speaker Kevin McCarthy Trump is facing an extraordinary referendum on his leadership of the House of Representatives after a longtime critic of the Republican majority launched a vote to oust him.
Late Monday, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., stood on the floor of the House, which had almost finished filing the motion for the day — a resolution that will be subject to a quick vote in the coming days. Even Gates admitted that there may not be enough votes. Supports removing speakers from work.
“I know enough Republicans that by this time next week, one of two things will happen: Kevin McCarthy will not be the speaker of the House, or he will be the speaker of the House and serve the Democrats,” Gaetz said. later told reporters outside the Capitol.
Minutes later, McCarthy responded on social media: “Come on.”
Gates quickly retorted in the post: “That’s what it does.”
It’s a historic moment: For the first time in more than 100 years, lawmakers can actually force a vote using a legislative tool that has been threatened by other House speakers, including in 2015, but never fully utilized. Try to eliminate them.
A bold strike against McCarthy could have dire consequences if enough lawmakers decided to remove him from power, and if it ultimately failed, that would be the case for Gaetz. It also laid bare the warring factions that have angered the Republican majority in the House and beyond this year.
So far, only a handful of far-right Republicans have expressed willingness to vote to remove McCarthy, despite deep divisions in his leadership. Others who align with Gaetz on spending cuts or other priorities are parting ways with him on that front.
“This is a really bad idea,” said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., one of the more conservative members of the House.
For months, Gaetz has threatened to use a procedural tool called a “resignation motion” to try to strip McCarthy of his office.The threats escalated over the weekend in the wake of McCarthy dependent on democrats Providing the necessary votes to fund government.
The decision presents McCarthy with the ultimate test of his leadership and could force him to once again look to Democrats for support. But how the vote will ultimately play out remains unclear as Democrats weigh whether to help McCarthy and join the effort to overthrow him or simply withhold the vote or rely on parliamentary manipulation that could sway the outcome.
“Are we on the side of the sociopaths or the incompetents?” said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., a progressive leader. “I have no idea?”
McCarthy’s allies have said for weeks they were ready to introduce a motion.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he had spoken privately with some Democrats who told him they would vote to keep McCarthy in office. “I’m sure Mr. Gates will have some allies traveling with him. But I haven’t seen enough.”
Future votes could result in disgrace – the first speaker to be ousted through such a motion – or new gains as he overcomes yet another hurdle in trying to lead a slim and unwieldy majority. the power of.
Conservative critics attacked McCarthy from the start, denying him votes and thwarting his plans. But McCarthy has joined the fight, saying it’s an opportunity to put his critics behind him once and for all.
Gates acknowledged that the effort would likely fail. Responding to questions about what he hopes to accomplish, he said Americans need to know who is in charge.
Earlier in the day, Gaetz spoke on the House floor, accusing McCarthy of cutting a deal with the White House during funding negotiations to introduce legislation to help fund Ukraine’s war against Russia.
McCarthy earlier told reporters at the Capitol that he dismissed the threat and said, “I’m focused on getting the job done that needs to be done.” He added that “there are no side deals” on Ukraine, noting that he has not yet Talk to Biden.
The motion to withdraw is a rare and powerful procedural tool that has been used against Republican speakers only twice in the last century. But in recent years, conservatives have used the motion as a weapon against leaders.
In January, McCarthy hoped appease some of the far right As Gaetz did in his bid for House speaker, he agreed to give at least five Republican lawmakers the power to initiate a vote to remove him. But when that wasn’t good enough for his critics, he agreed to lower that threshold to one — a system that has historically been the norm.
Gaetz’s motion is a privileged resolution, a title that gives it priority over other measures. The next step is for House leaders to schedule a vote on the resolution within two legislative days.
A simple majority of the House of Representatives – 218 votes with no open seats – was needed to remove McCarthy from office.
However, there are several procedural motions that members of either party can make to slow down or stop the process altogether.
But among McCarthy’s critics, enthusiasm runs deep.
Rep. Bob Goode of Virginia, who has long wanted McCarthy to step down, said the speaker’s deal with Democrats over the weekend to keep the government running without any conservative priorities was just another reason he voted for removal. .
“We got nothing,” he said Monday.
Still, other members of the far right and Gaetz’s allies are less certain when it comes to fighting for a spending deal and other issues. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., said his position on the motion “has yet to be determined.”
Massey laid out the difficult path to winning conservative support to remove the speaker, saying the real history-making moment comes when the House is working on its regular business of passing spending bills, an effort he fears will undo all that.
“If you ask me how I feel, I’m sad that this may be the end of this experiment,” he said.
Democrats largely viewed the moment as another episode in what has been a chaotic year for the Republican-led House since the beginning of the year and declined to say whether they would work to help McCarthy keep his job or vote to oust him.
“It’s another day at the show,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.
Svlook
