Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy was removed from office: this is the first time in US history

On October 3, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, was stripped of his post under pressure from the far-right wing of the Republican Party. He was accused of collaborating with Democrats and a “secret agreement” on assistance to Ukraine, reports “Ukrainian Truth".

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The decision to resign McCarthy was supported by 216 members of the House of Representatives, including eight members of the Republican Party, and 210 congressmen were opposed.

For the first time in US history, the speaker of the lower house of Congress was removed from office under the motion to vacate procedure, which allows a certain number of congressmen to put a relevant issue to a vote. In addition, the last time a vote to remove the Speaker of the House took place was more than 110 years ago.

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Kevin McCarthy became Speaker of the House of Representatives only on his 15th attempt in January 2023 after reaching an agreement with far-right Republicans. It, among other things, assumed that a motion to vacate could be initiated by only one congressman.

This mechanism became a lever of influence of the far right over McCarthy, since - as the vote on October 3 showed - the Democratic Party would not support the speaker if the question of his resignation was brought up.

The initiator of McCarthy's resignation was a representative of the far-right wing of his party, Matt Gaetz, who expressed outrage at the adoption of a resolution on temporary federal funding to avoid a shutdown at the expense of Democratic votes.

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Although the resolution did not include funds for aid to Ukraine, Gaetz argued that McCarthy had made a “secret agreement” with US President Joe Biden to approve support for Kyiv in its fight against full-scale Russian aggression.

It is known that McCarthy himself is not fundamentally opposed to providing military and other assistance to Ukraine - unlike his far-right “colleagues”, but publicly demanded that the Biden administration guarantee accountability for the funds spent, and from the Ukrainian side - a “plan for victory” in the war.

The chamber now begins the process of electing a new permanent chairman. It is impossible to predict how long it will last, since Republicans have a slight majority - 221 to 212 for Democrats, and the votes of only five of them are enough to block any appointment.

Let us note that before the vote, the White House expressed confidence that, despite the situation with McCarthy’s removal from office, Congress would be able to support additional funding for Ukraine’s defense needs.

Currently, as reported, out of the $25,9 billion allocated by Congress to replenish the arms stockpiles received by Ukraine, $1,6 billion remains. In addition, the United States has about $5,4 billion left to supply weapons and equipment from its reserves. The United States would have already exhausted these funds if the Pentagon had not realized at the beginning of the year that it had overestimated the equipment it had already sent.

Who will replace McCarthy?

The House of Representatives is in a week-long recess, during which time members will debate who to support in the upcoming vote for a new speaker, reports with the BBC. This is scheduled for Wednesday, October 11, but it could take days or weeks to find someone who can get majority support in the House.

Kevin McCarthy needed 15 votes over four days to finally be elected.

Given the animosity within the party over his ouster, it is difficult to imagine a figure who could unite the warring factions.

On an interim basis, North Carolina's Patrick McHenry heads the secret list of interim leaders that McCarthy unveiled when he took the job.

According to House rules, he has no power to preside over the House, but "may exercise such powers of the Speaker as may be necessary and proper prior to the election of the Speaker."

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Other names mentioned include Louisiana Republican Steve Scalise and Minnesota Republican Tom Emmer.
McCarthy has ruled out running again.

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