Kevin McCarthy removed as House speaker in historic vote

[peppertree]

Source: CBS News

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his leadership position in a historic vote on Tuesday after a far-right revolt over his reliance on Democrats to pass funding to avert a government shutdown earlier this month.

It's the first time a House speaker has been removed in a no-confidence vote.

Now someone from a secret backup list McCarthy created in January will likely serve as a temporary speaker overseeing a new election. It's not clear how extensive the power of any temporary speaker would be, but Republicans would likely push for that person to have more power than Democrats would want.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-vote-matt-gaetz-kevin-mccarthy-motion-to-vacate-watch-live-stream-today-2023-10-03/

---

Outgoing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthy was ousted just hours after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a resolution to vacate the Speakership - with the House voting to agree to the resolution by 216 to 210.

Nearly all Democrats voted with Gaetz and his allies to do so.

McCarthy, 58, thus becomes the shortest-serving Speaker in 147 years - since Rep. Michael Kerr (D-IN), who died in office after eight months in 1876.

[Aviation Pro]

1. Well, bye

Completely predictable.

[japple]

39. My favorite movie line!

[PatrickforB]

80. Why Ike, whatever do you mean? Maybe pokah is just not yoah game.

Aay know! Let's have a spellin' contest!

[gopiscrap]

2. fuck that worm

[erronis]

3. Looks a bit deflated - forgot to tuck his belly back into his six-pack wrapper.

Not that mine would fit into a 12-pack.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. So he couldn't do what the Freedom Caucus wanted so he's out.

Gaetz has driven the bus as far as it will go. Now on to the next Speaker. This should take about .....45 days? Until the money runs out?

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Some of the Freedom Caucus tried to save Kev when they saw the D's voting to remove him.

[dweller]

5. Was that a sob I heard

From EmptyTraitor Greene ?



✌🏻

[Delphinus]

7. But

wasn't she just supporting Matt?

[dweller]

8. She voted

No



No more sugar daddy Kev


✌🏻

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Shouldn't have tried to force Ds to vote for stupid border security in order to fund Ukraine.

[GreenWave]

10. Imagine if they nominate Trump.

[JoseBalow]

69. I would love to see someone ask drumpf what the Speaker of the House does

That dipshit doesn't have a clue

[calimary]

79. I get grossed out whenever I see his hands. ICK!!!

And nobody knows where they've been...

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. North Carolina's Patrick McHenry takes over as temporary House speaker

North Carolina Republican Patrick McHenry has taken over as House speaker pro tempore following Kevin McCarthy’s removal from the leadership role in Congress’s lower chamber moments ago.

Per House rules, McCarthy submitted to the chamber’s clerk a list of lawmakers who would take over if his seat becomes vacant, of which McHenry was apparently first.

McHenry is the chair of the financial services committee, and voted against removing McCarthy. After picking up the gavel, he recessed the House.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2023/oct/03/mccarthy-speaker-republicans-trump-trial-biden-live-updates?page=with:block-651c7e098f0880e74add4856#block-651c7e098f0880e74add4856

[peppertree]

18. A thread in itself!

(such as he is)

[Drum]

24. He nearly broke that gavel when it was time to adjourn!

[peppertree]

29. Nasty little toad that he is

I hope they keep him until the next election. That runt and his bow-tie are a walking punch line.

[Drum]

32. Agreed...he's a little viper.

🐍

[JanMichael]

34. Got to be kidding me he is a piece of shit worse than McCarthy

And believe me I know.

[ms liberty]

37. Ugh. He's my congresscritter. It used to be Virginia Foxx.

Hard to decide which is worse.

[Solly Mack]

12. John Boehner should offer McCarthy a toke and a smile.

A full-blown shit-eating grin to be precise.

[leftieNanner]

22. Maybe a couple of fingers of Jack Daniels.

Zippa De Doo Dah, Zippa De Yay!

[Solly Mack]

25. I'm sure McCarthy will be self-soothing in some way soon.

[leftieNanner]

28. He was so damned cocky moving his stuff into the Speaker's Office

Before he was elected.

Better bring back those moving boxes, Kev.

Live by the stupid, die by the stupid.

[bdamomma]

63. Funny

Boehner is making money in his new venture.

[maxsolomon]

13. I feel like it's not over for Kev.

GQP doesn't have a lot of other options that would get a majority of votes.

[leftieNanner]

30. I'm gonna bet on Elise Stefanek taking the gavel

She pretends to be both a moderate/sensible Republican and a complete fringe lunatic at the same time.

[BigmanPigman]

14. If the govt shutdown prompted this

I am actually grateful for the shut down (delayed 45 days)

[DJ Porkchop]

15. Their House smells like shit.

[bringthePaine]

16. so the maggot refuKKKchickens are revolting? not news, please hold my brewsk...🤣👍🎉

[DinahMoeHum]

17. (Yawn!) Pass the popcorn.

And you can bet that the Democrats have ulterior motives for voting along with Matt Gaetz.

House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, anyone? Well, I can dream can't I?

[twodogsbarking]

44. Will FOX hire him?

[liberalla]

68. I know! I wonder what the motives are? What's the plan Dems?

Something is brewing...

[live love laugh]

19. Terrified ... that they will replace him with someone even worse.

[PortTack]

53. Agree...there are a lot worse choices!

[The Grand Illuminist]

72. Perfectly exact.

For RWs, everything is done by their design.

[iluvtennis]

20. What a shitshow.

💩💩💩

[FakeNoose]

21. There's nobody leading that ridiculous party of clowns

Things won't be any different next week or next month.

[W T F]

23. I for one wouldn't be to giddy........What if MAGA republicans try to put Trump as the new speaker?

[SergeStorms]

31. Trump would never take it.

He'd actually have to work for the first time in his life. It would certainly interfere with his golf game, and he wouldn't take that.

[D23MIURG23]

91. He's also too much of an egotist for that.

He thinks he's the "president for life" so he won't settle for anything less than that.

[TheRickles]

35. Pretty sure only elected members of the House can serve as Speaker.

Though there's probably a loophole somewhere in there. Any Poli Sci/Con Law majors out there?

[progressoid]

49. Nope. It's never happened but, non members can be Speaker.

As the Constitution does not explicitly state that the speaker must be an incumbent member of the House, it is arguably possible for a non-member to be elected. In the past, representatives have voted for someone who was not then a member of the House. Every person elected speaker, however, has been a member. The issue of whether non-members are eligible to be speaker has been discussed for hundreds of years. In 1787, while the proposed Constitution was being considered, Tench Coxe publicly wrote the following:

The house of representatives is not, as the Senate, to have a president chosen for them from without their body, but are to elect their speaker from their own number....

In modern times, the Congressional Research Service and others have argued that a non-member is constitutionally eligible to become speaker. That view is predominant but not unanimous, and scholars having a different position include political scientist Diana Schaub, who argues by implication that, "A non-member Speaker would be the only office-holder in our system not bound by [the constitutionally-required] oath."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives#Eligibility_of_non-members

[TheRickles]

51. Never knew that. Thanks.

[W T F]

88. Don't say I didn't warn you

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4237172-texas-republican-will-nominate-trump-for-speaker-of-the-house/

[progressoid]

89. Ha! Gaetz tried this last January too.

?si=tirVGQoSGXXF3el3

[SergeStorms]

26. Seeya', you spineless worm.

He gave everything up to become Speaker, and it all came back to bite him in the ass.

Couldn't happen to more deserving asshat. 👏

[Warpy]

27. This is Gaetz getting McCarthy before McCarthy could get him

because it was announced a few days ago that McCarthy would likely expel Gaetz if a pending ethics probe showed significant violations, and of course any honest report would.

I just wonder which horror will be visited upon this country next.

[hadEnuf]

57. So the criminally guilty stay free because their pals won't remove them, despite their guilt.

And this shit sticks?

Welcome to Republican Amerikka.

[Warpy]

61. You got it.

The Klown Kaucus will want one of their own, someone who refuses to work with Democrats on a single thing.

[hadEnuf]

65. I think you are correct.

And Democrats need to make them own every inch of what they block and screw up. Every inch.

[Marthe48]

33. Today has been a real race to the bottom

for rwnj

Looks like traitor and kev hit the skids neck and neck. Yay!

[Marthe48]

36. I've seen DU posts comparing the rwnj playbook to

hitler's gaining power in Germany.


At any time, did hitler's machine fall to pieces as he attacked the German Republic in the 1930s? Are the U.S. traitors here in new territory?

Is this going to hamper traitor's desire to hand the U.S. over to putin?

[JCMach1]

38. Has FOX news blamed the democrat party (sic) and Biden yet?

[2live is 2fly]

40. Aren't we more likely to get an even bigger jerk now? We could be going from bad to worse?

[riversedge]

41. 🚨🚨BREAKING: Kevin McCarthy was just REMOVED as Speaker of the House, becoming the first Speaker

🚨🚨BREAKING:

Kevin McCarthy was just REMOVED as Speaker of the House, becoming the first Speaker in history to be removed by his colleagues.

McCarthy brought it on himself and the country. https://pic.twitter.com/eixfT9dBOe
Replying to @RpsAgainstTrump

[progressoid]

50. He can add "made history" to his resume.

[riversedge]

42. #KevinMcCarthy now will have to move his Office.

[twodogsbarking]

43. Stay tuned. Keep the popcorn handy.

[mcar]

45. Hoist with his own petard

[ArizonaLib]

46. If Olbermann didn't beat me to this:

BYE FELICIA!

[mountain grammy]

47. so if all the Dems voted with Gaetz

will republicans kill him?

[peppertree]

56. Good point.

It puts Gaetz in quite a pickle.

Then again, the radicalized GOP/Magat base - to a person - views McCarthy as a "spineless sellout."

Which, of course, he is - just not the way they see it.

[The Grand Illuminist]

73. By design

I smell a sinister trap.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

48. How many times will they have to vote this time around?

[Probatim]

52. At least he didn't die - he's doing one better than Michael Kerr who served in 1876.

We really should look on the bright side of things.

[peppertree]

55. How appropriate. We'd have 1876-like health conditions, if today's Republicans could have their way

As you know - they're doing their damnedest to create 1876 plutocracy, child labor and women's rights conditions.

[Probatim]

85. It sounds like the temporary speaker is the one to drive us off that cliff.

At least ole Kev wasn't kicking Democrats straight in the balls on live TV. McHenry seems like he's ready to take flamethrower to everything.

[peppertree]

86. It's all good. McAngry can rant, rave, and break gavels all he wants.

The more tantrums that little thing throws (none of which will lead to anything), the better for Democrats.

[Probatim]

87. Seems like he's got some history - from what I'm reading tonight.

Maybe Matty G will pull the plug on McHenry too.

[Montauk6]

54. Git them ALL outta there!!!!!

Egads, what a stench from that side of the aisle...

[Owens]

58. Serious Question

Why would the Democrats vote in align with Gaetz? He's worse.

[Oopsie Daisy]

59. Is he likely to re-apply for the job? Does he qualify? Could he get it?

Or is he out forever?

[LudwigPastorius]

60. Ousted for keeping the government from shutting down.

Fucking Republicans always say government doesn’t work, then they get elected and make sure of it.

[cstanleytech]

62. The Republican party is so completely dysfunctional that they embrace seppuku.

[SoFlaBro]

64. Dogfuck that stupid motherfucker McCarthy. He is a filthy fucking liar and a shitheel.

shit

[AnrothElf]

66. Oh no!

Anyway ...

[TNNurse]

67. So they removed him, do they have a plan on what to do next????

And JFC, how did they let Gaetz get his way??? He is as worthless as possible,

[BumRushDaShow]

70. There is a "Speaker Pro-tem" in

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143138879

[Elessar Zappa]

71. Hakeem Jeffries basically said

that Republicans own this mess and that Democrats wouldn’t save him. Apparently he’s burned his bridges with the Democrats over the past ten months. I’m thinking that Jeffries thought this through and probably consulted Pelosi over this whole issue.

[Snackshack]

74. Why...

Did the Dems do this.

"Nearly all Democrats voted with Gaetz and his allies to do so."

Why give them the legitimacy and power previously unobtainable this does...

I know it sounds counter intuitive but there is wisdom when given a choice to stay with the POS Speaker you know instead of jumping off the cliff w/ "gaetz and his allies".

Especially after one of those allies had mentioned this very act in discussion on how to get DT back into a position to act with impact on the system that stole his election from him. That the Speaker of the House does not need to be in government to be Speaker. I would imagine this is not a good a confidence builder in our allies around the globe as well.

I think the Dems have made an ill advised decision here. I hope I am wrong but I do not see a return that warrants this investment.

[D23MIURG23]

90. I have my doubts about whether it was a good idea.

To me it's an ominous sign that he got ousted for funding the government. It also seems likely that we'll end up with someone even worse than McCarthy.

The reporting is that McCarthy just expected to be bailed out by Dems without cutting a deal, though, while at the same time trying to blame them for a near shutdown miss. Given that, I think it's understandable that they voted to oust. The fact is he's a dirtbag with very few selling points. I'm flabbergasted that he didn't even try to cut a deal.

[quakerboy]

76. No speaker means what, in a practical sense?

Is it like at the beginning where everything else has to go on hold till that's resolved?

Ie, does it pause the ethics thing and Gaetz potential expulsion?

Also.. I guess that answers whether there was a deal on Ukraine aid and such.

211 democrats, 218 votes needed to elect a speaker. I wonder if there's a powersharing agreement that would bring 10-20 Republicans on board for a bipartisan house majority

[SunDrop23]

77. I've been a DU member for a minute and I can say I've finally seen the death of the (R) party.

Good riddance.

[Vogon_Glory]

78. The Republican Party: The Flurry with the Fringe on the Top n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

81. Roll call vote

Link - https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023519

[Polybius]

82. I'm surprised that so many Democrats voted to remove him

I would have thought voting "present" would be the way they voted, but so few did.

[SunSeeker]

83. MAGA GOPers perform a late term abortion on McCarthy's 9 month Speakership.

Oh the irony.

[Initech]

84. Don't let the door hit ya on the way out!