After almost nine months, the tenure of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House speaker may be coming to a close as Democrats have signaled they will not come to his rescue.
It will take just five Republicans to join all Democrats to strip Mr. McCarthy of the gavel, which he won in January after 15 balloting rounds. The motion to vacate the chair was introduced by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
If successful, this would be the first time a speaker has been removed through a motion to vacate. Former Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) resigned as speaker and from Congress in 2015 before such a motion could be brought. The last time there was a vote on such a motion was in 1910, which was unsuccessful.
“We confront a serious, solemn and sober moment. The vote that the House will cast this week in connection with a Motion to Vacate the Chair is not about any one individual. Our responsibility as Members of Congress relates to the Constitution, the principle of good governance and the people we are privileged to serve. Nothing more, and nothing less,” said Mr. Jeffries in a statement.
“In that regard, House Democrats remain willing to find common ground on an enlightened path forward,” he continued.
“Unfortunately, our extreme Republican colleagues have shown no willingness to do the same. It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War.
Democrat Members Against McCarthy
Numerous House Democrats have already said they will not bail out Mr. McCarthy.“Absent any significantly meaningful benefit for Maine’s Second District, I see no reason to vote for him,” said Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) in a statement.
“You are only as good as your word—and time and again, Speaker McCarthy has proven that he is not a man of his word. He is simply not trustworthy,” said Rep. Annie Custer (D-N.H.), chair of the moderate New Democrat Coalition, in a statement.
“While Republicans have lost their way, Democrats stand united in our purpose and our caucus,” she continued. “Leader Jeffries continues to be the steady, forward-looking voice we need to lead our country forward. New Dems are proud to stand with our Leader and our Caucus to deliver progress for the American people, not chaos.”
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) told The Epoch Times that House Democrats will be following Mr. Jeffries’ lead.
“Our vote has to be for moving this country forward, having reasonable appropriations that does not cut $800 million from women and children programs,” she added.
“And we will show Russia and others that we are committed to standing by Ukraine because Ukraine is fighting for democracy. So we will not abandon Ukraine,” continued Ms. Jackson Lee. “So we will have to move forward with those priorities and we will see what the debate is on the floor.”
Under Mr. McCarthy’s tenure as speaker, the House passed legislation dealing with the debt ceiling, a deal he made with President Joe Biden; border security; American energy; and new IRS agents. Except for the debt ceiling bill, the bills have been dead on arrival in the Senate and have no chance of becoming law.
January Agreement
As part of an agreement to get the gavel, Mr. McCarthy lowered the threshold for the number of members to bring forth a motion to vacate so that a single member could bring the motion.“Speaker McCarthy made an agreement with House conservatives in January,” the Florida lawmaker told CNN.
“And since then, he has been in brazen repeated material breach of that agreement. This agreement he made with Democrats to really blow past a lot of the spending guardrails we had set up is a last straw.”
Mr. Gaetz also claimed, “Overnight I learned that Kevin McCarthy had a secret deal with Democrats on Ukraine.
“So as he was baiting Republicans to vote for a continuing resolution without Ukraine money, saying that we were going to jam the Senate on Ukraine, he then turns around and makes a secret deal.”
Mr. McCarthy denied that he had a side deal with the White House.
During his House floor speech on Oct. 2, where he decried big spending, Mr. Gaetz denounced what he called a “yellow brick road paved by Speaker McCarthy.”
During his appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Mr. Gaetz announced his intention.
“I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week,” he said. “I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy.”
Mr. Gaetz cited Mr. McCarthy’s going back and forth on issues and remarked that he didn’t keep his promises.
“Look, the one thing everybody has in common is that nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy. He lied to Biden. He lied to House conservatives. He had appropriators marking to a different number altogether,” he said.
On CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Mr. McCarthy had a response to Mr. Gaetz: Game on.
Mr. McCarthy said Mr. Gaetz’s wanting to get the gavel out of his hand is “nothing new” and that he has sought to do so since Mr. McCarthy ran for speaker in January, eventually winning after 15 rounds of balloting and many concessions to the hardline Freedom Caucus, including lowering the threshold for putting forth a motion to vacate.
“He’s more interested in securing TV interviews than doing something. He wanted to push us into a shutdown, even threatening his own district with all the military people there who would not be paid only because he wants to take this motion.”
It’s yet to be determined who will succeed Mr. McCarthy if the motion passes. A speaker pro tempore will be appointed until there is a permanent speaker.
Because the House passed a rules package, business, including committee hearings, can proceed as normal. Names that have been floated as permanent replacements for Mr. McCarthy include House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
Mr. Scalise is battling cancer. All of them have expressed support for Mr. McCarthy to keep the gavel.
