With Friends Like These, Who Needs Democrats?

By James Scimecca, Mary Trimble & Grayson Logue

Wednesday, October 04, 2023

 

Minutes before 5 p.m. ET yesterday, Washingtonians in and around the Capitol building found the answer to a timeless question: If a gavel slams in the House and there’s no speaker around to hear it, does it make a sound?

 

Yes. Yes it does. 

 

For the first time in American history, lawmakers in the lower chamber of the United States Congress on Tuesday voted to remove the sitting speaker of the House. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy—who announced last night he will not seek the gavel again—enjoyed the third-shortest tenure of any occupant of the office in U.S. history, and the briefest run since 1876. Despite retaining the support of the vast majority of his conference, McCarthy saw eight Republicans side with Democrats to vote against their own party leader, ousting the California Republican from his post in a 216-210 vote.

 

“Unfortunately, four percent of our conference can join all the Democrats and dictate who can be the Republican speaker in this House,” said McCarthy during a press conference after the vote. “I don’t think that rule is good for the institution, but apparently I’m the only one.”

 

After weeks of threats, GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz finally introduced a motion to vacate on Monday evening, but McCarthy started the day Tuesday optimistic about his chances to retain his position—though his comments at an early press conference perhaps betrayed that facade. “Keeping government open and paying our troops was the right decision,” he told reporters. “I stand by that decision. And at the end of the day if I have to lose my job over it, so be it.” As the day wore on, it became more and more clear that this was the most likely outcome.

 

Gaetz—who has despised McCarthy for years and has been publicly feuding with the speaker in recent weeks over the continuing resolution passed this weekend—led the charge against McCarthy, asserting that he could not be trusted after working with Democrats and President Joe Biden to keep the government open. “It is becoming increasingly clear who the speaker of the House already works for,” Gaetz said on Monday. “And it’s not the Republican conference.”

 

The rabble rouser from Florida was only able to bring a handful of his fellow Republicans along to that position—most GOP lawmakers are aware of the compromises necessary in divided government—meaning Democratic support would be needed to actually topple the speaker. Democrats initially seemed on the fence about whether or not to lend it to him—but after a Tuesday morning caucus meeting presented a united front against McCarthy. In a letter to his Democratic colleagues, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote “Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair.”

 

Democrats cited a long list of reasons—including the speaker’s actions on January 6, 2021, his attempt to discredit the January 6 Committee, and his efforts to blame Democrats for the narrowly avoided government shutdown—for their decision to throw McCarthy to the Republican wolves.

 

If Democrats didn’t like McCarthy, however, it’s far from clear they’ll find his eventual successor preferable. Most early possible contenders come in varying shades of unacceptable to Democrats, and would likely be less amenable to continued Ukraine aid and less pragmatic when it comes to government shutdowns and timely funding votes. Theoretically, moderates in one party could team up with the other party to elect a more centrist speaker who would run a more coalition-style House—but Democrats have thus far been united in saying they’ll only vote for Jeffries.

 

Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina will serve as the speaker pro tempore until a new one is chosen—reportedly not until next week at the earliest. The House cannot conduct any business until a new speaker is elected, and prospective candidates are wasting no time gauging their support. 

 

Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana has begun to reach out to House Republicans about mounting a bid for the top job, as has Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma and Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota—currently the majority whip and third-ranking Republican—have also seen their names bandied about, though both men tamped down such speculation. Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas said he’ll nominate former President Donald Trump for the role, as the speaker technically does not need to be a sitting member of the House.

 

Outside of the eight defectors, Republicans are furious and looking at the vote as the latest example of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Many bemoan the total chaos suddenly thrust upon them, and worry they could be in for a long bout of endless votes. “Who are [the eight Republican defectors] going to accept?” asked Rep. Greg Murphy of North Carolina. “Are they going to attack him or her?” Others stressed their frustration with the staged purity tests coming from Gaetz and Co. “You want to come at me and call me a RINO?” fumed Rep. Chip Roy of Texas. “You can kiss my a—.” 

 

Even Trump weighed in on Truth Social, writing: “Why is it that Republicans are always fighting among themselves, why aren’t they fighting the Radical Left Democrats who are destroying our Country?” (It’s worth noting that, while Gaetz has claimed that he had Trump’s support in his quest to dump McCarthy, multiple Trump advisers suggested otherwise.)

 

Despite the cacophony of protestations, Gaetz was able to peel off enough Republican votes to build a majority coalition with Democrats and oust the speaker. Many of the eight Republicans—Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, and Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana—celebrated their votes with fundraising emails sent to supporters. In the middle of a press scrum after the vote, Gaetz gushed about his victory. “It is to the benefit of this country that we have a better Speaker than Kevin McCarthy… McCarthy is a feature of the swamp.” 

 

After today’s circus, it remains to be seen which brave Republicans will offer themselves up for the thankless, ill-fated job. “Frankly, one has to wonder whether the House is governable at all,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota after McCarthy announced he would not run again for speaker. “I’m not sure I would wish this job on anyone.”