ST PAUL, Minn. — The House voted to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy as the speaker, a first in U.S. history, after a contingent of hard-right conservatives made the push to oust the Republican leader.
Minnesota representatives voted along party lines after McCarthy’s chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, forced the vote on the “motion to vacate.” While Minnesota Republicans voted against the motion, a handful of conservative Republican critics voted in favor of it, resulting in a 216-210 vote to remove McCarthy.
Next steps are uncertain, but there is no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority. Immediately after the vote, Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry, a close McCarthy ally, was named temporary speaker or speaker pro tempore. However, it is unclear who House Republicans will nominate for the speakership.
Rep. Michelle Fischbach, who voted against McCarthy's removal, released a statement after the vote reinforcing her support of the former speaker. In the statement, she praised his efforts for federal spending cuts, as well as his move to opening and impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden.
"I am truly disappointed that all of that work is going to be halted until another Speaker is elected," Rep. Fischbach's statement reads, in part.
Rep. Pete Stauber also maintained his support for the former speaker, saying, in part, in a statement that McCarthy and House Republicans "consistently delivered strong results for the American people."
Republican Congressman Brad Finstad said in a release that he was disappointed in the vote, calling it "chaos that brought the business of the People's House to a grinding halt."
Rep. Dean Phillips, who voted in favor of McCarthy's removal, released a statement that he was disappointed the former speaker wouldn't work with Democrats, calling it a "missed opportunity to demonstrate bipartisanship."
Rep. Angie Craig, who also voted in favor of removing McCarthy, posted on social media that she hopes Republican leaders can replace him with someone willing to work across the aisle.
Representatives Ilhan Omar and Betty McCollum also released statements explaining their reasoning for voting to remove McCarthy, both mentioning his allegiance to former President Donald Trump as one of the reasons for wanting to oust him as the speaker.
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