to eject the Speaker, and the first time that the Speaker has lost the vote. McCarthy told reporters he would not move to run again for Speaker, leaving the position up for grabs.

“I fought for what I believe in,” McCarthy said. “I believe I can continue to fight, but maybe in a different manner.”

The House proceeded to go without a Speaker for a week with an intended meeting on October 10th to discuss a new Speaker and a vote on October 11th. The rebellion against McCarthy was led by Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, McCarthy’s chief rival. Gaetz moved to orchestrate the rare motion to vacate the seat after a tumultuous few weeks in the Senate. In debate on the House floor, Gaetz and a handful of others hammered McCarthy for relying on Democratic votes to pass temporary funding that headed off a partial government shutdown.

“Kevin McCarthy is a creature of the swamp. He has risen to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing that money in exchange for favors. We are breaking the fever now,” Gaetz told reporters after McCarthy was voted out.

Gaetz had been threatening to make the move for months now, but this move may have left Gaetz in a deep puddle now amongst his fellow Republican representatives. Ousting McCarthy and initiating the vacancy is not likely to make him popular amongst his fellow Republicans. Many McCarthy supporters claim Gaetz was motivated by pure hatred for McCarthy and to win higher resentment over an ongoing ethics investigation into possible sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Disregarding these claims, the vote ultimately left the Senate in further shambles as it scrambles to pass government spending bills and consider further aid to support Ukraine, amongst many other things.

Within only an hour of McCarthy’s removal, the race was on to find another Speaker of the House. Representative Patrick McHeny is serving as interim speaker and was named only minutes after the vacancy took place. It’s uncertain whether or not Representative McHenry will fill the vacancy as he has some of the Republican senators’ support, but not all.

A promising candidate is Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Representative Scalise is considered more far-right than Representative McCarthy and the two already have a rocky relationship. However, Scalise is already lining up major support amongst many House Republicans. Unfortunately, Scalise is being treated for multiple myeloma prompting him to wear a mask on the House floor and attend news conferences. Still, Scalise appears to have the most support from House Republicans and appears to be the top choice. Representative Tony Gonzalez of Texas expressed his support for Scalise online just hours after McCarthy was ousted.

“For a time such as this…Steve is the right man to lead our country,” he wrote.

Several other Republicans appear to be in the running such as Representative Kevin Kern of Oklahoma and Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio. However, Representative Scalice appears to be the top contender.

Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska stated: “We’re going to stay with Kevin, He told us earlier he’ll never quit.” However, McCarthy has made it clear that he will not be seeking the position back. 