Republicans split over McCarthy’s ouster

Republicans are divided when it comes to the removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy from his position as speaker, according to a new poll.

The Associated Press-NORC poll shows that only 25% of Republicans surveyed strongly approved of the booting of Mr. McCarthy. Thirty percent strongly disapproved and 42% neither approved nor disapproved.

Mr. McCarthy, who acted as speaker for less than nine months, was removed from the position last week in a 216-210 vote. Only eight Republicans joined with House Democrats to vote him out.

The California Republican’s removal was the first time a speaker had been ousted in history. Other motions to vacate had occurred, but each time the speaker survived the vote.

Rep. Matt Gaetz was the one who filed the motion to vacate that set Mr. McCarthy’s firing in motion. The Florida Republican cited a lack of trust as to why the speaker had to go.

Democrats in the poll were almost as equally divided as Republicans. A higher percentage of them approved of the removal at 30%, but 25% didn’t approve and 44% didn’t care either way.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, North Carolina Republican, has been serving as the interim speaker while the House gets ready to choose someone else.

House Republicans had a candidate forum Tuesday night to assess their choices. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, are two of the bigger options for the next speaker, but even after the forum some Republicans shared that they still were unsure about whom they would choose.

They are expected to meet this week to nominate a new speaker.

The AP-NORC poll was conducted Oct. 5-9 with 1,163 adults nationwide online and over the phone. The margin of error is 3.9 percentage points.