The House of Representatives has removed Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. This is historic. It is the first time that the Chamber has removed its Speaker. All Democrats present and eight Republicans voted to remove him. The final result was 216 to 210 votes.
McCarthy angered hardline conservatives, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, over the weekend when he approved a short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, to avert a government shutdown. Rep. Gaetz reacted by filing a motion to vacate against McCarthy on Monday.
The bill approved over the weekend by McCarthy is a very short-term solution but it gave Congress six weeks to try to solve budgetary problems and prevent millions of federal workers and military personnel from going without pay.
A big problem
If getting Republicans to agree on funding is a big problem, electing a House speaker looks even more difficult. Let us recall that in January it took 15 rounds of voting and major concessions from McCarthy, to different groups of Republicans, to finally obtain the necessary votes to be Speaker.
McCarthy's immediate successor, Steve Scalise, is currently undergoing treatment for blood cancer. Meanwhile, Tom Emmer, the No. 3 House Republican, has refused to be considered for Speaker, saying he firmly supports McCarthy.
The Republican party will have to negotiate behind closed doors possible options to replace McCarthy, he himself can be proposed once again, but with a Congress this divided, where the hard-line conservatives are increasingly moving the limits of what is known as a strong internal opposition, it is not only about finding someone who a majority of Republicans support, it's also about finding someone who wants to take the job!
Who is the loser?
In general, the big loser is the Republican Party. Despite Rep. Gaetz's accusations, polls show McCarthy enjoys good popularity among the Republican base, including President Trump's voters. And although some of Gaetz's claims are shared by conservatives, this is neither the way nor the right time to stop the House. In politics, timing is very important. With a weak majority facing elections, fundamental investigations advancing in the House and the threat of a government shutdown, now is not the time.
The mainstream media, which constantly attacks the Republican Party, will have fun with this news. If a government shutdown were to occur, this would tell millions of Americans - who do not even understand the internal party disputes - that Republicans are hindering the payment of millions of families. For now, McCarthy found relief for a few weeks to try to negotiate, but he was fired!
What's next? A show. If in January we saw 15 rounds of voting, imagine what is coming in the coming days. Politics has its dark parts, one of which is creating opposition and control within the party. But Gaetz's behavior no longer seems to make more sense than grabbing attention for himself. Although some of his complaints are valid, there is no plan to solve them. Removing McCarthy only puts the party in more trouble than it already is and creates discomfort among the voters themselves but, above all, among undecided voters. This is not the time and this was not the way to push for internal changes either.
