History was made in U.S. politics on October 3 when, for the first time ever, the Speaker of the House was voted out. Kevin McCarthy had been serving as the U.S. Speaker of the House for the past nine months. In the beginning of his term, he changed how voting worked to elect a house speaker. McCarthy said that if one representative had any doubt in his leadership, they could put him up and have a no-confidence vote to kick him out. This bold statement is what would ultimately lead to him being voted out.
As a Republican politician, McCarthy was favored by the majority of the house in the beginning of his term. He made many promises to the Republican party in the House that were not fulfilled; promises about approaching the government with proposals about appropriation bills and debt ceilings. Since he made a deal with the Democrats about the appropriation bills, this became the turning point for the Republicans and made them question McCarthy’s leadership.
AP US Government teacher Mr. Segal has been keeping up about all that’s happening with the removal. He said about the situation, “As a citizen, I am frustrated by the removal. I am not a big fan of him nor do I think he did a good job, but the fact we are setting ‘firsts’ or being unproductive is not a good thing for this country.”
Republican Matt Gaetz was the leader in this “revolution.” He questioned McCarthy’s loyalty to the Republican party and wanted him out. The House took a vote, which was 216 to 210 to get rid of McCarthy once and for all.
Even though McCarthy wasn’t all that promising to many members of his party nor very efficient in terms of legislation passed, his removal left major complications for the House, further dividing it. There’s Democrats, Republicans, and the group led by Gaetz that has split off from the Republicans. Since there is no Speaker, the Republicans are going to look to Gaetz to see what will happen next.
When asked how he felt about the situation, Segal said, “It shows how divided we are and how far removed we are from a government that is productive and actually working for the people.” Currently, the House can’t work for the people until they find a new speaker.
The interim speaker, Republican Patrick McHenry, is taking steps to make sure everything doesn’t break down. He doesn’t have the power to make major decisions, only start the next speaker vote.. With the problems happening in Israel and the internal strife that the U.S. is facing, it is very hard times for the U.S. at the moment.
Rep. Jim Jordan is currently trying to amass enough support to secure the Speak ship in Tuesday’s vote.
