Kevin McCarthy Out: Which Republicans Voted To Remove House Speaker?

By Rick Martin Oct 03 2023, 20:32 PM EDT

History has been made as Kevin McCarthy is out of the speakership after Matt Gaetz moved to oust him as House Speaker. While House Democrats voted unanimously to vote Kevin McCarthy out, several far-right Republicans voted with them.

While the thought of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez siding with Matt Gaetz might be weird, this all resulted from Republican infighting that has been going on since the vote on who the Speaker of the House should be.

According to CNN, the far-right hardline Republicans who voted with the Democrats to oust McCarthy include McCarthy's archnemesis himself, Matt Gaetz of Florida, as well as Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eli Crane of Arizona, Bob Good of Virginia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Matt Rosendale of Montana.

McCarthy says he would not run for House Speaker again but added that he was feeling "great." While many were "stunned" by the result, the now deposed Speaker of the House "wished everybody well," according to Rep. Ralph Norman.

As for the White House's reaction to McCarthy's ouster, Biden was "business as usual" as he continued on his agenda to forgive student loans. He did call on House Republicans to swiftly vote for a new Speaker to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy. The White House is trying to project some calm after all the chaos happening in the Republican-held House.

With Kevin McCarthy out, Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina has been named the interim House Speaker. He is a top ally of McCarthy and was on a list that the now-deposed House Speaker filled up in case of a vacancy. However, as speaker pro tempore, he only has the power to recess the House, adjourn the chamber, and recognize speaker nominations.

New House Speaker Will Inherit Chaos With Republican Infighting

Whoever the new House Speaker would be, with all the infighting happening with the Republican majority and their paper-thin lead against the Democrats, will inherit what the BBC calls a "poison chalice."

Matt Gaetz, who has been blasting McCarthy because he needed to get Democrats to help him out of the government shutdown debacle, is now getting criticized for also needing the help of Democrats to oust McCarthy. Meanwhile, House Republicans are still wondering what to do next with all this chaos.

According to the BBC, McCarthy tried to appease the far-right by opening an impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden and attaching right-wing provisions to spending bills and other legislation. However, this was not enough, as Matt Gaetz still filed that motion to get him out of the speakership.

Democrats Played Both Sides of the Republican Divide, Saving Kevin McCarthy Before Ousting Him

Democrats may have sided with Kevin McCarthy over the government shutdown, but they then switched sides and went with Matt Gaetz over the bid to oust McCarthy. This had many asking why did they turn on the California Republican.

According to TIME Magazine, while Republicans were divided, House Democrats were united when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged his allies to vote against the speaker, and they did. Jeffries explained that "McCarthy had brought this on himself by using his short tenure as Speaker to cater to extremists in his party."

"It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War," said the Democratic leader. "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."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: 'MAGA meltdown': Heilemann reacts to McCarthy's ouster as speaker - MSNBC