Jannah Theme License is not validated, Go to the theme options page to validate the license, You need a single license for each domain name.
USA

House to take up Matt Gaetz’s motion to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker

The House will vote Tuesday afternoon to determine whether House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will remain speaker, after Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a motion “declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant” on the House floor Monday night.

After 1:30 p.m. the House will vote to table Gaetz’s motion to vacate the speaker’s chair, a move House Republican leadership is making in an effort to quash a handful of Republican detractors including Gaetz. GOP Rep. Tom Emmer, the majority whip, announced the vote Tuesday afternoon. 

The Speaker of the House is not only the leader of the chamber but also second in line for the presidency. Ousting a sitting speaker by vote in the middle of a congressional term would be unprecedented in American history, and McCarthy’s allies have warned that doing so would set a precedent that would hang over every speaker moving forward. That argument has not persuaded Democrats to come to McCarthy’s rescue.

Democratic leadership members are urging Democrats to vote “yes” on the motion to vacate. 

“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,” Democratic Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote to his caucus. 

McCarthy expressed confidence to reporters Tuesday morning that he’ll prevail, although if five Republicans join all of the Democrats in voting against him, McCarthy would be removed. 

“I’m confident I will hold on,” he told reporters after meeting with the Republican conference.

He spoke with Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Tuesday morning, but when he was asked whether he would have to rely on the votes of Democrats to retain the speakership, he replied, “No, I personally am not.”

Most Democrats may not be inclined to help McCarthy. At a caucus meeting Tuesday morning, Jeffries played a clip from the speaker’s appearance Sunday on “Face the Nation,” in which he blamed Democrats for nearly shutting down the government. In fact, more Democrats than Republicans voted for the bill to extend government funding for 45 days. 

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal said her party would be unanimous in voting against McCarthy.

“We are following our leader, and we are not saving Kevin McCarthy,” she said.

McCarthy may first move to table Gaetz’s resolution, known as a motion to vacate the chair, in an effort to kill it. However, GOP Rep. Brian Mast, of Florida, said he thinks there will be a direct vote on the motion around 2 p.m. 

If there is a vote to table Gaetz’s resolution and it wins, McCarthy will remain speaker. If it fails, a vote on the move to vacate the chair would follow. If a majority of the members present support the resolution, McCarthy will be removed, and a new speaker would have to be chosen. 

McCarthy said Gaetz could bring the motion to vacate on the floor repeatedly.

If McCarthy is ousted, someone from a secret backup list would likely serve as a temporary speaker overseeing a new election. It’s not clear how extensive the power of any temporary speaker would be, but Republicans would likely push for that person to have more power than Democrats would want. 

Gaetz has consistently opposed McCarthy’s speakership, and was among those who helped draw out the process of electing him speaker to a record 15 rounds of voting. In order to win over far-right Republicans, McCarthy agreed to a condition making it possible for a single member to motion to oust the speaker. That deal has come back to haunt him. McCarthy said Gaetz’s challenge to his speakership is “personal.” 

“He’s more interested in securing TV interviews,” McCarthy said of the Florida Republican. 

— Scott McFarlane, John Nolen, Ellis Kim and Jack Turman contributed to this report

Summarize this content to 100 words The House will vote Tuesday afternoon to determine whether House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will remain speaker, after Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced a motion “declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant” on the House floor Monday night.After 1:30 p.m. the House will vote to table Gaetz’s motion to vacate the speaker’s chair, a move House Republican leadership is making in an effort to quash a handful of Republican detractors including Gaetz. GOP Rep. Tom Emmer, the majority whip, announced the vote Tuesday afternoon. The Speaker of the House is not only the leader of the chamber but also second in line for the presidency. Ousting a sitting speaker by vote in the middle of a congressional term would be unprecedented in American history, and McCarthy’s allies have warned that doing so would set a precedent that would hang over every speaker moving forward. That argument has not persuaded Democrats to come to McCarthy’s rescue.

Democratic leadership members are urging Democrats to vote “yes” on the motion to vacate. “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,” Democratic Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote to his caucus. 

McCarthy expressed confidence to reporters Tuesday morning that he’ll prevail, although if five Republicans join all of the Democrats in voting against him, McCarthy would be removed. “I’m confident I will hold on,” he told reporters after meeting with the Republican conference.He spoke with Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Tuesday morning, but when he was asked whether he would have to rely on the votes of Democrats to retain the speakership, he replied, “No, I personally am not.”Most Democrats may not be inclined to help McCarthy. At a caucus meeting Tuesday morning, Jeffries played a clip from the speaker’s appearance Sunday on “Face the Nation,” in which he blamed Democrats for nearly shutting down the government. In fact, more Democrats than Republicans voted for the bill to extend government funding for 45 days. 

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal said her party would be unanimous in voting against McCarthy.”We are following our leader, and we are not saving Kevin McCarthy,” she said.McCarthy may first move to table Gaetz’s resolution, known as a motion to vacate the chair, in an effort to kill it. However, GOP Rep. Brian Mast, of Florida, said he thinks there will be a direct vote on the motion around 2 p.m. If there is a vote to table Gaetz’s resolution and it wins, McCarthy will remain speaker. If it fails, a vote on the move to vacate the chair would follow. If a majority of the members present support the resolution, McCarthy will be removed, and a new speaker would have to be chosen. McCarthy said Gaetz could bring the motion to vacate on the floor repeatedly.If McCarthy is ousted, someone from a secret backup list would likely serve as a temporary speaker overseeing a new election. It’s not clear how extensive the power of any temporary speaker would be, but Republicans would likely push for that person to have more power than Democrats would want. Gaetz has consistently opposed McCarthy’s speakership, and was among those who helped draw out the process of electing him speaker to a record 15 rounds of voting. In order to win over far-right Republicans, McCarthy agreed to a condition making it possible for a single member to motion to oust the speaker. That deal has come back to haunt him. McCarthy said Gaetz’s challenge to his speakership is “personal.” 

“He’s more interested in securing TV interviews,” McCarthy said of the Florida Republican. — Scott McFarlane, John Nolen, Ellis Kim and Jack Turman contributed to this report

More from CBS News

Kathryn Watson

Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-vote-matt-gaetz-kevin-mccarthy-motion-to-vacate-watch-live-stream-today-2023-10-03/ House to take up Matt Gaetz’s motion to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker

Back to top button