Why was Kevin McCarthy ousted as House speaker?
Rep. Kevin McCarthy is the first sitting House speaker in U.S. history to be ousted. In a 216-210 vote, hard-right Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Democrats joined forces to remove the California GOP leader Tuesday evening.
Soon after, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina took over as interim speaker, sending both parties to regroup and figure out who will be the next speaker.
But, some may still be wondering: Why was McCarthy voted out in the first place?
Averting a government shutdown
Most will point to McCarthy striking a deal with Democrats to pass a 45-day stopgap funding bill on Saturday to avert a federal government shutdown as the final nail in his coffin.
During negotiations, McCarthy walked a tightrope. On one side, he tried to appease Gaetz and the House Freedom Caucus' demands to drastically slash federal spending and completely reform the U.S. government away from the "woke and weaponized" institution it had become. They also demanded that McCarthy bring every individual bill to the floor, even though Congress was facing a ticking clock.
On the other side, McCarthy wanted to avoid a shutdown that would deny millions of workers paychecks and shutter numerous essential programs for Americans in need.
In the end, he decided to abandon the far-fetched hard-right demands to keep the government functional.
Nevertheless, Gaetz accused the former speaker of turning his back on the GOP and making "secret side deals" with President Joe Biden to secure more aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia, despite Ukrainian aid being left out of the stopgap bill entirely.
Gaetz introduced the motion to vacate on Monday, which McCarthy welcomed, leading to the historic ouster on Tuesday.
"Kevin McCarthy is a feature of the swamp. He has risen to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing that money in exchange for favors," Gaetz said. "We are breaking the fever now, and we should elect a speaker who's better."
Long-standing rivalry
While the rivalry between McCarthy and Gaetz came to a quick boil this week, the resentment between the two had been simmering for months.
It started in January with the first showdown for the speaker. Similar to this time around, Gaetz led a defecting group of Republicans, demanding McCarthy agree to a long list of right-wing – albeit impractical with a Democrat-led Senate and Democratic president – priorities.
Gaetz and company forced McCarthy to face 15 rounds of voting before eventually becoming the leader of the House.
Video below: Matt Gaetz ousts Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House
However, the Florida Republican and the House Freedom Caucus never fully committed to supporting McCarthy as speaker, even with him finding enough votes in the conference to reach the speakership.
They especially made that known when McCarthy struck a deal with Democrats in May to raise the debt ceiling to avoid economic calamity.
The deal included concessions from both sides; Democrats agreed to cap government spending on social programs like food stamps and work requirements for cash assistance. Meanwhile, McCarthy and House Republicans on his side dropped their ask to roll back spending on Medicaid and Social Security.
Ultimately, McCarthy helped broker a deal that averted a devastating federal default. But, Gaetz saw McCarthy's willingness to work with Democrats – a needed practice to govern within a bipartisan system – as a violation of their agreement for him to become speaker.
And then came the events of this week.
McCarthy announced Tuesday evening that he would not run for reelection to the speakership. In his outgoing press conference, McCarthy made his feelings known about his ouster and the motivations of Gaetz and the seven other Republicans behind it.
"Look, you all know Matt Gaetz. You know it was personal. It had nothing to do about spending," McCarthy said. "It all was about getting attention from you. I mean we were getting e-mail fundraisers as he's doing it.
"They are not conservatives, and they do not have the right to have the title," McCarthy said.
McCarthy added that he had no regrets about his short-lived tenure as speaker.
"I don't regret standing up for choosing governing over grievance. It is my responsibility. It is my job. I do not regret negotiating. Our government is designed to find compromise," McCarthy said.
