House of Representatives: Chaos in the US Parliament: McCarthy voted out of leadership position

Radical Republicans have forced House Speaker Kevin McCarthy out of office in a historic move, plunging the House into chaos. A majority of the House of Congress voted to remove McCarthy from his powerful post. The background is an internal revolt among the Republicans. It is the first time in US history that a chairman of the House of Representatives has lost his job in this way. The drama is bringing the US Parliament to a standstill for the time being, is likely to be very damaging to the Republicans politically and has repercussions far beyond the USA.

The revolt

Republican hardliner Matt Gaetz and seven other Republicans from the party’s right-wing fringe voted to oust McCarthy. The Democrats in the House of Representatives, in turn, refrained from coming to McCarthy’s aid and also voted against him. The Republicans actually have the say in the chamber, but only by a narrow margin. The overwhelming majority of the Republican faction supported McCarthy, but the eight rebels created a narrow majority against McCarthy.

Gaetz and his colleagues accused McCarthy of violating intra-party agreements and preferring to work together with US President Joe Biden and his Democrats instead of representing the interests of his group. Among other things, Gaetz was bothered by the fact that McCarthy had averted an impending government shutdown at the last moment with the votes of Democrats last weekend. Gaetz said McCarthy was part of the Washington “swamp” – he couldn’t be trusted.

The leader

Gaetz has been one of McCarthy’s bitterest opponents for some time. The 41-year-old represents right-wing positions and regularly spreads conspiracy theories. He stands firmly at the side of former President Donald Trump and, with a view to the revolt, said that he was just “cleaning house” for the time when Trump returns to the top of the government. With his rebellion, Gaetz got the big stage on Tuesday. He spoke several times during the debate in parliament and gathered dozens of reporters around him before and after the vote. He is the face of rebellion.

The loser

McCarthy gave a lengthy press conference after his dramatic deselection. In a partly emotional, partly aggressive performance, the 58-year-old dealt against his opponents, especially against Gaetz. This was never about content, but only about personal matters – and about getting media attention. Nothing that Gaetz said is true. McCarthy also complained bitterly that a leader had the overwhelming majority of his group behind him and yet was removed from office by eight MPs along with the other party. Parliament as an institution has failed. With a smile on his face, the man who was shot announced that he was at peace with himself and, looking back, wouldn’t do anything differently. Self-deprecatingly, he added: “I made history, didn’t I?”

The succession

It is completely unclear who could move up. In any case, McCarthy does not want to run again – he made that clear after the vote. Gaetz also assured that he had no ambitions to run for office himself – nor would he be able to win a majority. In an extremely fragmented faction, it is generally unclear who can unite enough party colleagues behind them. Several names are circulating: including the previous Republican number two in the chamber, Steve Scalise. The only thing that is clear for now is that nothing will happen for a week: the Republicans want to take that much time to sort themselves out and figure out personal details. There could be an election by the middle of next week at the earliest. How many ballots will be necessary is unclear.

The consequences

Until a new chairman is elected, nothing will happen in the House of Representatives: all legislative work is on hold for the time being. And this at a time when Congress, among other things, has to pass a federal budget. An agreed transition budget expires in mid-November. If no new budget is passed by then, the USA will once again be heading towards a standstill in government business, a “shutdown”.

Parliament must also decide on new aid for Ukraine. The interim budget does not provide for any further aid for the country attacked by Russia. This does not mean that the USA will no longer support Kiev from now on. However, the money approved so far is running out and new funds are needed. The internal struggles of the Republicans therefore also have international consequences.

In addition, a constitutionally important position is vacant. The chairman of the House of Representatives comes third in the state ranking after the president and his vice president. The Republican Patrick McHenry takes on formal tasks as interim chairman, but does not fill the role politically.

The ultimate test of the Republicans

The action is the culmination of a long struggle by the Republicans for nothing less than the essence of the party. Before the vote, Gaetz and other hardliners dueled with moderate Republicans on the open stage in Parliament. Republican Tom McClintock complained that Parliament would be paralyzed and busy week after week with fruitless voting while the real work was left behind. He predicted: “Democrats will revel in Republican dysfunction, and the public will rightly be repulsed.” Republican Kelly Armstrong complained that his group was being held hostage by a small group. This could ultimately cost the Republicans their majority.

The Democrats’ wait

The Democrats argued that it was not their job to save McCarthy from the “civil war” within their own ranks. It is up to the majority faction to choose the chairman. For now, the Democrats could benefit from the implosion of the Republican caucus. But the longer the deadlock in Congress lasts, the greater the pressure will be on them to show common sense in the interests of the country and support a compromise candidate.

The long fight

McCarthy was only elected chairman in the 15th ballot in January. That in itself was a humiliation of historical proportions. As a result, McCarthy was considered counted from the start. At that time, he had to go a long way toward accommodating the radical right-wing members of his group in order to be elected with their help. Since then they have driven him mercilessly. Among other things, the hardliners in the parliamentary group had ensured that a single member of parliament could submit a motion to remove the chairman – which Gaetz now took advantage of.