Tulare County's congressman Kevin McCarthy removed from Speakership. See local reaction

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy lost the fight for his political life after lawmakers decided to oust the Central Valley Republican from the speakership.

The rebellion, led by conservative hardliner and former President Trump loyalist Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has roiled the House in chaos. The move to oust McCarthy – known as a motion to vacate – had the support of a handful of hard-right lawmakers who have expressed anger at McCarthy for working with Democrats to avert a government shutdown.

With House Republicans’ razor-thin majority, McCarthy’s fate appeared to fall in the hands of Democrats, who huddled in an extended closed-door meeting Tuesday morning to discuss strategy but ultimately decided not to save McCarthy.

“Under Kevin McCarthy's speakership, the House of Representatives has lurched from crisis to crisis. Simply put, Kevin McCarthy lacks the integrity, honesty, and skill necessary to govern. He voted to overturn the election. He broke his word to the President on the budget deal. He brought us to the brink of a shutdown. We need a leader who has the ability to govern — McCarthy cannot,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, who is running for California's open Senate seat in the 2024 election. “California and our country deserve a leader who fights for them, not for a disgraced former president."

Other California lawmakers weren't as ready to see McCarthy, who represents most of Tulare County in the House, go. The moderate Republican Rep. David Valadao, who represents a small swath of Tulare County, called the motion "nothing more than grandstanding" and a personal attack for personal gain.

“Congress has no shortage of items on our to-do list, including passing our remaining appropriations bills, Farm Bill, National Defense Authorization Act, and the FAA reauthorization," the Hanford-based Republican said. "This motion to vacate is a distraction from the real work we need to do for the American people. Removing a Republican Speaker only undermines the causes my colleague from Florida claims to support. I stand with my friend and neighbor Kevin McCarthy.”

Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Central Valley) also spoke out in favor of the ousted speaker.

“Speaker McCarthy always puts our country first. He is a tireless advocate for our community, state and country," he said. "It is frustrating that a handful of members are more focused on media attention and creating chaos than conservative governance."

He added that the Central Valley should stand behind McCarthy.

“In light of today’s commotion, Speaker McCarthy handled himself with grace. The people of the Central Valley are proud of our congressman, who has always done what is best for the American people," he said. "And I am proud to call him my friend."

Jim Costa (D-Fresno), who also represents another small part of Tulare County, voted against McCarthy, commented on the historic ousting.

“This was a sad day for our democracy in the United States House of Representatives," Costa said. "Instead of trying to craft a full budget, extreme MAGA Republicans are playing political games and holding our nation hostage."

Costa went on to say that House Democrats want to work with Republicans to address the most issues facing the nation.

"This chaos needs to end so that the House can do its job,” he said.

Eight GOP lawmakers voted to eject McCarthy from the speakership. They are: Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo.Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz.Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.Rep. Bob Good, R-Va.Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.

House Democrats, who voted against the motion to table, joined the conservative hardliners in ejecting McCarthy from the speakership. The vote to oust McCarthy was 216-210.

McCarthy, even though he was ousted, is still able to run again as speaker if nominated by a lawmaker. In the meantime, an acting interim speaker must be named, but they will have limited power.

One of McCarthy’s top lieutenants, Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., defended the speaker in an impassioned speech, also lambasting Gaetz for fundraising off of his efforts to oust McCarthy as speaker.

“Using official actions to raise money, it’s disgusting,” Graves said.

When Graves held up his phone displaying one of Gaetz’s fundraising messages, GOP lawmakers yelled “Shame!” at Gaetz.

In a display of just how much power a handful of conservative hardliners wield over the House, Gaetz has responded to nearly every McCarthy ally speaking on the California Republicans’ behalf on the House floor.

The contrast between the two factions couldn’t be any more clear.

While McCarthy allies, including Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., have received overwhelming applause from GOP lawmakers after their remarks, Gaetz’s speeches have been met with silence.

Next steps are uncertain, but there is no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., was appointed speaker pro tempore until a new speaker is elected. The acting speaker will have limited power.

It was the first time the House has ever passed a motion to vacate the speakership.

Breaching agreement

One of the key concessions McCarthy made to conservatives was agreeing to let a single lawmaker initiate a motion to vacate. On Tuesday, Gaetz pulled the trigger, and turmoil consumed the House.

“I believe the basis for the motion to vacate is Kevin McCarthy’s repeated breach of the agreement that he made in January,” Gaetz told reporters Monday after formally filing the motion to remove McCarthy.

That referred to a second promise McCarthy reportedly made, never released on paper, not to work with Democrats.

The last time the House even voted on a motion to vacate was 1910. In 2015, then-Rep. Mark Meadows filed a motion against Speaker John Boehner, but it never made it to a floor vote.

Boehner resigned months after Meadows’ motion amid continued dissent in his party.

A power struggle in action

McCarthy sat nearly expressionless as his Republican colleagues debated his fate.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., chair of the House Rules Committee, praised the California Republican’s leadership through multiple tough votes.

“We were on the verge of a government shutdown,” Cole said. “He put his political neck on the line … to do the right thing.”

“He did the right thing for our party,” Cole added, earning a standing ovation from the majority of the House GOP conference.

No help across the aisle

The Democrats washed their hands and stayed silent on the sidelines watching the internecine GOP quarrel.

With House Republicans’ razor-thin majority, they could have kept McCarthy in the speaker’s seat. Their votes were crucial in passing the short-term, stopgap spending measure to keep the government funded for another 45 days.

But they had no interest in saving McCarthy’s bacon.

After an extended, closed-door meeting of the Democratic caucus Tuesday morning, minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., spelled out his side’s intentions.

“It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War. Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair,” the letter read.

At any rate, exiting a closed-door weekly conference meeting, McCarthy told reporters firmly he wouldn’t entertain working with Democrats to save his speakership and conceded that “I’m out” if a handful of Republicans decided to boot him.

The Biden administration declined to weigh in. “We’re just not going to get involved,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Like Jeffries, she said the Republicans would have to clean up their own house.

What next?

The country’s largest national elected body now moves to an acting interim speaker.

McCarthy submitted a succession list to the House clerk in January, though the document is private. Likely candidates include Scalise, the majority leader, Emmer, the majority whip.

Who will take the job for good? There’s no clear person, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said before the vote.

“There’s not really an option. Another reason this is very silly,” he said.

Even though he was booted from leadership, McCarthy could choose to run for speaker again if nominated by a lawmaker.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Speaker Kevin McCarthy ousted in historic house vote