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McCarthy Ousted: The Aftermath

In January, Kevin McCarthy had struck a deal to secure the position of House Speaker, but under that agreement, any member of Congress had the power to initiate a vote for his removal.

This Tuesday, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz exercised that power, successfully ousting McCarthy with the help of Democrats. This move left most Republicans bewildered, as they had largely supported McCarthy, but the actions of a few rebels plunged the chamber into turmoil.

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Monday.

For months, McCarthy had struggled to keep the more conservative faction of his party satisfied. He had acquiesced to launching an impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden, abandoned a spending deal reached with Democrats, and allowed right-wing provisions to be attached to various bills.

Despite all his efforts, McCarthy’s reliance on Democratic support to temporarily fund the government over the weekend marked a turning point.

McCarthy could have attempted to regain his position by convincing the Republicans who voted against him to change their minds, as he had done in January. However, he now seemed to have few options left, and on Tuesday evening, he indicated that he would not seek the role again.

The coveted speakership that had been a longtime goal for McCarthy had turned into a poisoned chalice, and after the removal vote, he appeared almost relieved as fellow Republicans approached to offer handshakes and hugs.

Regardless of McCarthy’s replacement, the deep divisions within the Republican Party would persist, and the challenges of effectively governing the House would remain unchanged.

“They are not conservatives,” McCarthy told reporters. “They don’t get to say they’re conservative because they’re angry and they’re chaotic. That’s not the party I belong to. The party of Reagan was if you believed in your principles that you could govern in a conservative way. They are not conservatives and they do not have the right to have the title.” he said.

This historic moment, the first Speaker removed by a House vote, was the culmination of a long-standing internal struggle within the Republican Party, dating back to at least the Tea Party movement of 2010. It represented a clash between pragmatism and ideological purity, between reforming the system and working within it.

In January, McCarthy had barely secured the Speaker’s position, with a few Republican holdouts ultimately supporting him. It was these very holdouts who ultimately undermined him on Tuesday.

While Matt Gaetz had allies who supported his motion to remove McCarthy, he was the central figure in this one-man show. During an hour of debate before the final vote, he dominated the conversation, positioned on the Democratic side of the chamber but addressing his fellow Republicans.

The common thread between both sides of this Republican divide was the belief that Washington was severely dysfunctional. For Gaetz, the blame lay in the way federal spending was approved, decrying closed-door negotiations and bundled votes on massive spending bills. He accused McCarthy of compromising with Democrats and warned that without a tougher stance, nothing would change in Washington.

In defense of McCarthy, some argued that compromise was an inherent part of the political process and praised him for advancing the conservative agenda. Congressman Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota pointed fingers at politicians like Gaetz, accusing them of prioritizing grandstanding and fundraising over effective governance.

As of now, the House is in disarray, lacking a Speaker and a clear path to appointing one. After the removal proceedings ended with a loud gavel strike on Tuesday afternoon, Republicans appeared stunned and retreated behind closed doors to strategize. Democrats, on the other hand, seemed to view this chaos as politically advantageous.

These are uncharted waters, and with the looming threat of a mid-November government shutdown, the situation could become increasingly tumultuous.

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