Finstad shows support for McCarthy as Speaker is ousted

Oct. 3—WASHINGTON — Count Minnesota's Republican delegation among the minority in this vote.

As Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted as Speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, in a historic 216-210 vote, Minnesota's Republican members of Congress maintained their support for McCarthy and the job he'd been doing as leader of the House.

"I am disappointed in today's chaos that brought the business of the People's House to a grinding halt," said Rep. Brad Finstad, who represents Minnesota's 1st Congressional District, which includes all of southern Minnesota. "I will continue to stand with the majority of our conference who are committed to doing the business of the American people, advancing the remaining appropriations bills, and getting our country back on the path of fiscal responsibility."

The 216 majority of voters included 208 of 212 Democratic members of the House and eight Republicans who switched sides to vote against their own party's leader.

The rebellion was led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, a far-right Republican from Florida and McCarthy antagonist who accused the party leader of not doing enough to cut federal spending or to stand up to Democratic President Joe Biden.

"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 the vote.

It was the latest moment of high drama in a year when the Republican-controlled House brought Washington to the brink of default and the edge of a partial government shutdown.

Republicans control the chamber by a narrow 221-212 majority, meaning they can afford to lose no more than five votes if Democrats unite in opposition.

McCarthy's ouster as speaker essentially brings legislative activity in the House to a halt, with another government shutdown deadline looming on Nov. 17 if Congress does not extend funding.

Finstad praised McCarthy's leadership as speaker, saying he led Republicans to reject "Washington's business as usual and kept our commitment to return the House to regular order in the appropriations process."

He pointed to the House passing four appropriations bills that account for 70% of federal spending rather than passing all-in-one, 1,000-page omnibus bills as has been the practice in recent years.

But a compromise bill that avoided a shutdown of the federal government proved too much for Gaetz and his group within the GOP.

Finstad said the House was set to pass two more individual spending bills in the coming week, but that process is put on hold while the House will once again fight to find a new Speaker.

"Rather than continuing to focus on the eight remaining appropriations bills that will fund the government, a few members of the Republican conference chose to play out their personal grievances on the House Floor by introducing a motion to vacate the Speaker," Finstad said. "Not only are these theatrics a distraction from the serious work that we have before us in Congress, but it only contributes to the dysfunction in Washington that southern Minnesotans are tired of, which is why I voted no on the resolution."

The White House said it hoped the House would move swiftly to choose a replacement speaker, a position second in line to the presidency after the vice president.

McCarthy does not plan to try to run for speaker again, said Republican Representative Kevin Hern, chairman of the Republican Study Committee.

"He just felt like he wasn't going to negotiate with Democrats, that he had given it all for his conference and he was not going to negotiate with the Democrats to become speaker," Hern said.

The vote left Congress in uncharted waters as it scrambles to update farm subsidy and nutrition programs, pass government funding bills, and consider further aid to Ukraine.

It was unclear who would permanently succeed McCarthy.

McCarthy had repeatedly angered Democrats in recent weeks, including by launching an impeachment inquiry into Biden and on Saturday by giving them little time to read a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown that he needed their votes to pass.

Democrats could have saved McCarthy but, after considering it, said they would not help Republicans resolve their own problems.

Other Republican leaders like Steve Scalise and Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota's 6th Congressional District and serves as the House Majority Whip, could possibly be candidates, though neither has publicly expressed interest. Representative Patrick McHenry, was named to the post on a temporary basis.

Moira Warburton and Richard Cowan of Reuters contributed to this report.