Will not run for US House speaker again: McCarthy after he was forced out in historic vote

Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from his role as the speaker of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday (Oct 3) by eight Republican hardliners, said that he would not run for speaker again, adding he would have the conference pick somebody else. "I believe I can continue to fight, maybe in a different manner. I will not run for speaker again; I’ll have the conference pick somebody else," McCarthy, 58, told reporters.

"I ended up being the 55th speaker of the House -- one of the greatest honours. I loved every minute," he said. McCarthy added that he did not regret standing up for choosing to govern over grievance, adding it was his responsibility and his job.

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Hitting out at the Republicans who led the ouster, the 58-year-old said, "My fear is the institution fell today because you can't do the job if eight people, you have 94% of, or 96% of your entire conference, but eight people can partner with the whole other side. How do you govern?"

The first ouster of a speaker in House's 234-year history

For the first time in its 234-year history, the House backed a resolution "to vacate the office of the speaker" with a 216-210 vote, setting the stage for an unprecedented contest to replace McCarthy a year before the presidential election.

McCarthy had sparked fury among the Republican hardliners last weekend when he worked with Democrats to pass a stopgap funding measure to avert a government shutdown. The call for his ouster was led by Republican lawmaker Matt Gaetz.

Republicans will now gather at 6:30 pm (2230 GMT) to discuss putting up a candidate for a vote to be the new speaker.

McCarthy's ouster amounts to victory for Trump

Speaking to the news agency Reuters, an analyst said that McCarthy's ouster was indicative of the disintegration of the Republican party, and amounted to a victory for former president Donald Trump, who is a 2024 presidential hopeful.

Princeton University historian Sean Wilentz said that McCarthy’s ouster by a wing of the Republican party close to Trump allowed the former president to achieve some of the goals his supporters failed to when they stormed the US Capitol in January 2021.

If the removal of McCarthy led to a shutdown of the US government, history showed that neither party would benefit, Wilentz added.

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