Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida filed a resolution late Monday to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a fellow Republican, from his post as their chamber’s leader.
The congressman had promised to make the move against McCarthy after the speaker on Saturday relied on the support of House Democrats to pass a short-term measure that averted a partial government shutdown.
“I have enough Republicans where at this point next week, one of two things will happen: Kevin McCarthy won’t be the speaker of the House or he’ll be the speaker of the House working at the pleasure of the Democrats,” Gaetz told reporters Monday after filing the motion. “I’m at peace with either result because the American people deserve to know who governs them.”
“Bring it on,” McCarthy tweeted in response.
There is a view among analysts that a divided Washington’s spending might not change that much even if Gaetz manages to oust McCarthy, as MarketWatch has reported.
A motion to vacate was filed in July 2015 against then-Speaker John Boehner and was not voted on by the House at that time, but Boehner went on to announce his resignation in September 2015. Such a motion also was used unsuccessfully in 1910 against then-Speaker Joseph Cannon, and it was considered in 1997 but ultimately not used by a small group of House Republicans who had grown disgruntled with the leadership of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich.
From MarketWatch’s archives (January 2023): McCarthy’s speaker deal to win over holdouts would ‘neuter’ him, and could mean more government shutdowns