A version of this story appeared in the On Background newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive On Background delivered directly to your inbox each Friday.
The House adjourned for the week on Tuesday following a historic vote that ejected Kevin McCarthy as speaker and left GOP leadership in limbo.
Lawmakers will reconvene next week to elect a new speaker. Mr. McCarthy, in a shock announcement following the vote, announced he won’t run to regain the gavel because he does not believe he can win a majority of votes on the House floor.
“I won’t run for speaker again,” Mr. McCarthy said. “I’ll never give up on the American people. That doesn’t mean I have to be speaker to do what I have to do for the American people.”
Mr. McCarthy’s decision left lawmakers stunned and unsure of what to do next. It’s possible they’ll still nominate Mr. McCarthy for speaker, but if he can’t come up with the votes, they’ll have to pick someone else from within their ranks.
The leading choices include Majority Leader Steve Scalise, of Louisiana, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, of Minnesota, Elise Stefanik, the Conference chairwoman of New York, and Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
SEE ALSO: In historic vote, GOP rebels eject House Speaker McCarthy after heated debate
“I don’t know who would want it, I mean we’ve heard names but whether they want to go through the grind, I have no idea,” Rep. Ralph Norman, of South Carolina, said. “At this point it’s an open horse race.”
Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican and chair of the House Financial Services Committee, was designated to serve as the temporary speaker.
He was chosen by Mr. McCarthy earlier this year to serve in the event of an emergency and according to top House aides,
Mr. McCarthy was pushed out in a 216-210 vote. Only eight Republicans voted to remove Mr. McCarthy, but they were joined by all House Democrats in the floor vote, forcing out Mr. McCarthy.
It’s the first time in history a House speaker has been tossed out.
Mr. McCarthy’s removal was orchestrated by Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican, who said he would not run to replace Mr. McCarthy. He also said he is not sure who can win the majority needed to take the gavel.
Mr. McCarthy lost, said Mr. Gaetz, because he’s made promises over reining in government spending that he has failed to uphold.
“This represents the ripping off of the Band-Aid and that’s what we need to get back on track,” Mr. Gaetz said after the vote.
Mr. McCarthy lamented the House rule he agreed to in January that allowed his ouster by a simple majority.
Such a rule gave a small faction of Republicans control of his fate by pairing with all House Democrats to push him out.
Mr. McCarthy, in a press conference following his ouster, told reporters he was promised by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, that she’s “always back” him if the House Republicans tried to push him out.
Mrs. Pelosi, who is no longer in the Democratic leadership but is still a member of Congress, did not vote Tuesday when Mr. McCarthy’s speakership was on the line.
Mr. McCarthy defended himself against the eight Republicans who voted against him.
“I bite my lip, I let people say things that are not true, but it’s not right.” Mr. McCarthy said.
When asked whether he’d change anything if he had an opportunity for a do-over, he said, “I’d change the rule” that allowed the GOP rebels to vote him out.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.