Kevin McCarthy: Political career of the first US House speaker ever ousted by vote, by own party

For the first time in the history of American politics, the speaker of the House of Representatives has been removed from his office through a vote. The House on Tuesday voted 216-210 to oust Republican speaker Kevin McCarthy, with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats to remove him.

The move came after the party’s infighting almost led to a government shutdown last week. It was Matt Gaetz, a far-right Republican and Trump loyalist, who pushed the House to topple McCarthy as speaker. McCarthy later told the media that he would not again run for the speaker and would “continue to fight, but [maybe] in a different manner.”

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Kevin McCarthy’s extraordinary downfall

Kevin Owen McCarthy served as the 55th speaker of the US House of Representatives from January to October 2023. He served as a member of the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2006 and was first elected to the House of Rep. in 2006.

He also served as the House Republican chief deputy whip from 2009 to 2011 and then as the House majority in the 104 Republican primary. He retained this position till Paul Ryan was the speaker of the House and was then elected House minority leader after Ryan’s retirement.

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When Joe Biden won the 2020 US presidential election, McCarthy supported Donald Trump's debunked claims of election fraud and initially participated in efforts to overturn the results. But after the 2021 US Capitol riot, which left the Republican Party deeply divided, McCarthy reversed his previous comments on election fraud and blamed Trump for the riot.

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By 2022, he had publicly reconciled with Trump and led the House Republicans through the 2022 elections, in which they gained a slim majority.

On September 29, McCarthy's bill to fund the federal government, featuring large government spending cuts and strict border policies, failed to pass the House after Democrats and 21 House Republicans refused to support it. If no funding bill was passed, a government shutdown would have occurredon October 1.

On September 30, McCarthy introduced a temporary funding bill without the large government spending cuts, but also without Ukraine funding. This bill passed in the House and prevented a government shutdown as the Senate and President Joe Biden approved McCarthy's funding bill.

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After funding the government with Democratic support, McCarthy said, "If somebody wants to remove me because I want to be the adult in the room, go ahead and try."

On October 3, Gaetz filed a motion to vacate the chair over frustrations about McCarthyworking on a bipartisan deal.

The House is likely to operate business leaderless for at least a week. Till then, multiple Republicans said they are planning to meet on October 10 to discuss possible McCarthy successors, with a vote on a new speaker scheduled for October 11.

McCarthy’s removal reflects how deeply polarised and ungovernable the GOP is.

(With inputs from agencies)

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