Kevin McCarthy, R.-Calif. Speaker of the House, speaks to reporters following a closed door meeting with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and other House Republicans on Tuesday after Gaetz submitted a motion seeking McCarthy’s ouster from his leadership position.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R.-Calif. talks to reporters following a closed door meeting with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and other House Republicans on Tuesday after Gaetz filed the motion to remove McCarthy from his leadership position.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
If the resolution passes, the Clerk will consult a list of individuals who could act as Speaker pro tempore if the speaker is absent. This list will be kept secret until the Speakership becomes vacant. The members will need to gather to discuss their options. Members are preparing themselves for a difficult process.
It took 15 rounds to elect McCarthy Speaker in January, in part because there was no consensus alternative.
There is no clear alternative who could win the votes necessary to fill the job.
Republicans split into factions
McCarthy was defiant but resigned to the vote following a lengthy meeting of House Republicans on Tuesday morning. McCarthy said to reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday morning that if you remove a speaker who has 99 percent support, kept the government open, and paid the soldiers, then I think we are in a bad situation. Before the vote, Democrats and Republicans were huddled together in corners or gathered into groups to try and calculate whether McCarthy would be able to survive. It would take a majority of the members present and voting to remove McCarthy, leaving both parties tabulating exactly how many members are present.
Counting members turned into an intense project as a group of McCarthy’s critics sat in the back corner of the House floor with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the member who set the revolt in motion. McCarthy’s supporters huddled together with the floor staff of the speaker, looking at their phones and notes. Democrats refuse to save McCarthy
This defiant tone helped unify Democrats against him, opting instead to let Republicans sort out their differences on their own. House Democrats will continue to put people over politics.
We are ready to find bipartisan common ground.
Our extreme colleagues have not shown a willingness to do the same.
They must find a way to end the House Republican Civil War.
They must join us to move Congress and the country forward.
House Democrats will continue to put people over politics.
We are ready to find bipartisan common ground.
Our extreme colleagues have shown no willingness to do the same.
They must find a way to end the House Republican Civil War.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries)
“We are ready, willing and able to work together with our Republican colleagues but it is on them to join us to move the Congress and the country forward,” Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol.
Jeffries also informed members that he and other party leaders will vote to remove McCarthy if and when a vote comes to the House floor.
Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), House Minority leader, said it was up to Republicans find a solution to their political differences.
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffreys, D-N.Y. says it’s up to Republicans find a solution to their political differences.
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images
His remarks followed a long “open mic” session of House Democrats on Tuesday in the basement complex of the Capitol. The lawmakers were given one minute each to give their advice on what the caucus ought to do. Meanwhile, the Democrats took the opportunity to criticize McCarthy’s record for not being willing to reach out to the other side. Abigail Spanberger (a Virginia moderate Democrat) told reporters that she believes Kevin McCarthy to be one of the most untrustworthy, unprincipled people she has ever met. She also said he damages this institution and democracy.
She pointed out that McCarthy did a television interview on Tuesday saying he didn’t need any help from Democrats so she didn’t see any reason to help him survive.Multiple Democrats told NPR neither the speaker, nor his allies, have approached Democratic leaders with any proposal to support him.
Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said McCarthy’s change in the rules for who can bring a resolution to remove a speaker and allowing only one member to do so “essentially puts the edge in charge of House of Representatives rulemaking.” Neal, D-Mass., said that he took a “Machivellian” position in January about the decision: “Once the deal is sealed, you must take the consequences.” This story will be updated.