Eight House Republicans joined House Democrats in removing Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from his post as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, the first time a Speaker has ever been removedby vote.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) led the motion. The Florida lawmaker has feuded with McCarthy for weeks over debates on passing budget appropriations bills.
Gaetz demanded McCarthy pass bills with steep budget cuts, but McCarthy instead opted to back a deal to avoid a government shutdown with a 45-day, last-second budget extension.
Like Gaetz, the other Republican lawmakers cited either the national debt or broken promises made to the House GOP for as their reasons for voting to remove McCarthy.
These are the Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy:
Biggs argued McCarthy was no longer an effective leader of the GOP caucus during remarks on the floor Tuesday. He said McCarthy’s passage of the budget continuing resolution made him complicit in failures on the national debt and on immigration policy.
Biggs said McCarthy failed to properly use leverage against the Biden administration over what he viewed as poor border policy.
“Speaker McCarthy has failed to demonstrate himself as an effective leader who will change the status quo,” Biggs said in a statement earlier Tuesday. “He has gone against many of the promises he made in January and can no longer be trusted at the helm.”
Buck criticized McCarthy on Tuesday for going back on promises he made to members of his caucus when he was elected Speaker in January.
“I supported Kevin McCarthy in January because I thought he was the person best positioned to keep our promises to our constituents,” Buck said in a statement. “It’s clear that we need a principled Speaker who can keep his word not just to members of Congress, but to the American people.”
Read More: These 8 Republicans voted to oust McCarthy
