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He also got strong support in the Senate, where even an outright majority of Republicans voted for the aid on Tuesday. But this time around several Democrats have indicated they would cross the aisle to support Johnson and frustrate Greene & Co. if it came to a vote. Democratic leaders have indicated they are open to this, and it essentially repeats the strategy that allowed Johnson to pass the Ukraine portion of the aid bill earlier this month. The increasing chances of a messy floor fight over the speaker’s gavel on Jan. 3, Day One of the new Congress, is worrying House Republicans, who have been meeting endlessly in private at the Capitol in an effort to resolve the standoff. His toppling from the speaker’s post was fueled by grievances from his party’s hard-right flank, including over his decision to work with Democrats to keep the federal government open rather than risk a shutdown.
Kevin McCarthy gives cheeky answer for his newest government gig
McCarthy removed as House speaker after motion to vacate. Here’s what that means - CNN
McCarthy removed as House speaker after motion to vacate. Here’s what that means.
Posted: Wed, 13 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
“You have this moment in time where McCarthy wants it so badly and has just been raked over the coals for an awesome four days,” exulted Russ Vought, the president of the right-wing Center for Renewing America, as he listed the concessions the Republican leader had offered. Mr. Gosar, who voted against Mr. McCarthy on multiple ballots but changed his vote to support him on Friday, spread numerous lies about the 2020 election and spoke at “Stop the Steal” rallies arranged by Ali Alexander, a prominent organizer. When Representative Chip Roy of Texas, then a freshman and now one of Mr. McCarthy’s most vocal opponents, forced roll call votes on every amendment in spending bills in 2019, the process of approving them dragged on for two weeks. They had demanded the ability to hold a vote on the House floor for each individual earmark. In an effort to win them over, Mr. McCarthy has offered to give rank-and-file lawmakers more influence in the process of writing spending bills. One official briefed on that emerging compromise said if a lawmaker took issue with a certain earmark, they could force such a vote.
Democratic Party
Multiple Democrats told NPR that neither the speaker nor his allies had approached Democratic leaders with any proposal to support him. His comments followed a lengthy "open mic" meeting of House Democrats in the basement of the Capitol complex Tuesday. One by one lawmakers got up and had one minute to advise on what they thought the caucus should do, and one by one Democrats railed on Speaker McCarthy's record and his unwillingness to reach across the aisle. "We are ready, willing and able to work together with our Republican colleagues but it is on them to join us to move the Congress and the country forward," Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol.
The House last struggled to elect a speaker 100 years ago. Here's what happened
Most recently three hard-liners went a step further and blocked consideration of a border security bill that largely included H.R. The border bill could have passed the House by a simple majority, but the blockade forced Johnson to require a two-thirds majority. Johnson and Republican appropriators negotiated the spending deal, but they were stuck following parameters agreed to by Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) when they agreed last year to raise the debt ceiling by capping spending for two years at roughly $1.7 trillion. That by pretending to be super conservative, by taking down a rule and fighting the establishment … the outcome is, you have less conservative legislation. It’s not better for the country,” he said, referring to a procedural tactic governing floor debate known as a rule. The list of the 10 speakers who served in the job longest includes just one Republican (and in the ninth slot at that).
House Republicans pushed for it to be restored, even though McCarthy had once described it as a red line. While the California Republican had earlier conceded that the motion could be introduced with the support of five members, the threshold is now back down to one. In the long term, McCarthy’s concessions set the table for another major showdown over the debt ceiling in the months to come. The federal government will soon run up against the limit of $31.4 trillion, and conservatives will demand that the Biden White House make concessions in order to approve raising the limit. This means a high-stakes showdown that would put the good faith and credit of the United States at risk.
On October 3, 2023, the United States House of Representatives voted to remove its speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California, through a motion to vacate[a] filed by Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida, a fellow member of the Republican Party. McCarthy's removal marked the first time in American history that a speaker of the House was removed through a motion to vacate. The vacancy started a process to elect a speaker that began following an eight-day recess. WASHINGTON (AP) — For a long and frustrating third day, divided Republicans kept the speaker’s chair of the U.S. House empty Thursday, as party leader Kevin McCarthy failed again and again in an excruciating string of ballots to win enough GOP votes to seize the chamber’s gavel.
Other Republicans swarmed Gaetz and engaged in seemingly heated discussions after McCarthy walked away. Republicans Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Matt Gaetz of Florida, two strong critics of McCarthy, voted "present" in the 14th vote. McCarthy either needed another member to vote present or for someone to flip to an affirmative vote. "It was one of the most consequential Congresses in American history, President Biden gets the job done, and the 'd' in Democrats stands for deliver."
Kevin McCarthy is ousted as House speaker in historic vote. What happens next? - The Associated Press
Kevin McCarthy is ousted as House speaker in historic vote. What happens next?.
Posted: Wed, 04 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
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If the motion is brought to the floor, the three Republican votes supporting it could be enough for passage if they are joined by all Democrats in the chamber. Members of the far right consider Johnson a weak speaker, viewing him as having been steamrolled by Democrats rather than accepting incremental conservative wins. They would prefer moving ultraconservative legislation with no chance of passing the Senate or being signed into law, and recessing the House no matter the consequences such as a potential government shutdown. They argue it’s their colleagues’ willingness to compromise that will end with them in the minority. Republicans should use the reins of the majority more forcefully, they say, to aggressively incorporate “America First” promises to voters on the campaign trail, echoing Trump, the presumptive 2024 presidential nominee. Those promises include significantly curtailing spending and clamping down on migrants at the southern border.
House majority leader
After the speaker pro tempore takes over, "presumably, the next order of business would be to choose a speaker," Green said. He pointed out that "it's unlikely the House would continue to operate as usual without a new speaker being selected." McCarthy was defiant but resigned to the vote following a lengthy meeting of House Republicans earlier in the day. Gaetz, who never supported McCarthy's candidacy in January, has cited McCarthy's decision to pass a short-term spending bill with Democratic support as evidence he has not "fulfilled his promises" to conservatives. The anniversary comes just weeks after the House committee investigating the attack concluded its investigation and released its full report. In it, they recommend the Ethics Committee investigate McCarthy for his refusal to comply with the panel's investigation.
Mr. McCarthy, who rarely moved from his seat over the days of votes, approached Mr. Gaetz and Ms. Boebert in their seats and appeared to be pleading with them to change their votes, his signature smile wiped from his face. At one point, Representative Mike Rogers, Republican of Alabama, had to be restrained after stepping toward Mr. Gaetz. Representative-elect Eli Crane of Arizona and Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana — the two holdouts who seemed most likely to move — both voted against him, leaving his fate in the hands of his lead tormentor, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida. After a spectacle of arm-twisting on the House floor, Kevin McCarthy won over just enough of the far-right rebels he needed to become speaker.
“I think the House is in a lot better place with some of the work that’s been done to democratize power out of the speakership, and that’s our goal,” he said. Left unmentioned was that many of the same rebels who helped lead the effort in Congress to overturn the 2020 election, giving rise to the assault that day, were also among the final holdouts working to block Mr. McCarthy’s ascent. Representative Victoria Spartz of Indiana, who had voted “present” in previous ballots, also voted for Mr. McCarthy in the 12th vote. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a progressive who is a member of the Armed Services Committee, said Sunday he would protect Johnson’s job if members of his far-right flank go through with their threat to oust him. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene maintained Sunday that she plans to follow through with an effort to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson if he doesn’t resign after the House passed a $95 billion package that includes foreign aid for Ukraine. Minutes after the clash, some hard-right lawmakers who previously resisted joining the G.O.P. push to oust him began to sound more open to the idea.
He has covered campaigns and elections in 49 of the 50 states, including a dozen presidential contests and scores of mayoral, legislative, gubernatorial and congressional races. He also reported from the White House and Capitol Hill during the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations. It's unclear how soon after McCarthy's ouster the Republican majority will begin the process for electing a successor.
Ahead of the 2010 midterms, McCarthy teamed with two other conservative rising stars in the party — then-Reps. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Eric Cantor of Virginia — charting a road map to win back the House by tackling debt and the deficit and attacking Obamacare. A tea party wave swept Republicans into power that fall, and the trio known as “the Young Guns” took much of the credit. California state law says that after a vacancy occurs, the governor must set a special election within two weeks.
The floor fight dragged on for the better part of a week, the longest since 1859, and paralyzed the House, with lawmakers stripped of their security clearances because they could not be sworn in as official members of Congress until a speaker was chosen. Asked whether she plans to move forward with her motion to vacate Johnson’s speakership, she said, “It’s coming regardless of what Mike Johnson decides to do." Both the hard-liners and the governing wing want Republicans to grow their majority — but with members like themselves. It’s why the fight has spilled onto the campaign trail as Republicans stump against their own colleagues. “If I start taking people off committees right now, it’s likely that I cause more problems than I solve,” he said in a statement that made clear the confines in which the conference must work under until the next election. Plucked from obscurity and chosen to lead the House six months ago because he had no enemies, the speaker has now rankled everyone.
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