McCarthy has to vacate his seat – US Republicans overthrow chairman in the House of Representatives – News

  • For the first time in US history, the House of Representatives removes the chamber’s president – at the request of his own party.
  • A majority of the House voted to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from office at the request of Republicans.
  • The Chairman of the House of Representatives comes third in the order of office in the United States after the President and his Vice President.
  • The background is an internal revolt among the Republicans.

Led by Republican hardliner Matt Gaetz, other Republicans voted to remove Kevin McCarthy from power. The Democrats in the chamber decided not to come to McCarthy’s aid and voted against him. The Republicans actually have the say in the House of Representatives, but only by a narrow margin. The number of revolters in the Republican ranks and the votes of the Democrats resulted in a narrow majority against McCarthy.

Legend:

The Republican leader of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, was removed by a vote of 216 to 210.

Reuters/US House of Representatives/C-SPAN

A motion to remove the chairman is extremely rare in the US House of Representatives. Such proposals have only been put forward three times in the history of the Congressional Chamber. And only once – in 1910 – has there been a vote on the matter in the chamber’s plenary session.

This is how the motion to dismiss McCarthy came about


Open the box
Close the box

The leader of the revolt, Matt Gaetz, introduced a motion for Kevin McCarthy’s removal to the House of Representatives on Monday evening. The 41-year-old accused McCarthy, among other things, of making common cause with Democratic President Joe Biden instead of working for the Republican faction.

The reason was the budget dispute in the USA. Gaetz was bothered by the fact that McCarthy used the votes of Democrats to avert an impending shutdown of the government and authorities at the last moment last weekend. On Saturday, Congress passed an interim budget until mid-November. Gaetz also accused McCarthy of violating several intra-party agreements – so he should not be trusted.

Since the Parliamentary Chamber elects its chairman itself, it is also the only body that can force him out of office – upon request from the ranks of the MPs.

With McCarthy, for the first time in the almost 250-year history of the USA, a chairman of the House of Representatives was removed from his powerful post by a parliamentary vote.

McCarthy criticizes Gaetz

With McCarthy’s removal, the search for a new chairman and thus also the work in the House of Representatives are likely to come to a standstill for the time being. McCarthy’s successor will not be decided until next week at the earliest. The 58-year-old will not run again, as he announced after being voted out.

In a partly emotional, partly aggressive appearance, McCarthy said that the chairmanship was the greatest honor for him. “I loved every minute.” He is at peace with himself. “I wouldn’t do anything differently,” he emphasized.

At the same time, the Republican criticized the rebels within the party – especially Gaetz. McCarthy complained that it was by no means about content, but rather about personal matters – and about getting media attention.

Internal party struggles have far-reaching consequences

The parliamentary chaos comes at a time when Congress, among other things, has to pass a federal budget, as the interim budget expires in mid-November. If a new budget is not passed by the deadline, the USA will once again be heading towards a temporary standstill in government business, a “shutdown”.

“Republican reckoning plunges USA into leadership crisis”


Open the box
Close the box

It was a spiteful reckoning within the Republican Party in plain sight. A reckoning that is now plunging the USA into a major leadership crisis – with an uncertain outcome. Instead of arguing about a new budget law, the MPs now have to find a new speaker. We all remember the chaos at the beginning of the year when Republican leader Kevin McCarthy needed 15 votes to even get into office. This time the chaos is even bigger.

Assessment by USA correspondent Pascal Weber

The US Parliament also has to decide on new aid for Ukraine. The interim budget passed at the weekend does not provide for any further aid for the country attacked by Russia. This does not mean that the USA will no longer support Ukraine from now on. However, the money approved so far is running out and new funds are needed. The internal party struggles among the US Republicans therefore also have international effects.

source site-72