Kevin McCarthy was last night ousted as Speaker of the US House of Representatives for the first time in American history, and infighting among his fellow Republicans plunged Congress into further chaos just days after narrowly averting a government shutdown.
216 members of the lower house of Congress voted for the removal of Republican Kevin McCarthy, of which 208 were Democrats and eight were Republicans, while 210 were against. A simple majority of the 435-member House of Representatives, which is controlled by Republicans, was needed to make the decision, 221 to 212 Democrats.
A member of the right wing of the Republican Party in the lower house of Congress Matt Gaitz on Monday requested a vote on McCarthy's removal, after the speaker failed last Sunday to pass a government funding bill that would have included conservative priorities.
McCarthy told lawmakers last night that he would not run again for speaker of that chamber, leaving it open to a Republican race. The next steps are uncertain as there is no obvious successor among Republicans to lead them in the House of Representatives, where they hold a slim majority. Activities in the House of Representatives have been halted until next Sunday, when Republicans will try to elect a new Speaker of the House.
At the press conference, McCarthy said that he does not regret the decisions that led to his dismissal, and during the speech, he sometimes positively evaluated his time as the head of the lower house of Congress and spoke angrily about those who dismissed him.
"It is my responsibility, my job. I do not regret that I negotiated. The goal of our government is to find a compromise. I do not regret the effort to build coalitions and find solutions. I was taught to solve problems, not create them...Fought I stand up for what I believe in. I believe I can continue to fight, but maybe in a different way," McCarthy stressed.
He finally said that he "wouldn't change anything" in the way he works as president of that body.
While McCarthy had the support of most Republicans in their slim majority in the lower house of eight Republicans, many from the same hard-right group that tried to prevent him from being elected in January, ousted him.
There was silence when the Speaker declared the vote closed by 216 to 210 and declared that he was "declaring vacant" the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Minutes later, leading McCarthy ally Patrick McHenry was named, under House rules, as interim speaker to serve until a new one is named.
The House of Representatives will be without a Speaker for at least a week. Several Republicans said they plan to discuss McCarthy's possible successor on Oct. 10, with a vote scheduled for the next day.
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