Kevin McCarthy removed as House speaker
‘The office of speaker of the House of the United States of Representatives is hereby declared vacant’
Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., who was presiding over the House chamber during the vote, read the tally and said, “The office of speaker of the House of the United States of Representatives is hereby declared vacant,” and hit the gavel.
House adjourns
Rep. McHenry just adjourned the House to allow the party caucuses to meet.
Rep. Patrick McHenry now acting speaker
Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has assumed the role of temporary speaker and is now overseeing the chamber.
It’s over: McCarthy has been removed as speaker
This has never happened in U.S. history: The House just voted to remove its own speaker.
The House voted 216-210 to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., with a handful of conservatives joining Democrats to remove him. There were seven members absent.
What comes next? It’s unprecedented. But for now, a temporary speaker pulled from a list of alternates McCarthy compiled earlier this year will take over. Read more about that here.
Clerk reading the names of those missing
After she made it through the alphabet, 11 members hadn’t voted. The clerk is now reading their names again.
Gaetz appears to have the votes to oust McCarthy
Members can still change or add votes at the end, but Gaetz and Democrats have just crossed the 214-vote threshold. It appears they have the votes to oust McCarthy.
Rep. Victoria Spartz votes against motion to oust McCarthy
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., who voted earlier against tabling the motion to vacate the speaker, voted against the motion to remove McCarthy.
Sen. Durbin calls House vote ‘chaos’
Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., commented on the House vote to oust McCarthy this afternoon, saying, “I don’t know how this story ends well for the American people, this kind of chaos.”
The hallway outside the chamber is silent
The Will Rogers Hallway just outside the House chamber is eerily quiet, despite being packed.
Never experienced it like this.
Rep. Matt Rosendale is 8th Republican to vote to remove McCarthy
Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., is the eighth Republican to vote in favor of the motion to vacate the speakership.
Dem Rep. Frederica Wilson has returned for this vote
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., is back at the Capitol now and will be at votes, per her office.
That means only four Democrats are absent, but the math stays the same: McCarthy would still need 214 “no” votes to defeat the motion to vacate.
Former VP Pence backs McCarthy, says ‘I don’t miss being in Congress’
At Georgetown University, former Vice President Mike Pence just addressed the motion to vacate vote taking place on Capitol Hill and indicated support for McCarthy.
“I think what you’re witnessing is a handful of Republicans partnering with Democrats in Congress to create chaos and oust a sitting speaker of the House,” said Pence, who is from Indiana and spent 12 years in the House. “And it’s — I must tell you, this is one of the days that I don’t miss being in Congress.”
“The truth is, truth is the chaos that we’re seeing on Capitol Hill today is just one more reason why the American people want to see new leadership. … This is a very difficult time in the life of our nation,” he continued.
7th Republican: Rep. Nancy Mace votes to remove McCarthy
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., voted in favor of the motion to vacate the speakership.
Six Republican votes spell trouble for McCarthy
Any member can change their vote before the process is over — but with six Republicans voting to remove McCarthy, he appears headed for a certain defeat.
Rep. Paul Gosar votes against removing McCarthy
Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, just voted against ousting McCarthy as speaker.
Sixth Republican: Rep. Bob Good votes to oust McCarthy
Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., voted to vacate the speakership.
Gaetz votes to oust McCarthy
In no surprise, Gaetz, who filed the resolution for the motion to vacate the speakership, voted “yes.” He is the fifth Republican to do so.
McCarthy seated with deputy chief of staff
As the votes are tallied, McCarthy is sitting with John Leganski, his deputy chief of staff. He also sat with Leganski during votes when he ascended to the speakership in January.
Gaetz should need 214 votes to oust McCarthy
A majority of whoever is present for this vote is needed to oust McCarthy. Based on the absences we’ve seen today, the magic number should be 214.
Rep. Eli Crane is the 4th Republican to vote to oust McCarthy
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., was the fourth Republican to vote in favor of the motion to vacate the speakership.
Rep. Lauren Boebert opposes McCarthy ouster
Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, voted against Gaetz’s effort to oust McCarthy as speaker.
Rep. Burchett becomes third Republican to vote to remove McCarthy
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., became the third Republican to vote against McCarthy.
Rep. Ken Buck votes to oust McCarthy
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., voted “yes” on the motion to vacate the speakership. He had not announced his position before the vote began.
Rep. Andy Biggs is first Republican to vote to oust McCarthy
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., former chairman of the Freedom Caucus, voted to oust McCarthy from the speakership.
The vote to oust McCarthy is starting now
Members are voting; a majority is needed to remove McCarthy from the office of speaker.
The vote is taking place in alphabetical order. Members will each have their name called and will shout out their vote. It’s a “yea” against McCarthy (to declare the office of speaker vacant) and a “nay” to keep him in his job.
Stefanik argues Republicans ‘strongly support’ McCarthy as speaker
Rep. Elise Stefanik, the GOP conference chair, delivered remarks boosting McCarthy, suggesting on the House floor this afternoon that Republican members “strongly” support him in spite of efforts by Gaetz to undermine his leadership.
“This boy from Bakersfield, he cares deeply about his constituents, his country and the American people, and that includes each and every one of his colleagues,” Stefanik said of McCarthy, adding that he had supported milestones with his members, and “cheered” for them at moments when “we haven’t believed in ourselves.”
“Now more than ever, the Republicans must unify; the stakes are too high,” Stefani added. “We need to save our country, which is why this conference is proud to strongly support Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House.”
GOP Rep. Armstrong makes closing argument for keeping McCarthy
Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., made a closing argument for the McCarthy side.
“Democracy is supposed to be hard. … The alternative is a closed-door process where 2000-page bills come out of the speaker’s office at midnight and are forced to the floor the next morning. Kevin McCarthy has broken that cycle. That alone is enough for him to remain our speaker,” Armstrong said.
“But that doesn’t deliver his opponents what they crave the most: attention,” he added.
Close McCarthy friend, Rep. Graves, yells at conservatives
Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., a close friend of McCarthy’s and one of his top lieutenants, is essentially shouting on the floor right now.
“I keep wondering what is going on — are we redefining what conservative is? What’s going on in this country today? What’s going on in this body? We have FreedomWorks, Heritage, Chip Roy and Jim Jordan say something’s conservative and these folks say it’s not.”
“And all of a sudden my phone keeps [getting] text messages,” Graves continued, holding up his phone to show fundraising emails from members who oppose McCarthy. “Text messages saying, ‘Hey, give me money.’ Oh, look at that. … It’s disgusting. It’s what’s disgusting about Washington.”
Graves helped negotiate the debt ceiling deal that Gaetz called McCarthy’s “original sin,” leading to this motion to vacate.
Looks like the vote will start around 4 p.m. ET
McCarthy’s side has about 7 minutes left to debate, while Gaetz’s has 5 ½. It’ll take a little longer than that, so we’re tracking for potentially 4 p.m. ET for the motion to vacate vote to begin
Some Dems have heard from GOP members asking them to save McCarthy
A handful of moderate House Democrats have received calls from Republicans asking them to vote to save McCarthy’s job, four sources familiar with the calls tell NBC News.
One source describes those calls as “begging,” while another described the calls as “temperature taking.”
We have not yet heard of any Dems getting this kind of outreach directly from McCarthy himself. As of now, Democrats are steadfast in their opposition, though.
Republican says removing McCarthy would move House ‘to the left’
Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., warned fellow Republicans that if they remove McCarthy, it will empower Democrats and “this House will shift dramatically to the left.”
He says such a move would “effectively neutralize the House Republican majority” they secured in 2022.
Conservative Rep. Massie, who has opposed past speakers, backs McCarthy
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has a history of opposing Republican speakers, said he supports McCarthy because he has given regular order a chance.
“If regular order fails today — if you vacate the speaker, nobody is going to try it again. This institution will fail,” Massie said. “Please do not vacate the speaker.”
Ramaswamy: ‘Stop focusing on the who’
Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican candidate for president, criticized the fight in the House.
“We have a $33 trillion national debt problem,” Ramaswamy said in a statement. “We need to stop focusing on the who and start focusing on actual solutions”
The vote on ousting McCarthy could take 45-55 minutes
Looking back at past alphabetical roll call votes via voice, like the one the House will take on ousting McCarthy, each took about 45-55 minutes. So that’s the timeline we’re looking at for this vote.
Jordan defends McCarthy: ‘I think he has kept his word’
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan defended McCarthy on the House floor, insisting that the the California Republican had been consistent in following through on his commitments as speaker.
“On Jan. 3, we said 218th Congress is about three things: Pass the bills that need pass, do the oversight work that needs to be done, and stop the inevitable omnibus that comes from the United States Senate right before the holidays. Kevin McCarthy has been rock solid on all three,” Jordan said.
The comments pushed back on claims by Gaetz that McCarthy had failed to deliver and Republicans were losing momentum.
“We have done what we told them we were going to do,” Jordan added. “I think the speaker has kept his word. I know my colleagues and friends are saying different, I think he has kept his word on those three things that we talked about on Jan. 3, and frankly, that entire week. He has kept his word. I think we should keep him as speaker.”
Sen. Tim Scott: Gaetz is ‘polarizing’ and doing ‘damage’ to the party
Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican running for president, was critical of Gaetz’s bid to oust McCarthy.
“Gaetz is really a polarizing figure in the party and does a lot of damage with his thoughts and his comments,” Scott said Tuesday. “And apparently this vote is going to just either further the divide within the Republican construct in the House, it’s not helpful.”
Democrats urge members to vote ‘yes’ to vacate speakership
In a notice to all Democrats, the party’s whip, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, urged her party to vote “yes” on the motion to vacate and oust McCarthy.
She told her members the vote is expected around 4 p.m. and will be done via a roll call — so each member’s name will be called and they will need to vote out loud.
Gaetz, notably, knocks Jim Jordan on oversight
Gaetz hit Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, saying: “It is difficult to champion oversight when House Republicans haven’t even sent a subpoena to Hunter Biden,” adding that it “sort of looks like failure theater.”
That’s a notable hit. Oversight is basically the reason to exist for the House GOP, which cannot make laws with a Democratic Senate and White House.
Gaetz lays out argument for ousting McCarthy as speaker
Gaetz argued on the House floor that he doesn’t think that voting to oust McCarthy should be considered “chaos” in Congress when the country is in debt and the House and Senate often don’t pass all government funding bills individually, instead passing massive packages at the last minute that members don’t have time to read.
“I think the fact that we have been governed in this country, since the mid-’90s, by continuing resolution and omnibus is chaos, and the way to liberate ourselves from that is a series of reforms to this body that I would hope would outlast Speaker McCarthy’s time, would outlast my time here,” he said.
Gaetz said that Republicans lost the momentum the House had a few weeks ago when they were voting on individual spending bills on the floor, “staying late at night, working hard.”
“That’s what the American people expect. It’s something Speaker McCarthy hasn’t delivered. And that’s why I’ve moved to vacate the chair,” he said.
Arkansas congressman presides over divisive GOP fight — again
Arkansas GOP Rep. Steve Womack is presiding over the House floor debate, and it’s not the first time he’s held the gavel amid a divisive GOP fight.
Back in 2016, Womack was serving as the chair of the Republican National Convention as delegates opposing Donald Trump’s nomination as president tried to wage a last-ditch attempt to alter the convention rules. Shouting broke out on the convention floor, but order was eventually restored. Womack told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the ordeal was “total chaos.”
Rep. Cole, whose motion to table just failed: Don’t ‘plunge us into chaos’
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a top McCarthy ally who tried unsuccessfully to block Gaetz’s effort, is the first to speak on the pro-McCarthy side.
“I recognize that my friends on the other side have a very complex set of partisan, personal and political calculations to make — and I certainly wouldn’t presume to give them any advice about that,” Cole said. “But I would say, ‘Think long and hard before you plunge us into chaos. Because that’s where we’re headed if we vacate the speakership.'”
Cole received big applause and a standing ovation from almost the entire GOP side of the chamber as he finished speaking.
Here are the 11 Republicans who opposed the motion to table effort to oust McCarthy
The 11 GOP lawmakers who voted with Democrats to vote against the motion to table the motion to vacate the speakership were:
- Rep. Andy Biggs, of Arizona
- Rep. Ken Buck, of Colorado
- Rep. Timothy Burchett, of Tennessee
- Rep. Eli Crane, of Arizona
- Rep. Warren Davidson, of Ohio
- Rep. Matt Gaetz, of Florida
- Rep. Bob Good, of Virginia
- Rep. Nancy Mace, of South Carolina
- Rep. Matt Rosendale, of Montana
- Rep. Victoria Spartz, of Indiana
- Rep. Cory Mills, of Florida
Lots of people on the floor right now, and that’s unusual
Important to note: The House floor is typically sparsely attended during floor debate on bills. Right now, almost every seat is taken and members and staff are standing in the back of the chamber.
Plus, the galleries are almost full with tourists and staff.
GOP Rep. Good lists conservatives’ grievances with McCarthy
Going all the way back to McCarthy’s 15-round fight for the speaker’s gavel in January, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., is listing the many ways conservatives feel betrayed by him.
That includes the debt ceiling deal McCarthy made with President Joe Biden and the recent CR that kept the government open but lacked the major spending cuts conservatives had pushed for.
Good is the first to speak in this debate period before a vote on the motion to overthrow McCarthy.
One hour of debate divided between two sides
There will now be one hour of debate — 30 minutes controlled by Gaetz and 30 minutes by Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., an ally of McCarthy.
Boebert pauses, but votes with McCarthy
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., in the back of the room, just waited until the last minute to vote yes to table and kill Gaetz’s effort.
She faces a tough re-election next year.
McCarthy procedural effort to stop removal process fails
McCarthy allies tried to stave off the motion to vacate by using their own procedural move — a motion to table.
The vote was 208-218, with 11 Republicans joining 207 Democrats.
A combination of Republicans and most Democrats voted together to block McCarthy and his allies.
Rep. Cory Mills joins Republican ‘No’ votes
Rep. Cory Mills, a freshman Republican from Florida, joined the Republicans opposing McCarthy and became the 11th party member to oppose the speaker.
Gaetz sits with Democrats, as motion to kill his effort is on the brink of failing
Gaetz and a big chunk of the no votes are sitting together on the Democratic side of the chamber, just over the center aisle toward the back.
The motion to try to kill Gaetz’s effort is on the brink of failing, with 11 Republicans now voting with all Democrats present to keep it alive.
So far, 10 Republicans vote against McCarthy
So far, 10 Republicans have voted on the procedural vote in opposition of McCarthy — any of them could change their vote and others could still join them.
The 10 are:
- Biggs
- Buck
- Burchett
- Crane
- Davidson
- Gaetz
- Good
- Mace
- Rosendale
- Spartz
The House is voting on whether to table for now Gaetz’s effort to oust McCarthy
McCarthy and his allies have called for a vote on a “motion to table” Gaetz’s effort. They’ll need a majority vote.
If successful, Gaetz’s attempt to overthrow McCarthy will be dead for now. But he’s threatened to keep trying.
The motion to table the vote was brought by McCarthy ally Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. They should need 214 votes to get a majority and table Gaetz’s effort (there were 426 members of the House voting on the last vote, but new absences or members who decide to vote present could change that count).
Ex-Speaker Pelosi, grieving Dianne Feinstein, will not make the vote
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will not make these votes as she’s in California to participate in memorials for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a spokesperson said.
“She is very saddened not to be there for this historic vote,” spokesperson Aaron Bennett said, going on to quote Pelosi in saying: “The Speaker of the House is chosen by the Majority Party. In this Congress, it is the responsibility of House Republicans to choose a nominee and elect the Speaker on the Floor. At this time there is no justification for a departure from this tradition.”
GOP Rep. Ken Buck signals he may vote against McCarthy too
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., suggested he may be the seventh Republican to vote to oust McCarthy, writing on X that the speaker “has repeatedly broken his word both to the American people and to members of Congress.”
McCarthy is here now
McCarthy walked onto the floor a few minutes ago and went directly into the House GOP cloakroom.
He has since emerged and is chatting with some of his staff members on the floor.
Some tough math problems for McCarthy today
It’s difficult to say exactly how many votes Gaetz will need to remove McCarthy from his job today. That’s because a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair needs a majority vote of the members of the House floor; a number that can fluctuate a bit.
Based on an unrelated vote this afternoon, there are 426 members here today. That means a simple majority would be 214.If that number holds, 214 members would need to vote to declare the speaker’s chair vacant. And if McCarthy’s allies try to avoid that vote altogether, as they’re expected to do soon, they’ll need the support of 214 members as well.
McCarthy stops briefly on his way into House chamber
McCarthy just stopped briefly in the hallway to talk to reporters before entering the chamber — seeming to dismiss the challenges against him as the same people who opposed him in January.
Dem leaders are huddling, as some in the party cast paper ballots to slow things down
House Democratic Leader Jeffries is up in the well of the floor huddling with Whip Katherine Clark and about 10 other Democrats.
Some Democrats have been voting by paper ballot today, which slows the process down because they have to write down their vote and hand it to the clerk. They did this on Saturday, too, to delay getting to the short-term bill to prevent a shutdown as they tried to figure out if McCarthy had slipped any problematic provisions in there. (He hadn’t and they voted for it.)
Not all Democrats are voting by paper right now, but a good chunk.
Trump post appears to jab effort to oust McCarthy as speaker
After ignoring reporters’ questions about McCarthy’s fate earlier today in Manhattan, Trump took to his Truth Social platform where he appeared to weigh in on the matter.
“Why is it that Republicans are always fighting among themselves, why aren’t they fighting the Radical Left Democrats who are destroying our Country?” he wrote in a post.
Some Republicans huddle with Gaetz on House floor
During the current vote series on the House floor, Gaetz was sitting with Reps. Lauren Boebert, of Colorado; Eli Crane, of Arizona; and Ken Buck, of Colorado.
Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat, joined in on the conversation, as did Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
GOP Rep. Byron Donalds says ‘there’s really not been a large discussion amongst members about this procedure’
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who has been floated as a replacement for McCarthy if he’s ousted, decried the effort to remove him as speaker as “premature.”
“We have about 43, 42 days to finish the appropriations process and to take up a floor time to do this — it’s just a wrong way to go,” Donalds said during an interview on MSNBC’s “Chris Jansing Reports.”
“Secondarily, there’s really not been a large discussion amongst members about this procedure,” he added. “I know the rule where one member can trigger it, and I do agree with that rule as it exists, but it really has — in my view, how it really is supposed to work is — you have that discussion with a lot of members to see if you can build support for that. That’s not occurred as well.”
Donalds then said he is “going to be voting not to vacate.”
GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale says he plans to support motion to oust McCarthy
Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., said this afternoon in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he plans to vote in favor of the motion to vacate the speakership.
“Unfortunately, Kevin McCarthy violated his promise to the American people and the Republican Conference by working against them repeatedly and supporting ploys to aid the Left,” he tweeted.
“This demonstration of failed leadership is exactly why I plan on supporting the motion to vacate this afternoon,” he wrote.
Trump ignores shouted questions about McCarthy
The former president ignored a few attempts by reporters in Manhattan to ask Trump about McCarthy.
Trump is attending the second day of his civil trial in New York.
McCarthy is on the ropes. Here are some possible successors.
It’s far from certain Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., can successfully topple House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, but that hasn’t stopped early speculation on Capitol Hill about who could succeed him in the top job.
There is no consensus on who might be able to fill a potential vacancy in the speaker’s office, and if McCarthy, R-Calif., is deposed the House GOP could spiral into total chaos. All of his lieutenants have pledged their support for him, and the speaker’s allies argue there is no one else who can secure the 217 votes needed to be elected on the House floor.
That being said, there is no shortage of ambition in the halls of Congress. In the event McCarthy is overthrown, someone would either need to run for the job and win or be reluctantly drafted into the role, like Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was eight years ago.
Here are some Republicans to watch — as speaker candidates or influencers in the battles. Read the full story here.
Jeffries: Democrats remain ‘unified in our commitment’
While Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries didn’t explicitly urge members of his caucus to vote with leadership, he said that Democrats remain “unified in our commitment to put people over politics, continue to build a healthy economy and make life more affordable for everyday Americans.”
Jeffries listed a handful of reasons why Democrats shouldn’t feel obligated to save McCarthy, arguing that the GOP majority has restructured the House “to empower right-wing extremists, kowtow to their harsh demands and impose a rigid partisan ideology.”
The Democratic leader also argued that lawmakers in his party have worked on a bipartisan basis to resolve major crises such as the latest debt ceiling debacle and preventing a government shutdown.
“The vote that the House will cast this week in connection with a Motion to Vacate the Chair is not about any one individual,” he wrote. “Our responsibility as Members of Congress relates to the Constitution, the principle of good governance and the people we are privileged to serve. Nothing more, and nothing less.”
Jeffries says Democratic leaders will vote yes on the motion to oust McCarthy as speaker
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a letter to his rank-and-file members that Democratic leaders will vote yes on the motion to remove McCarthy as House speaker.
“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. It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War,” he wrote.
Jeffries continued, “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.”
Democrats outraged after watching McCarthy’s interview from this weekend
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., told reporters that Democratic leadership played Speaker McCarthy’s comments on CBS’s “Face the Nation” this weekend at the beginning of the party’s meeting this morning. During that appearance, McCarthy pinned some blame on Democrats for the shutdown crisis last week, saying Democrats wanted to shut down the government.
“I would say his performance was a very clarifying event for Democrats, Connolly said, adding that “there was outrage about what he had to say.”
Rep. Dan Meuser says Gaetz will ‘never be speaker’
Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., expressed frustration with Rep. Gaetz for trying to oust McCarthy, saying on MSNBC that the Florida Republican would “never be speaker.”
He said Democrats should not contribute to Gaetz’s effort.
“I hope some Democrats perhaps pull out of the mandate they get from their leadership” and join Republicans in keeping McCarthy, Meuser said.
What happens next if Kevin McCarthy is ousted as speaker of the House?
First, a temporary speaker would take over
If a majority of the House votes to adopt Gaetz’s resolution, the Office of the Speaker would be declared vacant. This would not immediately trigger a new speaker election, however, because of a succession list McCarthy, R-Calif., submitted to the House clerk in January. That list isn’t public.
Since 2003, House rules have required the speaker to submit a list of names to the clerk of members to act in the case of his or her vacancy.
The House would be in uncharted territory
If the motion to vacate is successful, it would be the first time in U.S. history that a speaker of the House has ever been voted out of office.
How quickly could the House move to elect a permanent speaker?
That is also unclear. House rules do not lay out how long the speaker pro tempore can remain in power before the chamber votes on a new permanent speaker. The House could proceed directly to the election of a new speaker or decide to hold it at a later time.
Who would be McCarthy’s temporary replacement?
The short answer is: We don’t know, but there are some hints. Among them: Reps. Patrick McHenry and Richard Hudson of North Carolina; Rep. Adrian Smith, of Nebraska; Rep. Robert Wittman, of Virginia; Rep. Andy Harris, of Maryland; and Reps. John Joyce and Guy Reschenthaler, of Pennsylvania.
How the vote is expected to work
Unless McCarthy’s allies succeed in stopping it, the vote to overthrow him as speaker this afternoon is expected to be done roll call style — where they call each member’s name individually, according to an aide to the speaker. There could be up to an hour of debate on that motion to vacate the speaker’s chair.
Here’s what we know about the schedule
At 1:30 p.m. ET the House will vote on to advance an unrelated measure (funding for energy and water programs). This will be billed as a 15-minute vote but, like many House votes, it could take 30 or more minutes — especially if they hold it open for McCarthy and his allies to talk to members.
Then, McCarthy’s allies will bring up a “motion to table” — that is to set aside Gaetz’s motion to remove McCarthy. If they are able to get a majority to support the motion to table, then this is over for today and McCarthy keeps his job for now. (Gaetz, however, has suggested he’ll make more motions to overthrow in the future.)
But if that motion to table fails, the House will vote on Gaetz’s actual motion to remove McCarthy (called a “motion to vacate”), with a bit of time to debate it. A majority vote would then overthrow McCarthy as speaker.
They’re expected to be done by 2:10 p.m. ET, according to a note put out by Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.
Democratic Rep. Kuster: McCarthy has proven he’s ‘not trustworhty’
Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who chairs the center-left New Democrat Coalition, called McCarthy “untrustworthy” in a statement, suggesting the group will oppose him.
“You are only as good as your word — and time and again, Speaker McCarthy has proven that he is not a man of his word. He is simply not trustworthy,” Kuster said.
“While Republicans have lost their way, Democrats stand united in our purpose and our Caucus. … New Dems are proud to stand with our Leader and our Caucus to deliver progress for the American people, not chaos,” she added.
What’s next as Gaetz moves to oust McCarthy?
House will vote today on Gaetz’s push to topple McCarthy as speaker
Taking his critics head on, a defiant Speaker Kevin McCarthy told rank-and-file Republicans in a private meeting that he would call a vote Tuesday afternoon on Rep. Matt Gaetz’s resolution to oust him from the speaker’s office, according to lawmakers leaving the meeting.
“He’s going to stand on his record, and then we’re going to vote his retention on his record,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, a McCarthy ally and fellow California Republican, as he left the closed-door meeting in the basement of the Capitol.
Under House rules, McCarthy had until Wednesday to take up the resolution that Gaetz, a conservative Florida Republican and Donald Trump loyalist, filed Monday night. But McCarthy and his allies are moving to rip off the Band-Aid and quickly take on the so-called motion to vacate, which has been a huge distraction in the Capitol.
Read the full story here.
