The 8 Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy

In a historic vote, the House of Representatives ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday. After criticizing McCarthy for helping to pass a bill to avert a government shutdown, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and seven other Republicans voted in favor of McCarthy’s removal.

Here are the Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy:

Matt Gaetz of Florida

Gaetz graduated from Florida State University and received his J.D. from William & Mary Law School. He worked as an attorney in Florida before being elected to the House of Representatives in 2010.

In an interview with CNN, Gaetz claimed he voted to remove McCarthy because he failed to follow through with promises he made when bidding for the gavel.

In the same interview, he said, “This agreement that he made with Democrats to really blow past a lot of the spending guardrails we had set up is a last straw. And then, overnight, I learned that Kevin McCarthy had a secret deal with Democrats on Ukraine.”

McCarthy has denied Gaetz’s claims.

Andy Biggs of Arizona

Biggs graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in Asian studies, a master’s in political science from Arizona State University, and a J.D. from University of Arizona. He worked as an attorney and served in the Arizona Legislature for 14 years before being elected to the House in 2016.

In an X post, Biggs explained his vote to oust McCarthy, saying, “Speaker McCarthy has failed to demonstrate himself as an effective leader who will change the status quo. He has gone against many of the promises he made in January and can no longer be trusted at the helm.”

Eli Crane of Arizona

Crane served in the U.S. Navy for 13 years, working as a Navy SEAL for three missions. He is currently serving his first term as an Arizona representative.

Crane also attributed his vote to vacate the seat to McCarthy striking a deal to keep the government open for another month. He posted on X, “My constituents sent me up here to fight for them, not to run with the herd.”

Ken Buck of Colorado

Buck has worked as a business executive, a prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, chief of the Criminal Division of Colorado’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, and currently serves as a Colorado congressman.

On why he voted to oust McCarthy, he posted on X, “We are $33 trillion in debt and on track to hit $50 trillion by 2030. We cannot continue to fund the government by continuing resolutions and omnibus spending bills.”

Nancy Mace of South Carolina

Mace is the first female graduate from The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, an entrepreneur, and was elected to represent South Carolina in Congress in 2018.

She is the only “moderate” to vote to oust McCarthy, and attributes it to his failure “to bring up votes he had promised related to abortion and birth control access,” per The Wall Street Journal.

Tim Burchett of Tennessee

Burchett served in the Tennessee State Legislature for 16 years, as mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, for 10 years and became a U.S. representative in 2019.

He attributed his vote on the motion to vacate to thinking McCarthy was unwise in deciding to extend the fiscal year by 45 days, per Burchett’s post on X. He said, “My conscience tells me that we’re 33 trillion dollars in debt and we took off the whole month of August.”

Bob Good of Virginia

Good worked for CitiFinancial for 17 years, as an athletics director at Liberty University for 15 years, and served on the Campbell County Board of Supervisors for one term before getting elected as a representative in 2020.

He testified in the House on Oct. 3, saying, “Now is, and was, the time. With the Democrats driving the fiscal bus off the cliff at 100 miles per hour, we cannot simply be content to be the party to slow it down to 95 just to sit in the front seat and wear the captain’s hat.”

Matt Rosendale of Montana

Rosendale has worked in various positions in public office for nine years, including serving in the Montana Legislature for four years, as Montana’s state auditor for another four, and has represented Montana in Congress since 2022.

Rosendale said on X, “I do not take pleasure in what occurred yesterday. But Montanans did not send me to Washington to stand by and watch the Speaker of the House of Representatives sell the American people short by not moving forward with legislation to cut spending, secure our border, and make us energy dominant again.”