Kevin McCarthy’s position as speaker of the House of Representatives is in serious danger. The vote to block the motion of censure proposed by the radical wing of his party, the Republicans, failed on Tuesday with 218 votes against and 208 in favor, opening the door to his dismissal and a major parliamentary crisis that could lead to a government shutdown in mid-November. If it goes ahead, it would be the first time in United States History that the president of Congress has been removed from office.
The defeat ends McCarthy’s main asset to hold on to his position, after Matt Gaetz, congressman from Florida, presented the motion of censure on Monday supported by the most conservative faction of the party. The rebels still have not forgiven him for the “betrayal” of having avoided the government shutdown late on Saturday with the help of the Democrats.
Congressman Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma and an ally of McCarthy, proposed on Tuesday to present this measure to stop the attack on his leader in the Lower House, but the refusal of 11 Republican congressmen to give him their support has been a mortal blow to his initiative. . McCarthy depended on the Democrats to survive the lockdown but they turned their backs on him.
“We’ll see what happens,” the Californian said before the vote, firm in his intention not to give in to the Democrats or reach behind-the-scenes agreements to ensure success in the recount. The problem is that the accounts didn’t add up. The Republicans have 221 seats and the Democrats 212. It was enough for a handful of the ultra-conservative Republicans to turn their backs on him for him to be at the mercy of the rival bench, which neither trusts McCarthy nor is willing to support him without a series of favorable conditions. for your interests.
In fact, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries sent a statement minutes before the vote to outline his position. “Given their unwillingness to break with MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, the House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican motion to vacate the presidency,” he said. . “We are facing a serious, solemn and sober moment.”
McCarthy is accused of being a liar on both sides of the political spectrum, of being an unreliable character. Both Democrats and Republicans accuse him of having betrayed them, of moving according to his interests according to the circumstances. Nor is Gaetz a particularly beloved politician in his party outside the core of the radical wing made up of people like Ken Buck, Eli Crane, Tim Burchett or Bob Good. The divorce between the parties is evident.
The triumph of the republican rebellion would have serious political implications. A vacancy in the presidency of the House of Representatives would mean a paralysis of activity until a new leader is elected. Or what is the same, chaos. All this with the latent threat of a new Government closure after the partial agreement last weekend, which is only valid until November 17.
McCarthy has refused to apologize for his political maneuvering to keep the government operational. “If at the end of the day I am removed from the Presidency because I took action to ensure that Border Patrol troops and agents continue to get paid, that is a fight worth fighting,” said the California congressman.
Until hours before the vote, the Democrats had avoided taking a strong position for or against. His position was lukewarm for obvious reasons. On the one hand, it was an opportunity to put an end to a political rival who is behind the formal investigation against Joe Biden – en route to impeachment – for the alleged shady dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, abroad. But on the other hand, they knew that it was his best card to avoid the closure of the Government in November.
What seems clear is that the confrontation between McCarthy and Gaetz had settled on personal grounds. The fractious congressmen reluctantly accepted his appointment as speaker of the House of Representatives last January, and since then have done everything possible to torpedo his path, with Gaetz as the leader of that opposition.
“I think we have to move forward with new leadership that can be trusted,” the Floridan said Sunday, a challenge his more moderate opponent appears to have accepted. “So be it. Let’s end this and start governing,” McCarthy replied.
The discomfort is evident among the moderate wing of the conservatives. Mark Alford, representative of Missouri, believes that his people need a “marriage counselor” to unblock the current crisis. “I’m afraid we could lose our majority,” he said in an interview with CNN. “They sent us here to do our job and without that majority we cannot do it. It is unacceptable,” with only 45 days to avoid a collapse of institutions at the federal level.
There is also no consensus when it comes to looking for a replacement. Burchett, a congressman from Tennessee, indicated that there are “a multitude of people who can step up and do the job,” the complete opposite of Kelly Armstrong, a Republican from North Dakota, who is convinced that more than 200 Republicans will vote again for let McCarthy continue. “Has anyone else said they want that position?” she questioned.