After McCarthy ousted, who will be the next Speaker? Could Trump be tapped? What we know.
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In a historic move, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was removed from his position by the votes of eight Republicans and all of the present Democrats.
Because there is no precedent for this in the House of Representative's 234-year-history, Americans have a lot of questions about what comes next.
Here's what we know.
Why was McCarthy ousted as Speaker of the House?
McCarthy was ousted in what is called a motion to vacate, filed by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.
Gaetz had threatened to file the motion if McCarthy worked with Democrats to pass a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, which was approved Saturday.
The last several weeks have been marked by infighting between moderate Republican lawmakers and a handful of hard-right lawmakers who refused to entertain anything less than their demand for deep spending cuts that the Democratic-controlled Senate would not approve.
House Republicans were consumed by turmoil in recent weeks over infighting between moderate GOP lawmakers and a handful of hard-right lawmakers who were refusing to entertain anything short of their demands for deep spending cuts that had no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Who voted to oust McCarthy?
Eight Republican members, including Gaetz, voted to oust McCarthy. They were:
Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona
Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado
Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee
Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona
Rep. Bob Good of Virginia
Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina
Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana
Who will be the next Speaker of the House?
For now, Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, is acting as Speaker until a replacement is elected. McHenry was on a secret list of potential successors McCarthy was required to keep according to House rules, the Washington Post reported.
Republicans are set to decide on candidates for McCarthy's replacement next Tuesday, when the House reconvenes.
An election will take place Wednesday.
McCarthy has said he will not run for election again as Speaker.
Could Trump become Speaker of the House?
Several Republican lawmakers have said they would support electing former President Donald Trump to be Speaker of the House.
While not technically against the rules, Trump has said previously he is uninterested in the position.
"No, it's not something I want to do. I want to look at what's happening, and then we're going to be doing something else. No, it's not something I would be interested in," Trump said in an interview in March 2022, according to Newsweek.
Who can be a Speaker of the House?
While every previous Speaker of the House has been a member of the House of Representatives, the Constitution doesn't explicitly state that as an eligibility requirement.
Speakers are elected at the beginning of a new Congress, which takes place after a general election. Each party selects a candidate from its senior leaders for the role and a speaker must receive a majority of votes from House members present and voting.
How Oklahoma's Tom Cole fought to retain McCarthy as Speaker
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, led the debate in support of retaining McCarthy and said a small group of Republicans were “willing to plunge this body into chaos and this country into uncertainty for reasons that only they really understand. I certainly don’t.”
All five of Oklahoma's delegates in the House voted to retain McCarthy.
More: What Oklahoma lawmakers had to say about bid to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker
Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, argued Tuesday that House Republicans had won some victories under McCarthy’s leadership on such issues as energy, spending and securing the southern border, though some have not been considered by the Democratic Senate. She called the move to remove McCarthy an unnecessary distraction.
“Let me abundantly clear: Attempting to remove Speaker McCarthy will put this House in a stalemate and paralyze our ability to fight for our constituents and instead create a fight amongst one another,” Bice said.
What does the Speaker of the House do?
The speaker is the presiding officer over the House of Representatives, responsible for giving members permission to speak, counting and declaring votes, making committee appointments, sending bills to committees and signing bills and resolutions that the House passes.
The Speaker is also second in line to succeed the President — behind the Vice President and ahead of the president pro tempore of the Senate — if they become unable to fulfill their duties.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why was McCarthy ousted? Who can be the Speaker of the House?
