House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his position Tuesday afternoon. Eight Republicans and all Democrats present voted to remove McCarthy.
The declaration that the “office of speaker of the House of the United States House of Representatives is herby declared vacant,” was made immediately following the vote.
Rep. Matt Gaetz on Monday night introduced a motion Monday to remove McCarthy, telling press, “I have enough Republicans where at this point next week, one of two things will happen: Kevin McCarthy won’t be the speaker of the House or he’ll be the speaker of the House working at the pleasure of the Democrats.”
McCarthy addressed the vote in a CNBC interview earlier Tuesday, saying, “I made a decision to take a risk to keep the government open,” and noting that the government remaining open allowed the troops and border agents to be paid.
“That’s a fight worth fighting for,” he added. “I’ve always said I will fight for the American public, and that’s exactly what I did, and I’ll continue to do that, and let the chips fall where they may.”
Republican representatives Andy Biggs and Eli Crane of Arizona, Ken Buck of Colorado, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Bob Good of Virginia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Matt Rosendale of Montana joined Gaetz in voting to remove McCarthy as speaker.
This is a developing story and will be updated.