For the first time in United States history, the Speaker of the House has been removed.
So how did this happen, and what does it mean?
– Remember when McCarthy had to call 15 votes to win the Speakership? He finally won because he made big concessions to the extreme right in his caucus — including a change to a key House rule, so that only one person was required to introduce a ‘motion to vacate the Speaker’, aka a vote on whether the Speaker should remain in his job. Previously, the rule required a majority of one party for the motion to come to the House floor for a full vote.
– This became a problem last weekend. The House avoided a government shutdown by passing a short-term spending bill that kept the government funded at current levels for another 45 days. GOP extremists were opposed to this bill, and were furious that McCarthy agreed to put it up for a vote. Accordingly, Matt Gaetz filed a motion to oust McCarthy on Tuesday.
– McCarthy might have been able to save himself. After Gaetz introduced the motion, McCarthy was entitled to a 48-hour waiting period before the removal vote. But, for some reason, McCarthy decided to waive that privilege and call the removal vote for the same day.
– The House is now adjourned, so there won’t be a new Speaker for at least another 7 days. If the GOP can’t elect a Speaker, the House will be stuck in the same procedural loop as the beginning of term when McCarthy couldn’t secure enough votes to become Speaker.
– All legislation grinds to a halt until a Speaker is elected, including the work that the House was supposed to do to resolve the government shutdown looming in 45 days.
Alexandria voted to remove McCarthy because she refused to strengthen someone who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election; who held the entire U.S. economy hostage during the debt ceiling negotiations; and who launched a baseless impeachment inquiry without a floor vote.
Kevin McCarthy enabled and upheld some of the most extreme, racist, violent, law-breaking people in his party — who ultimately took him down — while going back on every deal he made with Democrats.
Alexandria and the Democratic Caucus knew that a vote for McCarthy would have empowered a dangerous dynamic in the Republican Party that represents a very real threat to our democracy. Period.
We will continue to update you on how the American people are being impacted by the chaos of GOP leadership. Republican extremism has once again impeded the work of our government.
In solidarity,
Team AOC
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