US Republican Representative from California Kevin McCarthy walks from the House Chamber after he was ousted as Speaker at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 3, 2023.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
For the first time in American history, the Speaker of the House has been voted out of office.
GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz initiated the motion to oust fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy from the seat.
Gaetz was joined by seven other Republicans and every Democrat in attendance to win the vote.
For the first time in American history the sitting Speaker of the House, California Republican Kevin McCarthy, has been voted out of office — and it took eight members of his own party to turn the tide against him.
These are the Republican members of the House who voted to oust McCarthy from the seat:
Andy Biggs of ArizonaKen Buck of ColoradoTim Burchett of TennesseeEli Crane of ArizonaMatt Gaetz of FloridaBob Good of VirginiaNancy Mace of South CarolinaMatt Rosendale of Montana
McCarthy faced a tumultuous ascent to the Speakership earlier this year. The House completed a record 15 ballots before he secured the required votes to take the seat after fellow Republicans stalled the proceedings, refusing to vote for McCarthy unless he made procedural concessions which would later lead to his ouster.
Five of the Republicans who delayed the vote to appoint McCarthy to the Speakership later aligned with House Democrats to force him to vacate the seat — Biggs, Crane, Gaetz, Good, and Rosendale — with Gaetz leading the movement against McCarthy.
Gaetz initiated the motion to vacate the Office of the Speaker of the House yesterday, making good on threats from earlier in the month that he would do so.
McCarthy has argued Gaetz’s move was payback for Gaetz facing a House Committee inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of funds.