Far-right Republican Representative Matt Gaetz has moved to oust fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, adding more chaos to the already tumultuous Congress. Gaetz introduced a “motion to vacate,” which would force a vote to remove McCarthy from his position.
Despite acknowledging that his effort might fail on the first try, Gaetz expressed optimism that support could grow in subsequent attempts to remove McCarthy. When asked about a replacement for McCarthy, Gaetz said he would support Steve Scalise, the current House Majority Leader.
Republicans currently hold a narrow 221-212 majority in the House, and it would only take a few defections to threaten McCarthy’s hold on power if all Democrats voted against him. Gaetz and other far-right Republicans are upset with McCarthy for relying on Democratic votes to pass a temporary funding extension, which averted a partial government shutdown. Gaetz and a faction of about 20 Republicans had repeatedly blocked other legislation, forcing McCarthy’s hand.
McCarthy has called Gaetz’s leadership challenge disruptive and expressed confidence that he will survive. Gaetz was one of the far-right Republicans who voted against McCarthy’s bid for speaker in January but ultimately lost after 15 rounds of voting.
No U.S. House speaker has ever been removed from their position. It remains unclear whether Democrats will vote against McCarthy or extract concessions to keep him in power. Several House Democrats have stated that they will await direction from party leader Hakeem Jeffries. Democrats are upset with McCarthy for reneging on a debt limit deal with President Joe Biden and launching an impeachment probe against Biden without sufficient evidence. They are also frustrated by the lack of time given to read the stopgap spending bill before the vote.
Democrats could demand that McCarthy honor his spending deal with Biden, drop the impeachment inquiry, or hold votes on gun and immigration legislation. It is uncertain whether Democrats will join right-wing Republicans to help topple McCarthy or if they will support him in exchange for political or legislative favors.
The White House has characterized House Republicans as unreliable and extreme during the spending fight. The stopgap bill passed on Saturday did not include $6 billion in aid to Ukraine, which is supported by Democrats and many Senate Republicans but opposed by right-wing House Republicans like Gaetz.
The House and Senate have until November 17 to pass spending legislation for the current fiscal year or pass another stopgap measure to avoid a government shutdown.