UPDATE posted at 5:38 PM ET:
The U.S. House of Representives voted 216-210 in favor of ousting GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the House speakership slot.
The move on Tuesday marked the first time in U.S. history that the legislative chamber has removed a speaker, according to reports.
Eight GOP lawmakers and 208 Democrats voted to remove McCarthy, while 210 Republicans voted against removing McCarthy. Zero Democrats voted against ousting McCarthy from the speakership.
“The fight is not over. Now we must elect a Speaker,” GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who instigated the move to oust McCarthy, declared on X.
Original story below:
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted in favor of ousting GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California from the House speaker role which he has held since earlier this year.
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida had moved to boot McCarthy from the speakership after McCarthy worked with Democrats to secure votes for a budget resolution that averted a government shutdown.
The vast majority of House Republicans voted against removing McCarthy from the House speaker post on Tuesday. Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.), Nancy Mace (S.C.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.) voted with Democrats to remove McCarthy.
With the vote to kick McCarthy out of the speaker’s slot, the House will now need to select a new speaker.
McCarthy became speaker in January after 15 rounds of balloting, so such such a scenario could play out again, with multiple rounds of voting taking place before a speaker is finally selected. Republicans control the House majority, but not by a significant margin.
“I support Motion to Vacate,” GOP Rep. Andy Biggs of of Arizona noted in a post on X. “Speaker McCarthy has failed to demonstrate himself as an effective leader who will change the status quo. He has gone against many of the promises he made in January and can no longer be trusted at the helm.”
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