Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives was ousted on Tuesday based on the majority of members voting to remove him.
How McCarthy Was Elected
Everything started with McCarthy being elected as the 55th Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Kevin McCarthy’s election was a significant event in the US Congress history. He was elected to the US House of Representatives after 15 rounds of voting, which was quite unusual since his party had the majority. This event itself caused a lot of drama and chaos.
The reason for this amount of pressure and intense voting was the polarization within the party and the lack of a consensus on the leadership.
This event came to affect what was to come next.
Why and How Was McCarthy Ousted
Due to this polarization in the Republican party, about 9 months after his election as the US House Speaker, McCarthy was voted out of the Speaker role.
On Tuesday, a number of the members of the Republican party in the US House of Representatives ousted Kevin McCarthy. This is the first time in the history of the US House that a leader has been removed by the members. About 8 Republicans and 208 Democrats voted to oust McCarthy, and on the other hand, 210 Republicans voted for him to stay.
Despite the votes in favor, he was still removed from the seat.
McCarthy has commented that he will not be running for the Speaker again. The absence of a Speaker has left the Congress in chaos, as there are still decisions to be made about aid to Ukraine and other matters.
McCarthy will only be serving temporarily for up to three days, during which his duties are currently unclear.
After this, Representative Patrick McHenry will be taking on the role of the House Speaker, but an actual election is necessary once again to decide on a new Speaker.
What’s Happening Now
After McCarthy’s removal, decisions needed to be made about the US aid to Ukraine. In this regard, the Democrats in the Leadership of the Senate promised to ensure support and aid to Ukraine in the coming weeks, regardless of the Speaker's seat being empty.
The United States has sent the government of Ukraine about $113 billion in humanitarian aid since the Russian invasion.
While the Speaker of the House is responsible for setting the overall agenda in the House, it is actually the majority of the votes that determine the bills.
Nevertheless, the current efforts and focus of the House will be to find a new Speaker for the US House of Representatives.
Who Will Replace Him
Each party is responsible for settling on a new candidate for the new Speaker. The Democrats have solidly chosen the Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries, who has run for the Speaker before against McCarthy.
In the Republican Party, however, it seems like the existing divisions might cause them not to be able to reach a consensus on a Speaker right away.
It is currently unclear how long it will take before the House will decide to hold a new election for the Speaker of the House, due to the unprecedented circumstances. The Congress elections are held every two years. However, this time it is unclear when the next elections will be held.
The Republican party has also suggested that former president Donald Trump should run for the Speaker, but it seems like Donald Trump does not want to run.
When asked, McCarthy said that he does not know who will be running but in the end, a candidate who “puts the country first” should run.
Because of all these events, the House is currently in complete chaos until it manages to find a new Speaker.
Wrapping Up
The removal of Kevin McCarthy as the US House of Representatives Speaker was definitely an unprecedented event, but regardless of the current efforts to find a new Speaker, the House will ensure support for Ukraine in the meantime.
