WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives was leaderless on Wednesday, after hardline Republicans narrowly won a vote to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a historic move that triggered what will be a lengthy and likely messy battle to find a replacement.
It was the first time that the House has removed a speaker, a position that is second in line to the president after the vice president. Republican lawmakers signalled they would need a week to regroup, planning to meet on Tuesday to discuss possible candidates to replace McCarthy, who said he would not run again, with votes on October 11 at the earliest.
The leadership fight is eating into the time lawmakers have to avert a looming partial government shutdown, which would begin on November 18 if Congress fails to pass legislation proving more funding. “We’re in uncharted waters,” Republican Representative Byron Donalds told reporters after supporting McCarthy in a vote the speaker lost 216-210.
It was not clear who might seek to succeed McCarthy in a job that has proven challenging for Republicans in recent years. The last two Republican speakers, Paul Ryan and John Boehner, retired from Congress after clashes with their right wing.
McCarthy, who led a narrow 221-212 majority, made the job even more difficult for himself. During 15 grueling rounds of voting on his bid for the speakership in January, he agreed to changes to House rules that allowed any one member of Congress to call for the speaker’s ouster, setting the stage for Representative Matt Gaetz to do just that. “I don’t envy anyone this job,” Republican Representative Mike Garcia said.
He described the rule change as “like handing 220 matches out to people in your party and dousing yourself in fuel and hoping none of them are crazy.” McCarthy said only that his advice to the next speaker was: “Change the rules.”