The US House of Representatives was leaderless yesterday, after some Republicans narrowly won a vote to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, a historic move that triggered what would be a lengthy and likely messy battle to find a replacement.
It was the first time that the House has removed a speaker — a position that is second in line to the president after the vice president.
Republican lawmakers signaled they would need a week to regroup, planning to meet on Tuesday to discuss possible candidates to replace McCarthy — who said he would not run again — with votes on Wednesday next week at the earliest.
Photo: AFP
The leadership fight is eating into the time lawmakers have to avert a looming partial government shutdown, which would begin on Nov. 18 if the US Congress fails to pass legislation providing more funding.
“We’re in uncharted waters,” US Representative Byron Donalds, a Republican, told reporters on Tuesday after supporting McCarthy in a vote the speaker lost 216-210.
It was not clear who might seek to succeed McCarthy in a job that has proven challenging for Republicans in the past few years. The previous two Republican speakers, Paul Ryan and John Boehner, retired from Congress after clashes with their right wing.
McCarthy, who led a narrow 221-212 majority, made the job even more difficult for himself. During 15 grueling rounds of voting on his bid for the speakership in January, he agreed to changes to House rules that allowed any one member of Congress to call for the speaker’s ouster, setting the stage for US Representative Matt Gaetz to do just that.
“I don’t envy anyone this job,” said US Representative Mike Garcia, a Republican.
He described the rule change as “like handing 220 matches out to people in your party and dousing yourself in fuel and hoping none of them are crazy.”
McCarthy said his only advice to the next speaker was: “Change the rules.”
US Representative Dusty Johnson, asked about the prospect of picking a new speaker, told reporters that “frankly, one has to wonder whether or not the House is governable at all.”
Even though many lawmakers saw this day coming, given McCarthy’s tenuous hold on the speakership, they nonetheless were stunned that Republicans actually dumped their own leader.
“I’ve been here for a while, and I’ve seen a lot, but I’ve never seen this,” said US Representative Jim McGovern, a Democrat.
The names being mentioned as replacements for McCarthy include House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Republican Whip Tom Emmer. US Representative Patrick McHenry, who was named speaker pro tempore after McCarthy’s removal, could also become a candidate.
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