McCarthy ousted as US House speaker in historic House vote

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of office on Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown, a first in U.S. history. The 216-210 vote, forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives, throws the House and its Republican leadership into chaos party furious at his cooperation with the Democrats.

It’s the end of the political line for McCarthy, who has said repeatedly that he never gives up, but found himself with almost no options remaining. Neither the right-flank Republicans who engineered his ouster nor the Democrats who piled on seem open to negotiating.

McCarthy told lawmakers in the evening he would not run again for speaker, putting the gavel up for grabs. Next steps are highly uncertain with no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority. Action is halted in the House until next week, when Republicans try to elect a new speaker.

“I may have lost this vote today, but as I walk out of this chamber I feel fortunate to have served,” McCarthy said at a press conference at the Capitol, alternating between upbeat assessment of his speakership and angry score-settling of those who ousted him.

Still, he said, “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

McCarthy’s chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, orchestrated the rare vote on the obscure “motion to vacate,” and pushed ahead swiftly into a dramatic afternoon roll call.

In a stunning turn of events, the recent maneuver has exposed the disarray and infighting within the Republican Party as they gear up for the upcoming 2024 presidential election, with Donald Trump at the helm.

The 58-year-old Californian former entrepreneur had sparked fury among conservatives at the weekend when he passed a bipartisan stopgap funding measure backed by the White House to avert a government shutdown.

Democrats, too, had no love for McCarthy, pointing to his decision to renege on a deal with Biden on spending limits hammered out earlier this year in high-stakes talks over the federal budget.